---
phase: 05-hindsight-memory-provider
plan: 01
subsystem: memory
tags: [hindsight, hermes, memory-provider, local-embedded, openrouter, qwen]
requires:
  - phase: 00-foundation
    provides: Hermes v0.16.0 agent with hindsight plugin bundled
provides:
  - Active Hindsight memory provider in local_embedded mode with latency-optimized settings
  - HINDSIGHT_LLM_API_KEY env var reusing existing OpenRouter key
  - memory.provider set to hindsight in Hermes config
affects: [phase-06, phase-07, phase-08]
tech-stack:
  added: [hindsight-all 0.8.2 (pre-installed), hindsight-embed daemon binary]
  patterns: [Local embedded daemon managed by Hermes plugin, Async retain with 5-turn window]
key-files:
  created:
    - ~/.hermes/hindsight/config.json
  modified:
    - ~/.hermes/.env
    - ~/.hermes/config.yaml
key-decisions:
  - "local_embedded mode (D-01): local PostgreSQL daemon, no external data send"
  - "recall_budget: low (D-04): fastest retrieval, minimal latency"
  - "retain_async: true (D-08) + retain_every_n_turns: 5 (D-09): ~80% overhead reduction"
  - "memory_mode: hybrid (D-02): auto-injection + all 3 hindsight tools available"
  - "Reused existing OpenRouter key for LLM extraction (no new secrets needed)"
patterns-established:
  - "Memory provider config lives in ~/.hermes/hindsight/config.json (not tracked in project git)"
  - "Latency-sensitive settings optimized for agent loop performance"
requirements-completed:
  - MEM-01
duration: 3 min
completed: 2026-06-14
---

# Phase 5 Plan 1: Hindsight Memory Provider Activation Summary

**Activated Hindsight as the cross-session memory provider for ngn-agent in local_embedded mode with latency-optimized settings (recall_budget: low, retain_every_n_turns: 5, retain_async: true, memory_mode: hybrid)**

## Performance

- **Duration:** 3 min
- **Started:** 2026-06-14T12:26:00Z
- **Completed:** 2026-06-14T12:29:00Z
- **Tasks:** 2 (both type="auto")
- **Files modified:** 3 (all Hermes system config outside git repo)

## Accomplishments

- Created `~/.hermes/hindsight/config.json` with all 13 locked configuration settings (D-01 through D-10)
- Added `HINDSIGHT_LLM_API_KEY` to `~/.hermes/.env` reusing the existing OpenRouter API key
- Set `memory.provider: hindsight` in `~/.hermes/config.yaml` and restarted the gateway
- Verified hindsight provider is active via `hermes memory status` (shows `Provider: hindsight`, `Status: available`)
- All acceptance criteria pass — provider active, config valid, env var matches, no provider conflicts, daemon binary present

## Task Commits

Note: All modified files reside outside the ngn-agent git repository (`~/.hermes/` and `~/.hindsight/`), so per-task git commits were not possible within the project repo. Changes are documented here for the record.

1. **Task 1: Create Hindsight config.json and add HINDSIGHT_LLM_API_KEY to .env**
   - Created `~/.hermes/hindsight/config.json` — 13 keys (mode, llm_provider, llm_base_url, llm_model, bank_id, recall_budget, recall_prefetch_method, auto_recall, recall_types, auto_retain, retain_async, retain_every_n_turns, memory_mode)
   - Appended `HINDSIGHT_LLM_API_KEY` to `~/.hermes/.env` matching `OPENROUTER_API_KEY`
   - Verified: all 13 config keys correct, JSON valid, env var matches

2. **Task 2: Set memory.provider to hindsight, restart gateway, verify activation**
   - Ran `hermes config set memory.provider hindsight`
   - Ran `hermes gateway restart`
   - Verified: `hermes memory status` shows hindsight as active provider
   - Verified: no provider conflicts, daemon binary exists at `~/.hermes/hermes-agent/venv/bin/hindsight-embed`
   - Verified: `hindsight-all` package at version 0.8.2

## Files Created/Modified

### Created
- `~/.hermes/hindsight/config.json` — Full Hindsight configuration with all latency-optimized settings

### Modified
- `~/.hermes/.env` — Added `HINDSIGHT_LLM_API_KEY` env var (line: `HINDSIGHT_LLM_API_KEY=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`)
- `~/.hermes/config.yaml` — Changed `memory.provider` from `""` to `hindsight`

## Decisions Made

- **Followed all locked decisions D-01 through D-10** exactly as specified in CONTEXT.md and the plan
- No additional decisions needed — plan was fully specified and executed as written

## Configuration Summary

### `~/.hermes/hindsight/config.json`

| Key | Value | Decision |
|-----|-------|----------|
| `mode` | `local_embedded` | D-01 |
| `llm_provider` | `openrouter` | D-01 |
| `llm_base_url` | `https://openrouter.ai/api/v1` | D-01 |
| `llm_model` | `qwen/qwen3.5-9b` | D-01 |
| `bank_id` | `hermes` | Discretion |
| `recall_budget` | `low` | D-04 |
| `recall_prefetch_method` | `recall` | D-05 |
| `auto_recall` | `true` | D-06 |
| `recall_types` | `observation` | D-07 |
| `auto_retain` | `true` | D-10 |
| `retain_async` | `true` | D-08 |
| `retain_every_n_turns` | `5` | D-09 |
| `memory_mode` | `hybrid` | D-02 |

### New Environment Variables

| Env Var | Value | Source |
|---------|-------|--------|
| `HINDSIGHT_LLM_API_KEY` | `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` | Same as `OPENROUTER_API_KEY` |

## Deviations from Plan

None — plan executed exactly as written.

## Issues Encountered

None.

## Next Phase Readiness

- Hindsight memory provider is fully activated and configured
- Ready for Phase 6 (repo auto-clone) or Phase 7 (session lifecycle)
- Daemon will start on first Hermes session access (lazy init)
- Built-in MEMORY.md/USER.md continues as fallback (no changes to `memory_enabled`/`user_profile_enabled`)

---

*Phase: 05-hindsight-memory-provider*
*Completed: 2026-06-14*