soul-md-audit

Score SOUL.md persona files against Hermes loading mechanics and attention research.

4|Updated Jun 17, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/exiao/meta-skills --skill soul-md-audit-exiao
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: soul-md-audit
Source: https://github.com/exiao/meta-skills/tree/main/soul-md-audit
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/exiao/meta-skills --skill soul-md-audit-exiao

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

💡 This Skill includes references (resource) components.

What problem does it solve? A SOUL.md or system-prompt persona file can read well to a human yet fail in practice: hard rules stranded in the truncated middle, the same instruction restated five ways, or aspirational directives the model cannot enforce. This Skill audits persona files against how the Hermes runtime actually loads them and how models attend to long prompts, producing a scored report with concrete fixes. ## Core Features & Use Cases - 9-point binary checklist: Scores Hermes mechanics (scope, truncation safety, injection-scan cleanliness), voice quality, attention hygiene (front-loading, redundancy, enforceability), and readability. - Runtime-grounded mechanics checks: Verifies behavior against Hermes facts such as the 20,000-character head/tail truncation, HERMES_HOME-only loading, and the prompt-injection scanner that silently blocks tripped files. - Simplify pass: Rewrites bloated files through a constraint-preserving workflow that inventories every hard rule first and verifies none are dropped. - Use Case: A user shares a 25KB operator persona that "stopped working." The audit reveals the identity sits in the truncated middle and a phrase trips the injection scanner, then produces a prioritized fix list and a rewrite target from the template reference. ## Quick Start Audit my SOUL.md persona file and give me a scorecard with specific fixes.

Frequently Asked Questions about soul-md-audit

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I audit a SOUL.md persona file?▼

Run the audit on the file to score it against a 9-item checklist covering Hermes loading mechanics, voice quality, attention hygiene, and readability. The output is a scorecard listing passing items, warnings, failures, and fixes in priority order.

What is the difference between a SOUL.md audit and a skill audit?▼

SOUL.md audits target identity, voice, and operator-behavior files loaded into the agent's identity slot, checking truncation and injection-scan mechanics. Skill audits score agent skills against a separate checklist of gotchas, so use skill-audit for skills instead.

Why did my SOUL.md edits stop taking effect in Hermes?▼

Hermes loads SOUL.md only from HERMES_HOME (~/.hermes/SOUL.md), never from the working directory, so a repo-local copy does nothing. A file that trips the injection scanner is also blocked entirely, silently reverting to the default identity.

What happens when a SOUL.md exceeds the character limit?▼

Files over context_file_max_chars (default 20,000) are truncated to 70% head and 20% tail, with the middle replaced by a marker. Identity and hard constraints placed in the middle are the first content dropped from the prompt.

Can the audit rewrite an overly long persona file?▼

Yes, the Simplify pass tightens prose while preserving every constraint. It inventories all hard rules first, rewrites without reordering or softening them, then verifies the constraint list matches before showing a diff for approval.