Files
hermes-agent/hermes_cli
Teknium ac51c4c1ad feat(kanban): per-task max_retries override (#20263 follow-up, supersedes #20972) (#21330)
Adds a per-task override for the consecutive-failure circuit breaker,
so individual tasks can opt out of the global ``kanban.failure_limit``
without dragging everyone else with them.

Resolution order (now three tiers):
  1. per-task ``max_retries`` (new, this commit)
  2. caller-supplied ``failure_limit`` — the gateway threads
     ``kanban.failure_limit`` from config here
  3. ``DEFAULT_FAILURE_LIMIT`` (2)

Changes:
- ``tasks.max_retries INTEGER`` column + migration for existing DBs
  (NULL = no override, matches pre-column behavior).
- ``Task.max_retries`` field + ``from_row`` plumbing.
- ``create_task(..., max_retries=N)`` kwarg.
- ``_record_task_failure`` reads the per-task value first and records
  ``limit_source`` + ``effective_limit`` on the ``gave_up`` event so
  operators can see which tier won.
- CLI: ``hermes kanban create --max-retries N`` (rejects ``< 1``).
- CLI: ``hermes kanban show`` surfaces the effective threshold +
  source (``(task)``, ``(config kanban.failure_limit)``, ``(default)``).
- CLI: ``_task_to_dict`` includes ``max_retries`` in ``--json`` output.

Key design choice vs. the earlier #20972 attempt:
- No new config key. The existing ``kanban.failure_limit`` (landed in
  #21183) is the dispatcher-tier source — no silent break for users
  who already tuned it.
- No ``!=`` sentinel for "is config set" (which would misfire when
  config equals the default). The tier-winner is determined purely
  by "is per-task override set" — the dispatcher always wins when
  per-task is NULL, regardless of whether the caller passed the
  default or a configured value.

E2E verified across four scenarios: default-only (trips at 2),
config-only (trips at caller's value), per-task-only beats default
(trips at task value), per-task beats larger config (trips at task
value). ``gave_up`` event metadata correctly records ``limit_source``
and ``effective_limit`` in all cases.

Tests:
- ``test_per_task_max_retries_overrides_dispatcher_limit`` — task=1
  beats caller=10.
- ``test_per_task_max_retries_allows_more_than_default`` — task=5
  does not trip at caller=default of 2.
- ``test_max_retries_none_falls_through_to_dispatcher_limit`` — None
  honors caller's config value (4), records ``limit_source=dispatcher``.

Full kanban trio (db + core + cli + tools + dashboard-plugin): 342
passed, no regressions.

Supersedes: #20972 (@jelrod27) — credit in PR close comment.
Ref: #20263 (tangentially — the reporter asked about adapter API
drift, not retry caps, but the CLI discussion there is what
surfaced the original ask).
2026-05-07 07:29:02 -07:00
..
2026-04-29 20:33:29 -07:00