feat: ship pay_mcp hermes plugin by default (CopyPlugins) + bump hermes v2026.6.19

[bussyjd]

Ship the pay_mcp hermes plugin by default

This makes obol-stack embed and seed the pay_mcp hermes plugin onto every
agent — the same way embedded skills are seeded — so an agent can settle paid
(x402) MCP tools out of the box, with no image rebuild and the user's profile
left untouched. obol pins the upstreamnousresearch/hermes-agent image and
doesn't build it, so the plugin can't ride in via the image; we vendor it into
the binary and drop it into the agent's user-plugins dir on stack-up / reconcile.

The branch also folds in the nousresearch/hermes-agentv2026.6.5 → v2026.6.19
image bump (the image these agents run).

What pay_mcp does

A paid MCP server answers a tool call with an in-band x402 402 (the
amount/asset/payTo travels in _meta). The plugin detects it, signs an
EIP-3009 exact USDC voucher through the pod's remote-signer (no key
in-process), retries with the voucher in _meta["x402/payment"], and returns
the paid result — so a 402 never surfaces to the agent. Settlement requires an
in-chat confirm by default; an opt-in unattended policy (per-call + session caps

• asset/recipient allowlists) lets autonomous turns settle.

How it integrates now

 obol stack up / agent reconcile
│ agent image (pinned, UPSTREAM): nousresearch/hermes-agent:v2026.6.19
│ env already on the agent: REMOTE_SIGNER_URL=http://remote-signer:9000
│
│ MASTER agent (internal/hermes) SELL sub-agent (serviceoffercontroller
│ syncObolPlugins → CopyPlugins + agentcrd) SeedHostPlugins → CopyPlugins
│ generateConfig: plugins.enabled renderHermesConfig: plugins.enabled
│ │ │ (signer only if wallet-bearing)
├─ CopySkills ──► /data/.hermes/obol-skills ✓ exists already
└─ CopyPlugins ──► /data/.hermes/plugins/pay_mcp/ ◀── NEW
│
agent boots → PluginManager scans ~/.hermes/plugins
│ pay_mcp is source=user → gated by plugins.enabled
│ config seeds plugins.enabled:[pay_mcp] → LOADS
│ register() sees REMOTE_SIGNER_URL → builds rails
│ stock image (no core seam) → recovery.install()
▼
every MCP tool call now auto-pays (confirm default; unattended opt-in)

The plugin stays inert unless a signer is configured, so seeding it
everywhere is safe; sell sub-agents only get REMOTE_SIGNER_URL when
wallet-bearing.

Two non-obvious things this had to get right

1. User-seeded plugins are opt-in.kind: backend only auto-loads when the
   plugin is bundled in the image; a plugin seeded into ~/.hermes/plugins/
   is source=user and must be named in plugins.enabled. So seeding the
   files isn't enough — the generated config also writes
   plugins.enabled: [pay_mcp] on both agent paths.
2. Relative imports. Hermes loads a user-dir plugin under the synthetic
   package name hermes_plugins.pay_mcp, and a stock image has no bundled
   plugins.pay_mcp to satisfy an absolute self-import. The plugin's
   intra-package imports were converted to relative (from . import x402) so it
   loads identically whether bundled or user-seeded. (Upstream fix:
   bussyjd/hermes-agent@feat/pay-mcp-plugin; locked by
   tests/plugins/test_pay_mcp_userdir_load.py.)

Changes

• internal/embed — CopyPlugins + GetEmbeddedPluginNames (mirror
  CopySkills); vendored plugin under internal/embed/plugins/pay_mcp/
  (VENDORED.md records provenance + the relative-import invariant).
• internal/hermes (master agent) — syncObolPlugins seeds
  $HERMES_HOME/plugins; generateConfig adds plugins.enabled: [pay_mcp].
• internal/serviceoffercontroller + internal/agentcrd (sell sub-agents) —
  renderHermesConfig enables pay_mcp; SeedHostPlugins seeds it on the host PVC.
• Image pin v2026.6.5 → v2026.6.19.

Test proofs

obol-stack (Go) — all green:

internal/embed TestCopyPlugins_SeedsPayMCP / _NoPycache /
_RelativeImportsOnly / _ManifestNamesPayMCP /
_PreservesUserPlugins ; TestGetEmbeddedPluginNames
internal/hermes TestSyncObolPlugins_SeedsPayMCP ;
TestGenerateConfig_EnablesPayMCPPlugin
internal/serviceoffercontroller TestRenderHermesConfig_EnablesPayMCPPlugin
internal/agentcrd TestSeedHostPlugins_SeedsAndPreserves ;
TestSeedHostFiles_FreshAgent (now asserts pay_mcp)

hermes-agent (Python) — inject-by-default integration, GREEN:
scripts/validate_pay_mcp_injection.py drives the realPluginManager
against an obol-seeded agent home (CopyPlugins layout + plugins.enabled) while
simulating a stock image (empty bundled dir + blocked core seam):

[found] source=user kind=backend enabled=True error=None
[wire] self-wired: ClientSession.call_tool wrapped, rails=['obol']
[PASS] obol-seeded layout -> PluginManager discovered + ENABLED + LOADED pay_mcp,
built rails, and self-wired ClientSession.call_tool on a stock image.

On-chain settlement (spark1, Base-Sepolia USDC) — 3 prior smokes GREEN:
crypto 0xba99dd88…, autonomous 0xb22f8d84…, self-wire 0xc5a8835f…
(each Bob→Alice 1000 atomic USDC, balances verified exact). The runtime
settlement is already proven on-chain; this PR adds the seeding + enablement.

Remaining

A live spark1 master-agent redeploy with the rebuilt obol binary is the one
optional end-to-end confirmation not run here; every code path is covered by the
Go tests + the real-PluginManager integration validation + the prior on-chain
smokes.

[OisinKyne]

Needs to be checked against the new MCP spec, and we need to come up with some candidate use cases before merging. I still don't think people will pay for MCP or tool calls versus just handing this complexity in their coding output. Would re-evaluate if i saw an example in the wild or was given a use case where its the obvious choice. https://blog.modelcontextprotocol.io/posts/2026-07-28-release-candidate/

[bussyjd]

Ship the pay_mcp hermes plugin by default

This makes obol-stack embed and seed the pay_mcp hermes plugin onto every
agent — the same way embedded skills are seeded — so an agent can settle paid
(x402) MCP tools out of the box, with no image rebuild and the user's profile
left untouched. obol pins the upstreamnousresearch/hermes-agent image and
doesn't build it, so the plugin can't ride in via the image; we vendor it into
the binary and drop it into the agent's user-plugins dir on stack-up / reconcile.

The branch also folds in the nousresearch/hermes-agentv2026.6.5 → v2026.6.19
image bump (the image these agents run).

What pay_mcp does

A paid MCP server answers a tool call with an in-band x402 402 (the
amount/asset/payTo travels in _meta). The plugin detects it, signs an
EIP-3009 exact USDC voucher through the pod's remote-signer (no key
in-process), retries with the voucher in _meta["x402/payment"], and returns
the paid result — so a 402 never surfaces to the agent. Settlement requires an
in-chat confirm by default; an opt-in unattended policy (per-call + session caps

• asset/recipient allowlists) lets autonomous turns settle.

How it integrates now

 obol stack up / agent reconcile
│ agent image (pinned, UPSTREAM): nousresearch/hermes-agent:v2026.6.19
│ env already on the agent: REMOTE_SIGNER_URL=http://remote-signer:9000
│
│ MASTER agent (internal/hermes) SELL sub-agent (serviceoffercontroller
│ syncObolPlugins → CopyPlugins + agentcrd) SeedHostPlugins → CopyPlugins
│ generateConfig: plugins.enabled renderHermesConfig: plugins.enabled
│ │ │ (signer only if wallet-bearing)
├─ CopySkills ──► /data/.hermes/obol-skills ✓ exists already
└─ CopyPlugins ──► /data/.hermes/plugins/pay_mcp/ ◀── NEW
│
agent boots → PluginManager scans ~/.hermes/plugins
│ pay_mcp is source=user → gated by plugins.enabled
│ config seeds plugins.enabled:[pay_mcp] → LOADS
│ register() sees REMOTE_SIGNER_URL → builds rails
│ stock image (no core seam) → recovery.install()
▼
every MCP tool call now auto-pays (confirm default; unattended opt-in)

The plugin stays inert unless a signer is configured, so seeding it
everywhere is safe; sell sub-agents only get REMOTE_SIGNER_URL when
wallet-bearing.

Two non-obvious things this had to get right

1. User-seeded plugins are opt-in.kind: backend only auto-loads when the
   plugin is bundled in the image; a plugin seeded into ~/.hermes/plugins/
   is source=user and must be named in plugins.enabled. So seeding the
   files isn't enough — the generated config also writes
   plugins.enabled: [pay_mcp] on both agent paths.
2. Relative imports. Hermes loads a user-dir plugin under the synthetic
   package name hermes_plugins.pay_mcp, and a stock image has no bundled
   plugins.pay_mcp to satisfy an absolute self-import. The plugin's
   intra-package imports were converted to relative (from . import x402) so it
   loads identically whether bundled or user-seeded. (Upstream fix:
   bussyjd/hermes-agent@feat/pay-mcp-plugin; locked by
   tests/plugins/test_pay_mcp_userdir_load.py.)

Changes

• internal/embed — CopyPlugins + GetEmbeddedPluginNames (mirror
  CopySkills); vendored plugin under internal/embed/plugins/pay_mcp/
  (VENDORED.md records provenance + the relative-import invariant).
• internal/hermes (master agent) — syncObolPlugins seeds
  $HERMES_HOME/plugins; generateConfig adds plugins.enabled: [pay_mcp].
• internal/serviceoffercontroller + internal/agentcrd (sell sub-agents) —
  renderHermesConfig enables pay_mcp; SeedHostPlugins seeds it on the host PVC.
• Image pin v2026.6.5 → v2026.6.19.

Test proofs

obol-stack (Go) — all green:

internal/embed TestCopyPlugins_SeedsPayMCP / _NoPycache /
_RelativeImportsOnly / _ManifestNamesPayMCP /
_PreservesUserPlugins ; TestGetEmbeddedPluginNames
internal/hermes TestSyncObolPlugins_SeedsPayMCP ;
TestGenerateConfig_EnablesPayMCPPlugin
internal/serviceoffercontroller TestRenderHermesConfig_EnablesPayMCPPlugin
internal/agentcrd TestSeedHostPlugins_SeedsAndPreserves ;
TestSeedHostFiles_FreshAgent (now asserts pay_mcp)

hermes-agent (Python) — inject-by-default integration, GREEN:
scripts/validate_pay_mcp_injection.py drives the realPluginManager
against an obol-seeded agent home (CopyPlugins layout + plugins.enabled) while
simulating a stock image (empty bundled dir + blocked core seam):

[found] source=user kind=backend enabled=True error=None
[wire] self-wired: ClientSession.call_tool wrapped, rails=['obol']
[PASS] obol-seeded layout -> PluginManager discovered + ENABLED + LOADED pay_mcp,
built rails, and self-wired ClientSession.call_tool on a stock image.

On-chain settlement (spark1, Base-Sepolia USDC) — 3 prior smokes GREEN:
crypto 0xba99dd88…, autonomous 0xb22f8d84…, self-wire 0xc5a8835f…
(each Bob→Alice 1000 atomic USDC, balances verified exact). The runtime
settlement is already proven on-chain; this PR adds the seeding + enablement.

Remaining

A live spark1 master-agent redeploy with the rebuilt obol binary is the one
optional end-to-end confirmation not run here; every code path is covered by the
Go tests + the real-PluginManager integration validation + the prior on-chain
smokes.

[OisinKyne]

Needs to be checked against the new MCP spec, and we need to come up with some candidate use cases before merging. I still don't think people will pay for MCP or tool calls versus just handing this complexity in their coding output. Would re-evaluate if i saw an example in the wild or was given a use case where its the obvious choice. https://blog.modelcontextprotocol.io/posts/2026-07-28-release-candidate/

[bussyjd]

Ship the pay_mcp hermes plugin by default

This makes obol-stack embed and seed the pay_mcp hermes plugin onto every
agent — the same way embedded skills are seeded — so an agent can settle paid
(x402) MCP tools out of the box, with no image rebuild and the user's profile
left untouched. obol pins the upstreamnousresearch/hermes-agent image and
doesn't build it, so the plugin can't ride in via the image; we vendor it into
the binary and drop it into the agent's user-plugins dir on stack-up / reconcile.

The branch also folds in the nousresearch/hermes-agentv2026.6.5 → v2026.6.19
image bump (the image these agents run).

What pay_mcp does

A paid MCP server answers a tool call with an in-band x402 402 (the
amount/asset/payTo travels in _meta). The plugin detects it, signs an
EIP-3009 exact USDC voucher through the pod's remote-signer (no key
in-process), retries with the voucher in _meta["x402/payment"], and returns
the paid result — so a 402 never surfaces to the agent. Settlement requires an
in-chat confirm by default; an opt-in unattended policy (per-call + session caps

• asset/recipient allowlists) lets autonomous turns settle.

How it integrates now

 obol stack up / agent reconcile
│ agent image (pinned, UPSTREAM): nousresearch/hermes-agent:v2026.6.19
│ env already on the agent: REMOTE_SIGNER_URL=http://remote-signer:9000
│
│ MASTER agent (internal/hermes) SELL sub-agent (serviceoffercontroller
│ syncObolPlugins → CopyPlugins + agentcrd) SeedHostPlugins → CopyPlugins
│ generateConfig: plugins.enabled renderHermesConfig: plugins.enabled
│ │ │ (signer only if wallet-bearing)
├─ CopySkills ──► /data/.hermes/obol-skills ✓ exists already
└─ CopyPlugins ──► /data/.hermes/plugins/pay_mcp/ ◀── NEW
│
agent boots → PluginManager scans ~/.hermes/plugins
│ pay_mcp is source=user → gated by plugins.enabled
│ config seeds plugins.enabled:[pay_mcp] → LOADS
│ register() sees REMOTE_SIGNER_URL → builds rails
│ stock image (no core seam) → recovery.install()
▼
every MCP tool call now auto-pays (confirm default; unattended opt-in)

The plugin stays inert unless a signer is configured, so seeding it
everywhere is safe; sell sub-agents only get REMOTE_SIGNER_URL when
wallet-bearing.

Two non-obvious things this had to get right

1. User-seeded plugins are opt-in.kind: backend only auto-loads when the
   plugin is bundled in the image; a plugin seeded into ~/.hermes/plugins/
   is source=user and must be named in plugins.enabled. So seeding the
   files isn't enough — the generated config also writes
   plugins.enabled: [pay_mcp] on both agent paths.
2. Relative imports. Hermes loads a user-dir plugin under the synthetic
   package name hermes_plugins.pay_mcp, and a stock image has no bundled
   plugins.pay_mcp to satisfy an absolute self-import. The plugin's
   intra-package imports were converted to relative (from . import x402) so it
   loads identically whether bundled or user-seeded. (Upstream fix:
   bussyjd/hermes-agent@feat/pay-mcp-plugin; locked by
   tests/plugins/test_pay_mcp_userdir_load.py.)

Changes

• internal/embed — CopyPlugins + GetEmbeddedPluginNames (mirror
  CopySkills); vendored plugin under internal/embed/plugins/pay_mcp/
  (VENDORED.md records provenance + the relative-import invariant).
• internal/hermes (master agent) — syncObolPlugins seeds
  $HERMES_HOME/plugins; generateConfig adds plugins.enabled: [pay_mcp].
• internal/serviceoffercontroller + internal/agentcrd (sell sub-agents) —
  renderHermesConfig enables pay_mcp; SeedHostPlugins seeds it on the host PVC.
• Image pin v2026.6.5 → v2026.6.19.

Test proofs

obol-stack (Go) — all green:

internal/embed TestCopyPlugins_SeedsPayMCP / _NoPycache /
_RelativeImportsOnly / _ManifestNamesPayMCP /
_PreservesUserPlugins ; TestGetEmbeddedPluginNames
internal/hermes TestSyncObolPlugins_SeedsPayMCP ;
TestGenerateConfig_EnablesPayMCPPlugin
internal/serviceoffercontroller TestRenderHermesConfig_EnablesPayMCPPlugin
internal/agentcrd TestSeedHostPlugins_SeedsAndPreserves ;
TestSeedHostFiles_FreshAgent (now asserts pay_mcp)

hermes-agent (Python) — inject-by-default integration, GREEN:
scripts/validate_pay_mcp_injection.py drives the realPluginManager
against an obol-seeded agent home (CopyPlugins layout + plugins.enabled) while
simulating a stock image (empty bundled dir + blocked core seam):

[found] source=user kind=backend enabled=True error=None
[wire] self-wired: ClientSession.call_tool wrapped, rails=['obol']
[PASS] obol-seeded layout -> PluginManager discovered + ENABLED + LOADED pay_mcp,
built rails, and self-wired ClientSession.call_tool on a stock image.

On-chain settlement (spark1, Base-Sepolia USDC) — 3 prior smokes GREEN:
crypto 0xba99dd88…, autonomous 0xb22f8d84…, self-wire 0xc5a8835f…
(each Bob→Alice 1000 atomic USDC, balances verified exact). The runtime
settlement is already proven on-chain; this PR adds the seeding + enablement.

Remaining

A live spark1 master-agent redeploy with the rebuilt obol binary is the one
optional end-to-end confirmation not run here; every code path is covered by the
Go tests + the real-PluginManager integration validation + the prior on-chain
smokes.

[OisinKyne]

Needs to be checked against the new MCP spec, and we need to come up with some candidate use cases before merging. I still don't think people will pay for MCP or tool calls versus just handing this complexity in their coding output. Would re-evaluate if i saw an example in the wild or was given a use case where its the obvious choice. https://blog.modelcontextprotocol.io/posts/2026-07-28-release-candidate/

[bussyjd]

Ship the pay_mcp hermes plugin by default

This makes obol-stack embed and seed the pay_mcp hermes plugin onto every
agent — the same way embedded skills are seeded — so an agent can settle paid
(x402) MCP tools out of the box, with no image rebuild and the user's profile
left untouched. obol pins the upstreamnousresearch/hermes-agent image and
doesn't build it, so the plugin can't ride in via the image; we vendor it into
the binary and drop it into the agent's user-plugins dir on stack-up / reconcile.

The branch also folds in the nousresearch/hermes-agentv2026.6.5 → v2026.6.19
image bump (the image these agents run).

What pay_mcp does

A paid MCP server answers a tool call with an in-band x402 402 (the
amount/asset/payTo travels in _meta). The plugin detects it, signs an
EIP-3009 exact USDC voucher through the pod's remote-signer (no key
in-process), retries with the voucher in _meta["x402/payment"], and returns
the paid result — so a 402 never surfaces to the agent. Settlement requires an
in-chat confirm by default; an opt-in unattended policy (per-call + session caps

• asset/recipient allowlists) lets autonomous turns settle.

How it integrates now

 obol stack up / agent reconcile
│ agent image (pinned, UPSTREAM): nousresearch/hermes-agent:v2026.6.19
│ env already on the agent: REMOTE_SIGNER_URL=http://remote-signer:9000
│
│ MASTER agent (internal/hermes) SELL sub-agent (serviceoffercontroller
│ syncObolPlugins → CopyPlugins + agentcrd) SeedHostPlugins → CopyPlugins
│ generateConfig: plugins.enabled renderHermesConfig: plugins.enabled
│ │ │ (signer only if wallet-bearing)
├─ CopySkills ──► /data/.hermes/obol-skills ✓ exists already
└─ CopyPlugins ──► /data/.hermes/plugins/pay_mcp/ ◀── NEW
│
agent boots → PluginManager scans ~/.hermes/plugins
│ pay_mcp is source=user → gated by plugins.enabled
│ config seeds plugins.enabled:[pay_mcp] → LOADS
│ register() sees REMOTE_SIGNER_URL → builds rails
│ stock image (no core seam) → recovery.install()
▼
every MCP tool call now auto-pays (confirm default; unattended opt-in)

The plugin stays inert unless a signer is configured, so seeding it
everywhere is safe; sell sub-agents only get REMOTE_SIGNER_URL when
wallet-bearing.

Two non-obvious things this had to get right

1. User-seeded plugins are opt-in.kind: backend only auto-loads when the
   plugin is bundled in the image; a plugin seeded into ~/.hermes/plugins/
   is source=user and must be named in plugins.enabled. So seeding the
   files isn't enough — the generated config also writes
   plugins.enabled: [pay_mcp] on both agent paths.
2. Relative imports. Hermes loads a user-dir plugin under the synthetic
   package name hermes_plugins.pay_mcp, and a stock image has no bundled
   plugins.pay_mcp to satisfy an absolute self-import. The plugin's
   intra-package imports were converted to relative (from . import x402) so it
   loads identically whether bundled or user-seeded. (Upstream fix:
   bussyjd/hermes-agent@feat/pay-mcp-plugin; locked by
   tests/plugins/test_pay_mcp_userdir_load.py.)

Changes

• internal/embed — CopyPlugins + GetEmbeddedPluginNames (mirror
  CopySkills); vendored plugin under internal/embed/plugins/pay_mcp/
  (VENDORED.md records provenance + the relative-import invariant).
• internal/hermes (master agent) — syncObolPlugins seeds
  $HERMES_HOME/plugins; generateConfig adds plugins.enabled: [pay_mcp].
• internal/serviceoffercontroller + internal/agentcrd (sell sub-agents) —
  renderHermesConfig enables pay_mcp; SeedHostPlugins seeds it on the host PVC.
• Image pin v2026.6.5 → v2026.6.19.

Test proofs

obol-stack (Go) — all green:

internal/embed TestCopyPlugins_SeedsPayMCP / _NoPycache /
_RelativeImportsOnly / _ManifestNamesPayMCP /
_PreservesUserPlugins ; TestGetEmbeddedPluginNames
internal/hermes TestSyncObolPlugins_SeedsPayMCP ;
TestGenerateConfig_EnablesPayMCPPlugin
internal/serviceoffercontroller TestRenderHermesConfig_EnablesPayMCPPlugin
internal/agentcrd TestSeedHostPlugins_SeedsAndPreserves ;
TestSeedHostFiles_FreshAgent (now asserts pay_mcp)

hermes-agent (Python) — inject-by-default integration, GREEN:
scripts/validate_pay_mcp_injection.py drives the realPluginManager
against an obol-seeded agent home (CopyPlugins layout + plugins.enabled) while
simulating a stock image (empty bundled dir + blocked core seam):

[found] source=user kind=backend enabled=True error=None
[wire] self-wired: ClientSession.call_tool wrapped, rails=['obol']
[PASS] obol-seeded layout -> PluginManager discovered + ENABLED + LOADED pay_mcp,
built rails, and self-wired ClientSession.call_tool on a stock image.

On-chain settlement (spark1, Base-Sepolia USDC) — 3 prior smokes GREEN:
crypto 0xba99dd88…, autonomous 0xb22f8d84…, self-wire 0xc5a8835f…
(each Bob→Alice 1000 atomic USDC, balances verified exact). The runtime
settlement is already proven on-chain; this PR adds the seeding + enablement.

Remaining

A live spark1 master-agent redeploy with the rebuilt obol binary is the one
optional end-to-end confirmation not run here; every code path is covered by the
Go tests + the real-PluginManager integration validation + the prior on-chain
smokes.

[OisinKyne]

Needs to be checked against the new MCP spec, and we need to come up with some candidate use cases before merging. I still don't think people will pay for MCP or tool calls versus just handing this complexity in their coding output. Would re-evaluate if i saw an example in the wild or was given a use case where its the obvious choice. https://blog.modelcontextprotocol.io/posts/2026-07-28-release-candidate/

[bussyjd]

Ship the pay_mcp hermes plugin by default

This makes obol-stack embed and seed the pay_mcp hermes plugin onto every
agent — the same way embedded skills are seeded — so an agent can settle paid
(x402) MCP tools out of the box, with no image rebuild and the user's profile
left untouched. obol pins the upstreamnousresearch/hermes-agent image and
doesn't build it, so the plugin can't ride in via the image; we vendor it into
the binary and drop it into the agent's user-plugins dir on stack-up / reconcile.

The branch also folds in the nousresearch/hermes-agentv2026.6.5 → v2026.6.19
image bump (the image these agents run).

What pay_mcp does

A paid MCP server answers a tool call with an in-band x402 402 (the
amount/asset/payTo travels in _meta). The plugin detects it, signs an
EIP-3009 exact USDC voucher through the pod's remote-signer (no key
in-process), retries with the voucher in _meta["x402/payment"], and returns
the paid result — so a 402 never surfaces to the agent. Settlement requires an
in-chat confirm by default; an opt-in unattended policy (per-call + session caps

• asset/recipient allowlists) lets autonomous turns settle.

How it integrates now

 obol stack up / agent reconcile
│ agent image (pinned, UPSTREAM): nousresearch/hermes-agent:v2026.6.19
│ env already on the agent: REMOTE_SIGNER_URL=http://remote-signer:9000
│
│ MASTER agent (internal/hermes) SELL sub-agent (serviceoffercontroller
│ syncObolPlugins → CopyPlugins + agentcrd) SeedHostPlugins → CopyPlugins
│ generateConfig: plugins.enabled renderHermesConfig: plugins.enabled
│ │ │ (signer only if wallet-bearing)
├─ CopySkills ──► /data/.hermes/obol-skills ✓ exists already
└─ CopyPlugins ──► /data/.hermes/plugins/pay_mcp/ ◀── NEW
│
agent boots → PluginManager scans ~/.hermes/plugins
│ pay_mcp is source=user → gated by plugins.enabled
│ config seeds plugins.enabled:[pay_mcp] → LOADS
│ register() sees REMOTE_SIGNER_URL → builds rails
│ stock image (no core seam) → recovery.install()
▼
every MCP tool call now auto-pays (confirm default; unattended opt-in)

The plugin stays inert unless a signer is configured, so seeding it
everywhere is safe; sell sub-agents only get REMOTE_SIGNER_URL when
wallet-bearing.

Two non-obvious things this had to get right

1. User-seeded plugins are opt-in.kind: backend only auto-loads when the
   plugin is bundled in the image; a plugin seeded into ~/.hermes/plugins/
   is source=user and must be named in plugins.enabled. So seeding the
   files isn't enough — the generated config also writes
   plugins.enabled: [pay_mcp] on both agent paths.
2. Relative imports. Hermes loads a user-dir plugin under the synthetic
   package name hermes_plugins.pay_mcp, and a stock image has no bundled
   plugins.pay_mcp to satisfy an absolute self-import. The plugin's
   intra-package imports were converted to relative (from . import x402) so it
   loads identically whether bundled or user-seeded. (Upstream fix:
   bussyjd/hermes-agent@feat/pay-mcp-plugin; locked by
   tests/plugins/test_pay_mcp_userdir_load.py.)

Changes

• internal/embed — CopyPlugins + GetEmbeddedPluginNames (mirror
  CopySkills); vendored plugin under internal/embed/plugins/pay_mcp/
  (VENDORED.md records provenance + the relative-import invariant).
• internal/hermes (master agent) — syncObolPlugins seeds
  $HERMES_HOME/plugins; generateConfig adds plugins.enabled: [pay_mcp].
• internal/serviceoffercontroller + internal/agentcrd (sell sub-agents) —
  renderHermesConfig enables pay_mcp; SeedHostPlugins seeds it on the host PVC.
• Image pin v2026.6.5 → v2026.6.19.

Test proofs

obol-stack (Go) — all green:

internal/embed TestCopyPlugins_SeedsPayMCP / _NoPycache /
_RelativeImportsOnly / _ManifestNamesPayMCP /
_PreservesUserPlugins ; TestGetEmbeddedPluginNames
internal/hermes TestSyncObolPlugins_SeedsPayMCP ;
TestGenerateConfig_EnablesPayMCPPlugin
internal/serviceoffercontroller TestRenderHermesConfig_EnablesPayMCPPlugin
internal/agentcrd TestSeedHostPlugins_SeedsAndPreserves ;
TestSeedHostFiles_FreshAgent (now asserts pay_mcp)

hermes-agent (Python) — inject-by-default integration, GREEN:
scripts/validate_pay_mcp_injection.py drives the realPluginManager
against an obol-seeded agent home (CopyPlugins layout + plugins.enabled) while
simulating a stock image (empty bundled dir + blocked core seam):

[found] source=user kind=backend enabled=True error=None
[wire] self-wired: ClientSession.call_tool wrapped, rails=['obol']
[PASS] obol-seeded layout -> PluginManager discovered + ENABLED + LOADED pay_mcp,
built rails, and self-wired ClientSession.call_tool on a stock image.

On-chain settlement (spark1, Base-Sepolia USDC) — 3 prior smokes GREEN:
crypto 0xba99dd88…, autonomous 0xb22f8d84…, self-wire 0xc5a8835f…
(each Bob→Alice 1000 atomic USDC, balances verified exact). The runtime
settlement is already proven on-chain; this PR adds the seeding + enablement.

Remaining

A live spark1 master-agent redeploy with the rebuilt obol binary is the one
optional end-to-end confirmation not run here; every code path is covered by the
Go tests + the real-PluginManager integration validation + the prior on-chain
smokes.

[OisinKyne]

Needs to be checked against the new MCP spec, and we need to come up with some candidate use cases before merging. I still don't think people will pay for MCP or tool calls versus just handing this complexity in their coding output. Would re-evaluate if i saw an example in the wild or was given a use case where its the obvious choice. https://blog.modelcontextprotocol.io/posts/2026-07-28-release-candidate/

[bussyjd]

Ship the pay_mcp hermes plugin by default

This makes obol-stack embed and seed the pay_mcp hermes plugin onto every
agent — the same way embedded skills are seeded — so an agent can settle paid
(x402) MCP tools out of the box, with no image rebuild and the user's profile
left untouched. obol pins the upstreamnousresearch/hermes-agent image and
doesn't build it, so the plugin can't ride in via the image; we vendor it into
the binary and drop it into the agent's user-plugins dir on stack-up / reconcile.

The branch also folds in the nousresearch/hermes-agentv2026.6.5 → v2026.6.19
image bump (the image these agents run).

What pay_mcp does

A paid MCP server answers a tool call with an in-band x402 402 (the
amount/asset/payTo travels in _meta). The plugin detects it, signs an
EIP-3009 exact USDC voucher through the pod's remote-signer (no key
in-process), retries with the voucher in _meta["x402/payment"], and returns
the paid result — so a 402 never surfaces to the agent. Settlement requires an
in-chat confirm by default; an opt-in unattended policy (per-call + session caps

• asset/recipient allowlists) lets autonomous turns settle.

How it integrates now

 obol stack up / agent reconcile
│ agent image (pinned, UPSTREAM): nousresearch/hermes-agent:v2026.6.19
│ env already on the agent: REMOTE_SIGNER_URL=http://remote-signer:9000
│
│ MASTER agent (internal/hermes) SELL sub-agent (serviceoffercontroller
│ syncObolPlugins → CopyPlugins + agentcrd) SeedHostPlugins → CopyPlugins
│ generateConfig: plugins.enabled renderHermesConfig: plugins.enabled
│ │ │ (signer only if wallet-bearing)
├─ CopySkills ──► /data/.hermes/obol-skills ✓ exists already
└─ CopyPlugins ──► /data/.hermes/plugins/pay_mcp/ ◀── NEW
│
agent boots → PluginManager scans ~/.hermes/plugins
│ pay_mcp is source=user → gated by plugins.enabled
│ config seeds plugins.enabled:[pay_mcp] → LOADS
│ register() sees REMOTE_SIGNER_URL → builds rails
│ stock image (no core seam) → recovery.install()
▼
every MCP tool call now auto-pays (confirm default; unattended opt-in)

The plugin stays inert unless a signer is configured, so seeding it
everywhere is safe; sell sub-agents only get REMOTE_SIGNER_URL when
wallet-bearing.

Two non-obvious things this had to get right

1. User-seeded plugins are opt-in.kind: backend only auto-loads when the
   plugin is bundled in the image; a plugin seeded into ~/.hermes/plugins/
   is source=user and must be named in plugins.enabled. So seeding the
   files isn't enough — the generated config also writes
   plugins.enabled: [pay_mcp] on both agent paths.
2. Relative imports. Hermes loads a user-dir plugin under the synthetic
   package name hermes_plugins.pay_mcp, and a stock image has no bundled
   plugins.pay_mcp to satisfy an absolute self-import. The plugin's
   intra-package imports were converted to relative (from . import x402) so it
   loads identically whether bundled or user-seeded. (Upstream fix:
   bussyjd/hermes-agent@feat/pay-mcp-plugin; locked by
   tests/plugins/test_pay_mcp_userdir_load.py.)

Changes

• internal/embed — CopyPlugins + GetEmbeddedPluginNames (mirror
  CopySkills); vendored plugin under internal/embed/plugins/pay_mcp/
  (VENDORED.md records provenance + the relative-import invariant).
• internal/hermes (master agent) — syncObolPlugins seeds
  $HERMES_HOME/plugins; generateConfig adds plugins.enabled: [pay_mcp].
• internal/serviceoffercontroller + internal/agentcrd (sell sub-agents) —
  renderHermesConfig enables pay_mcp; SeedHostPlugins seeds it on the host PVC.
• Image pin v2026.6.5 → v2026.6.19.

Test proofs

obol-stack (Go) — all green:

internal/embed TestCopyPlugins_SeedsPayMCP / _NoPycache /
_RelativeImportsOnly / _ManifestNamesPayMCP /
_PreservesUserPlugins ; TestGetEmbeddedPluginNames
internal/hermes TestSyncObolPlugins_SeedsPayMCP ;
TestGenerateConfig_EnablesPayMCPPlugin
internal/serviceoffercontroller TestRenderHermesConfig_EnablesPayMCPPlugin
internal/agentcrd TestSeedHostPlugins_SeedsAndPreserves ;
TestSeedHostFiles_FreshAgent (now asserts pay_mcp)

hermes-agent (Python) — inject-by-default integration, GREEN:
scripts/validate_pay_mcp_injection.py drives the realPluginManager
against an obol-seeded agent home (CopyPlugins layout + plugins.enabled) while
simulating a stock image (empty bundled dir + blocked core seam):

[found] source=user kind=backend enabled=True error=None
[wire] self-wired: ClientSession.call_tool wrapped, rails=['obol']
[PASS] obol-seeded layout -> PluginManager discovered + ENABLED + LOADED pay_mcp,
built rails, and self-wired ClientSession.call_tool on a stock image.

On-chain settlement (spark1, Base-Sepolia USDC) — 3 prior smokes GREEN:
crypto 0xba99dd88…, autonomous 0xb22f8d84…, self-wire 0xc5a8835f…
(each Bob→Alice 1000 atomic USDC, balances verified exact). The runtime
settlement is already proven on-chain; this PR adds the seeding + enablement.

Remaining

A live spark1 master-agent redeploy with the rebuilt obol binary is the one
optional end-to-end confirmation not run here; every code path is covered by the
Go tests + the real-PluginManager integration validation + the prior on-chain
smokes.

[OisinKyne]

Needs to be checked against the new MCP spec, and we need to come up with some candidate use cases before merging. I still don't think people will pay for MCP or tool calls versus just handing this complexity in their coding output. Would re-evaluate if i saw an example in the wild or was given a use case where its the obvious choice. https://blog.modelcontextprotocol.io/posts/2026-07-28-release-candidate/

[bussyjd]

Ship the pay_mcp hermes plugin by default

This makes obol-stack embed and seed the pay_mcp hermes plugin onto every
agent — the same way embedded skills are seeded — so an agent can settle paid
(x402) MCP tools out of the box, with no image rebuild and the user's profile
left untouched. obol pins the upstreamnousresearch/hermes-agent image and
doesn't build it, so the plugin can't ride in via the image; we vendor it into
the binary and drop it into the agent's user-plugins dir on stack-up / reconcile.

The branch also folds in the nousresearch/hermes-agentv2026.6.5 → v2026.6.19
image bump (the image these agents run).

What pay_mcp does

A paid MCP server answers a tool call with an in-band x402 402 (the
amount/asset/payTo travels in _meta). The plugin detects it, signs an
EIP-3009 exact USDC voucher through the pod's remote-signer (no key
in-process), retries with the voucher in _meta["x402/payment"], and returns
the paid result — so a 402 never surfaces to the agent. Settlement requires an
in-chat confirm by default; an opt-in unattended policy (per-call + session caps

• asset/recipient allowlists) lets autonomous turns settle.

How it integrates now

 obol stack up / agent reconcile
│ agent image (pinned, UPSTREAM): nousresearch/hermes-agent:v2026.6.19
│ env already on the agent: REMOTE_SIGNER_URL=http://remote-signer:9000
│
│ MASTER agent (internal/hermes) SELL sub-agent (serviceoffercontroller
│ syncObolPlugins → CopyPlugins + agentcrd) SeedHostPlugins → CopyPlugins
│ generateConfig: plugins.enabled renderHermesConfig: plugins.enabled
│ │ │ (signer only if wallet-bearing)
├─ CopySkills ──► /data/.hermes/obol-skills ✓ exists already
└─ CopyPlugins ──► /data/.hermes/plugins/pay_mcp/ ◀── NEW
│
agent boots → PluginManager scans ~/.hermes/plugins
│ pay_mcp is source=user → gated by plugins.enabled
│ config seeds plugins.enabled:[pay_mcp] → LOADS
│ register() sees REMOTE_SIGNER_URL → builds rails
│ stock image (no core seam) → recovery.install()
▼
every MCP tool call now auto-pays (confirm default; unattended opt-in)

The plugin stays inert unless a signer is configured, so seeding it
everywhere is safe; sell sub-agents only get REMOTE_SIGNER_URL when
wallet-bearing.

Two non-obvious things this had to get right

1. User-seeded plugins are opt-in.kind: backend only auto-loads when the
   plugin is bundled in the image; a plugin seeded into ~/.hermes/plugins/
   is source=user and must be named in plugins.enabled. So seeding the
   files isn't enough — the generated config also writes
   plugins.enabled: [pay_mcp] on both agent paths.
2. Relative imports. Hermes loads a user-dir plugin under the synthetic
   package name hermes_plugins.pay_mcp, and a stock image has no bundled
   plugins.pay_mcp to satisfy an absolute self-import. The plugin's
   intra-package imports were converted to relative (from . import x402) so it
   loads identically whether bundled or user-seeded. (Upstream fix:
   bussyjd/hermes-agent@feat/pay-mcp-plugin; locked by
   tests/plugins/test_pay_mcp_userdir_load.py.)

Changes

• internal/embed — CopyPlugins + GetEmbeddedPluginNames (mirror
  CopySkills); vendored plugin under internal/embed/plugins/pay_mcp/
  (VENDORED.md records provenance + the relative-import invariant).
• internal/hermes (master agent) — syncObolPlugins seeds
  $HERMES_HOME/plugins; generateConfig adds plugins.enabled: [pay_mcp].
• internal/serviceoffercontroller + internal/agentcrd (sell sub-agents) —
  renderHermesConfig enables pay_mcp; SeedHostPlugins seeds it on the host PVC.
• Image pin v2026.6.5 → v2026.6.19.

Test proofs

obol-stack (Go) — all green:

internal/embed TestCopyPlugins_SeedsPayMCP / _NoPycache /
_RelativeImportsOnly / _ManifestNamesPayMCP /
_PreservesUserPlugins ; TestGetEmbeddedPluginNames
internal/hermes TestSyncObolPlugins_SeedsPayMCP ;
TestGenerateConfig_EnablesPayMCPPlugin
internal/serviceoffercontroller TestRenderHermesConfig_EnablesPayMCPPlugin
internal/agentcrd TestSeedHostPlugins_SeedsAndPreserves ;
TestSeedHostFiles_FreshAgent (now asserts pay_mcp)

hermes-agent (Python) — inject-by-default integration, GREEN:
scripts/validate_pay_mcp_injection.py drives the realPluginManager
against an obol-seeded agent home (CopyPlugins layout + plugins.enabled) while
simulating a stock image (empty bundled dir + blocked core seam):

[found] source=user kind=backend enabled=True error=None
[wire] self-wired: ClientSession.call_tool wrapped, rails=['obol']
[PASS] obol-seeded layout -> PluginManager discovered + ENABLED + LOADED pay_mcp,
built rails, and self-wired ClientSession.call_tool on a stock image.

On-chain settlement (spark1, Base-Sepolia USDC) — 3 prior smokes GREEN:
crypto 0xba99dd88…, autonomous 0xb22f8d84…, self-wire 0xc5a8835f…
(each Bob→Alice 1000 atomic USDC, balances verified exact). The runtime
settlement is already proven on-chain; this PR adds the seeding + enablement.

Remaining

A live spark1 master-agent redeploy with the rebuilt obol binary is the one
optional end-to-end confirmation not run here; every code path is covered by the
Go tests + the real-PluginManager integration validation + the prior on-chain
smokes.

[OisinKyne]

Needs to be checked against the new MCP spec, and we need to come up with some candidate use cases before merging. I still don't think people will pay for MCP or tool calls versus just handing this complexity in their coding output. Would re-evaluate if i saw an example in the wild or was given a use case where its the obvious choice. https://blog.modelcontextprotocol.io/posts/2026-07-28-release-candidate/

[bussyjd]

Ship the pay_mcp hermes plugin by default

This makes obol-stack embed and seed the pay_mcp hermes plugin onto every
agent — the same way embedded skills are seeded — so an agent can settle paid
(x402) MCP tools out of the box, with no image rebuild and the user's profile
left untouched. obol pins the upstreamnousresearch/hermes-agent image and
doesn't build it, so the plugin can't ride in via the image; we vendor it into
the binary and drop it into the agent's user-plugins dir on stack-up / reconcile.

The branch also folds in the nousresearch/hermes-agentv2026.6.5 → v2026.6.19
image bump (the image these agents run).

What pay_mcp does

A paid MCP server answers a tool call with an in-band x402 402 (the
amount/asset/payTo travels in _meta). The plugin detects it, signs an
EIP-3009 exact USDC voucher through the pod's remote-signer (no key
in-process), retries with the voucher in _meta["x402/payment"], and returns
the paid result — so a 402 never surfaces to the agent. Settlement requires an
in-chat confirm by default; an opt-in unattended policy (per-call + session caps

• asset/recipient allowlists) lets autonomous turns settle.

How it integrates now

 obol stack up / agent reconcile
│ agent image (pinned, UPSTREAM): nousresearch/hermes-agent:v2026.6.19
│ env already on the agent: REMOTE_SIGNER_URL=http://remote-signer:9000
│
│ MASTER agent (internal/hermes) SELL sub-agent (serviceoffercontroller
│ syncObolPlugins → CopyPlugins + agentcrd) SeedHostPlugins → CopyPlugins
│ generateConfig: plugins.enabled renderHermesConfig: plugins.enabled
│ │ │ (signer only if wallet-bearing)
├─ CopySkills ──► /data/.hermes/obol-skills ✓ exists already
└─ CopyPlugins ──► /data/.hermes/plugins/pay_mcp/ ◀── NEW
│
agent boots → PluginManager scans ~/.hermes/plugins
│ pay_mcp is source=user → gated by plugins.enabled
│ config seeds plugins.enabled:[pay_mcp] → LOADS
│ register() sees REMOTE_SIGNER_URL → builds rails
│ stock image (no core seam) → recovery.install()
▼
every MCP tool call now auto-pays (confirm default; unattended opt-in)

The plugin stays inert unless a signer is configured, so seeding it
everywhere is safe; sell sub-agents only get REMOTE_SIGNER_URL when
wallet-bearing.

Two non-obvious things this had to get right

1. User-seeded plugins are opt-in.kind: backend only auto-loads when the
   plugin is bundled in the image; a plugin seeded into ~/.hermes/plugins/
   is source=user and must be named in plugins.enabled. So seeding the
   files isn't enough — the generated config also writes
   plugins.enabled: [pay_mcp] on both agent paths.
2. Relative imports. Hermes loads a user-dir plugin under the synthetic
   package name hermes_plugins.pay_mcp, and a stock image has no bundled
   plugins.pay_mcp to satisfy an absolute self-import. The plugin's
   intra-package imports were converted to relative (from . import x402) so it
   loads identically whether bundled or user-seeded. (Upstream fix:
   bussyjd/hermes-agent@feat/pay-mcp-plugin; locked by
   tests/plugins/test_pay_mcp_userdir_load.py.)

Changes

• internal/embed — CopyPlugins + GetEmbeddedPluginNames (mirror
  CopySkills); vendored plugin under internal/embed/plugins/pay_mcp/
  (VENDORED.md records provenance + the relative-import invariant).
• internal/hermes (master agent) — syncObolPlugins seeds
  $HERMES_HOME/plugins; generateConfig adds plugins.enabled: [pay_mcp].
• internal/serviceoffercontroller + internal/agentcrd (sell sub-agents) —
  renderHermesConfig enables pay_mcp; SeedHostPlugins seeds it on the host PVC.
• Image pin v2026.6.5 → v2026.6.19.

Test proofs

obol-stack (Go) — all green:

internal/embed TestCopyPlugins_SeedsPayMCP / _NoPycache /
_RelativeImportsOnly / _ManifestNamesPayMCP /
_PreservesUserPlugins ; TestGetEmbeddedPluginNames
internal/hermes TestSyncObolPlugins_SeedsPayMCP ;
TestGenerateConfig_EnablesPayMCPPlugin
internal/serviceoffercontroller TestRenderHermesConfig_EnablesPayMCPPlugin
internal/agentcrd TestSeedHostPlugins_SeedsAndPreserves ;
TestSeedHostFiles_FreshAgent (now asserts pay_mcp)

hermes-agent (Python) — inject-by-default integration, GREEN:
scripts/validate_pay_mcp_injection.py drives the realPluginManager
against an obol-seeded agent home (CopyPlugins layout + plugins.enabled) while
simulating a stock image (empty bundled dir + blocked core seam):

[found] source=user kind=backend enabled=True error=None
[wire] self-wired: ClientSession.call_tool wrapped, rails=['obol']
[PASS] obol-seeded layout -> PluginManager discovered + ENABLED + LOADED pay_mcp,
built rails, and self-wired ClientSession.call_tool on a stock image.

On-chain settlement (spark1, Base-Sepolia USDC) — 3 prior smokes GREEN:
crypto 0xba99dd88…, autonomous 0xb22f8d84…, self-wire 0xc5a8835f…
(each Bob→Alice 1000 atomic USDC, balances verified exact). The runtime
settlement is already proven on-chain; this PR adds the seeding + enablement.

Remaining

A live spark1 master-agent redeploy with the rebuilt obol binary is the one
optional end-to-end confirmation not run here; every code path is covered by the
Go tests + the real-PluginManager integration validation + the prior on-chain
smokes.

[OisinKyne]

Needs to be checked against the new MCP spec, and we need to come up with some candidate use cases before merging. I still don't think people will pay for MCP or tool calls versus just handing this complexity in their coding output. Would re-evaluate if i saw an example in the wild or was given a use case where its the obvious choice. https://blog.modelcontextprotocol.io/posts/2026-07-28-release-candidate/