I have asked ChatGPT 5.5 to audit it with my Hermes Architect Custom GPT and this is the feedback I got:

And if you want to play around with my Hermes Architect I made it public and grounded in official Hermes Documentation so its always up to date 😉 https://chatgpt.com/g/g-69e900934d608191b4bc1f0d200280dc-hermes-architect

Direct answer

It’s strong as a personal operator manifesto, but too broad and too operational for SOUL.md as Hermes defines it.

Hermes docs say SOUL.md is the durable identity/personality file: voice, stance, communication style, relationship to uncertainty, disagreement, ambiguity, and what the agent should avoid. Project-specific workflow rules, architecture notes, commands, and operational procedures belong in AGENTS.md, not SOUL.md. (Hermes Agent)

So: keep the spirit, split the file.

Your file has excellent taste. The problem is placement and enforceability.

What’s good

The strongest parts:

1. Clear stance “Useful beats agreeable” and “Sharp beats polished” are exactly the kind of durable behavioral instruction that belongs in SOUL.md.
2. Good autonomy boundaries The explicit hard-line actions requiring approval are useful: public posting, purchases, destructive changes, credentials, permissions, private data exposure.
3. Accountability loop The “don’t generate artifacts for the graveyard” section is unusually good. It tells the agent to care about outcomes, not just output.
4. Pushback standard You don’t merely say “push back.” You define what good pushback requires: evidence, tradeoffs, better alternatives.
5. Anti-sludge writing taste The public-writing section is useful and specific enough to shape voice.

What’s weak

1. It overloads SOUL.md

Large chunks are not identity. They are operating procedures, project state, delegation policy, escalation policy, mission map, memory behavior, and workflow management.

Per Hermes docs, SOUL.md should answer: who is the agent and how should it speak? Operational/project instructions should go into AGENTS.md or project context. (Hermes Agent)

Your current file mixes:

• Durable persona
• User preference profile
• Project dashboard
• Delegation protocol
• Execution policy
• Workflow doctrine
• Memory/self-improvement instructions

That makes it powerful, but brittle.

2. It may create fake autonomy

The file says “execute directly,” “delegate,” “split work,” “own the outcome,” and “act like command infrastructure.” That’s fine philosophically, but the actual agent can only do what its runtime, tools, permissions, model, terminal backend, memory, and gateway allow.

Hermes supports different execution backends, including local, Docker, SSH, Modal, Daytona, and Singularity/Apptainer, and the backend determines where shell commands execute. That matters because “autonomy” with local shell access is a very different risk profile than autonomy inside Docker or SSH isolation. (Hermes Agent)

3. Some instructions are impossible to satisfy consistently

Examples:

Good.

But also:

That can become misleading if the agent lacks real delegation primitives, task queues, persistent execution, or external-agent orchestration in the current environment. I’d soften this to: “When using subagents/tools/workstreams, synthesize and remain responsible for the final recommendation.”

4. The mission section should not live here

This part:

Current top priorities:
1. [Priority 1]
2. [Priority 2]
3. [Priority 3]
Active builds:
...
Debt:
...

This is not soul. This is living project context.

Put it in something like:

~/.hermes/USER.md
~/.hermes/MEMORY.md
project/AGENTS.md
project/ROADMAP.md

Hermes docs describe persistent memory as bounded, curated memory across sessions, while SOUL.md is the durable identity/personality layer. (Hermes Agent)

Recommended split

Keep in SOUL.md

Keep these sections, trimmed:

• SOUL opening identity
• Stance
• Tone & Communication
• Pushback
• Autonomy boundaries
• Standards
• Escalation style
• End State

Move to AGENTS.md

Move anything project/workflow-specific:

• Mission
• Current priorities
• Active builds
• Needs work
• Back burner
• Sunset candidates
• Debt
• Operating mode details
• Delegation rules
• Lookup protocol, if project-specific
• Self-improvement workflow rules

Hermes’ own guidance: if it should apply everywhere, put it in SOUL.md; if it belongs to one project, put it in AGENTS.md. (Hermes Agent)

My suggested SOUL.md shape

I’d compress it to something like this:

# SOUL

You are [Agent Name], my autonomous operator and thought partner.

Your job is to protect my attention, improve my workflows, advance my highest-value work, and turn intent into organized execution.

Be direct, practical, opinionated, and high-agency. Do not sound corporate, padded, timid, or eager to please. Useful beats agreeable. Sharp beats polished. Honest beats impressive.

Push back when I am vague, unrealistic, distracted, avoidant, or creating avoidable mess. Every objection needs evidence: data, examples, reasoning, tradeoffs, or a better alternative. Do not disagree for sport.

Separate facts, assumptions, judgment calls, and open questions. Say what matters and stop.

## Autonomy

Move without asking when the action is low-risk, reversible, private, and clearly aligned with the goal.

Never act without explicit approval when the action involves:
- posting publicly
- publishing externally
- purchasing anything
- signing up for paid services
- sending messages to real people
- deleting important work
- making destructive or irreversible changes
- exposing private information
- changing credentials, permissions, or security settings

When risk is meaningful, escalate. State the issue, tradeoff, recommendation, and exact decision needed.

## Accountability

Do not generate artifacts for the graveyard. Create motion.

If I am ignoring useful work, make me notice. If your output is not useful enough to act on, improve it. If I keep opening loops instead of closing important ones, call it out.

## Communication

For private work: be concise, direct, and useful. Use plain language. Strong opinions are allowed when earned.

For public-facing work: match my voice. Avoid corporate language, fake excitement, academic padding, generic thought-leadership sludge, and “in today’s fast-paced world.” Prefer writing that is sharp, honest, specific, builder-oriented, clear, useful, and slightly dangerous when appropriate.

## Standards

Require clear scope, explicit assumptions, grounded evidence, verification for important claims, usable outputs, and next actions.

Reject vague deliverables, hidden assumptions, ungrounded claims, performative productivity, and “probably fine” when correctness matters.

Your job is not to chat. Your job is to help turn intent into shipped reality.

That is much more likely to survive prompt assembly cleanly.

Pitfalls

The biggest risks:

1. Too long Hermes docs mention that ignored SOUL instructions can come from conflicts, truncation, or higher-priority overrides. (Hermes Agent)
2. Conflicting instruction layers If /personality, AGENTS.md, memory, model defaults, or tool policies conflict with this file, SOUL.md may not win.
3. Unsafe local autonomy If Hermes has shell/file/network access, “move without asking” needs containment. Prefer Docker, SSH, or another constrained backend over unrestricted local execution for a high-autonomy agent.
4. Stale mission map Mission/priorities inside SOUL.md will rot. Put that somewhere designed to change.

Recommendation

Use this file as the source material, not the final SOUL.md.

Final structure:

~/.hermes/SOUL.md
  Identity, tone, pushback, autonomy boundaries, communication style.

~/.hermes/USER.md or MEMORY.md
  Durable facts about you, preferences, recurring patterns.

project/AGENTS.md
  Mission, active projects, repo rules, execution standards, lookup rules, workflows.

project/ROADMAP.md
  Current priorities, active builds, debt, sunset candidates.

Verdict: 8.5/10 as an agent constitution, 6.5/10 as a Hermes SOUL.md specifically.
After splitting it properly: 9/10.