Synapse Layer — Persistent Memory for Hermes

Credits: Rafa Martins ([email protected] | | ramelseg.com.br) Website: synapselayer.org | Forge: forge.synapselayer.org/forge | GitHub: github.com/SynapseLayer/synapse-layer

AES-256-GCM encrypted memory that persists across ALL Hermes channels. Context survives between sessions, Telegram/WhatsApp/CLI all share the same memory.

Setup

1. Add MCP Server to config.yaml

Add to ~/.hermes/config.yaml at the root level (same indentation as display:, mcp_servers:):

mcp_servers:
  synapse-layer:
    url: "https://forge.synapselayer.org/mcp"
    headers:
      Authorization: "Bearer ${SYNAPSE_TOKEN}"
    timeout: 120
    connect_timeout: 60

2. Add Token to .env

Add your Synapse Layer token to ~/.hermes/.env:

SYNAPSE_TOKEN=sk_connect_your_token_here

Get your token at: https://synapselayer.org/forge

3. Disable Tool Progress for Telegram (IMPORTANT)

The tool_progress feature shows tool names in Telegram when the model uses MCP tools. To prevent mcp_synapse_layer_search from appearing as a message in Telegram, add per-platform display config:

display:
  tool_progress_command: false
  tool_progress_overrides: {}
  tool_preview_length: 0
  tool_progress: all
  platforms:
    telegram:
      tool_progress: off

4. Restart Hermes

hermes restart

Available Tools

Critical Usage Patterns

AT THE START OF EVERY NEW CONVERSATION

Always call recall before generating any response. This is the #1 rule for memory to work:

mcp_synapse_layer_recall(query="contexto atual projetos usuario", agent_id="hermes-rafa")

This loads relevant memories automatically and saves tokens by avoiding reprocessing context.

AFTER ANY SIGNIFICANT DECISION OR FACT

mcp_synapse_layer_save_to_synapse(
    content="User Rafa Martins preference: always respond in pt-BR with voice Thalita",
    agent_id="hermes-rafa",
    type="[MANUAL]",
    importance=5,
    tags=["preference", "user-profile"]
)

WHEN USER REFERENCES SOMETHING FROM BEFORE

mcp_synapse_layer_search(query="dashboard git projetos", agent_id="hermes-rafa")

ON FREE-FORM TEXT (auto-detect what to save)

mcp_synapse_layer_process_text(
    text="We decided to use Synapse Layer for memory. API endpoint is forge.synapselayer.org. Token stored in .env.",
    agent_id="hermes-rafa"
)

Trust Quotient (TQ)

Results from recall include a tq score (0.0 to 1.0). When multiple results match:

• TQ > 0.8: High confidence — use directly
• TQ 0.5-0.8: Medium confidence — verify before relying
• TQ < 0.5: Low confidence — ignore or ask user

Memory Categories — What Hermes Must Always Remember

All project-related memories MUST be stored in Synapse Layer. Below is the canonical list of memory categories the agent must maintain:

1. USER PROFILE

• Full name, role, company (Rafa Martins — Analista de Tecnologia na Ramel Tecnologia)
• Communication style (pt-BR, feminine, cheerful, relaxed, cautious)
• Voice preference (Edge-TTS Thalita, pt-BR)
• Website: ramelseg.com.br
• Save when: User shares preferences, corrections, or personal details

2. USER PROJECTS (PRIORITY)

Every active project the user works on must be stored with:

• Project name and purpose
• Tech stack and key files
• Current status (active, paused, completed)
• Last interaction date
• Important decisions made
• Blockers or open questions
• Save when: Project mentioned, decision made, status changes

3. SERVER INFRASTRUCTURE

• Server name/hostname ($server)
• Running services and ports (Open WebUI:$port, Hermes API:$port, Voice Call:$port)
• API endpoints and access credentials
• Docker containers and their configs
• Save when: New service added, config changed, credentials updated

4. API CREDENTIALS & TOKENS

• Nous Portal token (expires ~15min, renew with hermes auth list)
• Synapse Layer token (sk-conxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)
• Naga.ac TTS API key
• Telegram bot token
• Aster MCP endpoint
• Save when: New credential added, token renewed, endpoint changed

5. MEL-IA CONFIGURATION

• Model in use (MiniMax-M2.7 via Nous Portal, renamed to "Mel-IA")
• API server port ($port)
• Open WebUI port (#port) with Docker (ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main)
• Voice: Edge-TTS Thalita
• Save when: Config changes, new model added, port changed

6. VOICE CALL SYSTEM

• Location: /root/.hermes/voice_call/
• Stack: Telethon + faster-whisper + Edge-TTS (Thalita) + aiohttp WebSocket HTTPS :8765
• Modes: --mode msg, --mode call
• Note: PyTgCalls only works for group voice chats, NOT private calls
• Save when: System modified, new mode added, dependency changed

7. ACTIVE SKILLS & TOOLS

• List of installed skills and their purposes
• How to invoke each skill
• Skill location (/root/.hermes/skills/)
• Save when: New skill installed, skill updated, skill removed

8. PENDING TASKS & FOLLOW-UPS

• Active TODOs and their status
• Blocked tasks and what's blocking them
• Scheduled jobs (cron)
• Save when: Task created, task completed, task blocked

9. DECISIONS & CONVENTIONS

• Architectural decisions (why a tool/approach was chosen)
• Coding conventions the user prefers
• Commands that should not be run without approval
• Save when: User makes a decision, user sets a convention

10. ERROR PATTERNS & FIXES

• Known bugs and their workarounds
• Common errors and solutions
• Save when: Bug encountered and resolved

Security

• AES-256-GCM encryption at rest
• 15+ PII patterns auto-redacted (emails, phones, API keys, IPs)
• Server never sees plaintext — encrypted at rest with per-operation random IV
• Differential privacy on embeddings

Safe to store: user preferences, project decisions, environment facts, code patterns, tool quirks.

Architecture

Synapse Layer pipeline on every save:

1. PII Redaction — removes emails, phones, API keys, IPs
2. Intent Validation — ensures content is appropriate
3. Deduplication — prevents storing duplicate memories
4. Differential Privacy — adds noise to embeddings
5. AES-256-GCM Encryption — encrypted at rest
6. Storage — distributed encrypted storage

Testing

# JSONRPC 2.0 format — list available tools
curl -X POST "https://forge.synapselayer.org/mcp" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${SYNAPSE_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list","params":{}}'

# Recall memories
curl -X POST "https://forge.synapselayer.org/mcp" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${SYNAPSE_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"recall","arguments":{"query":"your query","limit":3}}}'

Expected: Returns tools list with recall, save_to_synapse, search, process_text, health_check.

Known Issues

MCP Client Reconnect Loop

Symptom: Gateway logs show repeated Unknown SSE event: endpoint and GET stream disconnected, reconnecting in 1000ms every ~1 second.

Cause: Hermes uses an older MCP client library that doesn't handle the endpoint SSE event type that Synapse Layer's server sends during the MCP handshake.

Impact: MCP tools may not work reliably through the native MCP protocol. Direct REST API calls work perfectly.

Workaround: If MCP tools fail, fall back to direct REST API calls via curl (format below). This is what the model should do automatically when MCP recall fails.

Direct REST API (Fallback when MCP fails)

When MCP is unstable, call Synapse Layer tools via REST:

# JSONRPC 2.0 format required
curl -X POST "https://forge.synapselayer.org/mcp" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${SYNAPSE_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"recall","arguments":{"query":"your query","limit":3}}}'

Available methods: tools/call (for recall, save_to_synapse, search, process_text, health_check), tools/list

Dashboard

View and manage memories at: https://forge.synapselayer.org/forge

Created by: Rafa Martins (ramelseg.com.br | [email protected] | 5527999082624) Last integrated: 17/04/2026 on server rafa131 (Hermes with Nous Portal, Telegram bot: hermes-rafa_bot)