refactor(honcho): remove local memory mode

The "local" memoryMode was redundant with enabled: false. Simplifies
the mode system to hybrid and honcho only.

gateway/run.py

@@ -287,9 +287,7 @@ class GatewayRunner:
             from honcho_integration.session import HonchoSessionManager
 
             hcfg = HonchoClientConfig.from_global_config()
-            ai_mode = hcfg.peer_memory_mode(hcfg.ai_peer)
+            if not hcfg.enabled or not hcfg.api_key:
-            user_mode = hcfg.peer_memory_mode(hcfg.peer_name or "user")
-            if not hcfg.enabled or not hcfg.api_key or (ai_mode == "local" and user_mode == "local"):
                 return None, hcfg
 
             client = get_honcho_client(hcfg)

honcho_integration/cli.py

@@ -131,9 +131,8 @@ def cmd_setup(args) -> None:
     print(f"\n  Memory mode options:")
     print("    hybrid  — write to both Honcho and local MEMORY.md (default)")
     print("    honcho  — Honcho only, skip MEMORY.md writes")
-    print("    local   — MEMORY.md only, Honcho disabled")
     new_mode = _prompt("Memory mode", default=current_mode)
-    if new_mode in ("hybrid", "honcho", "local"):
+    if new_mode in ("hybrid", "honcho"):
         hermes_host["memoryMode"] = new_mode
     else:
         hermes_host["memoryMode"] = "hybrid"
@@ -369,7 +368,6 @@ def cmd_mode(args) -> None:
     MODES = {
         "hybrid": "write to both Honcho and local MEMORY.md (default)",
         "honcho": "Honcho only — MEMORY.md writes disabled",
-        "local":  "MEMORY.md only — Honcho disabled",
     }
     cfg = _read_config()
     mode_arg = getattr(args, "mode", None)
@@ -384,7 +382,7 @@ def cmd_mode(args) -> None:
         for m, desc in MODES.items():
             marker = " ←" if m == current else ""
             print(f"  {m:<8}  {desc}{marker}")
-        print(f"\n  Set with: hermes honcho mode [hybrid|honcho|local]\n")
+        print(f"\n  Set with: hermes honcho mode [hybrid|honcho]\n")
         return
 
     if mode_arg not in MODES:

honcho_integration/client.py

@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ class HonchoClientConfig:
     # Toggles
     enabled: bool = False
     save_messages: bool = True
-    # memoryMode: default for all peers. "hybrid" / "honcho" / "local"
+    # memoryMode: default for all peers. "hybrid" / "honcho"
     memory_mode: str = "hybrid"
     # Per-peer overrides — any named Honcho peer. Override memory_mode when set.
     # Config object form: "memoryMode": { "default": "hybrid", "hermes": "honcho" }

run_agent.py

@@ -607,7 +607,7 @@ class AIAgent:
                         elif not hcfg.api_key:
                             logger.debug("Honcho enabled but no API key configured")
                         else:
-                            logger.debug("Honcho local-only mode active; remote Honcho init skipped")
+                            logger.debug("Honcho enabled but missing API key or disabled in config")
             except Exception as e:
                 logger.warning("Honcho init failed — memory disabled: %s", e)
                 print(f"  Honcho init failed: {e}")
@@ -621,7 +621,7 @@ class AIAgent:
 
         # Gate local memory writes based on per-peer memory modes.
         # AI peer governs MEMORY.md; user peer governs USER.md.
-        # "honcho" = Honcho only, disable local; "local" = local only, no Honcho sync.
+        # "honcho" = Honcho only, disable local writes.
         if self._honcho_config and self._honcho:
             _hcfg = self._honcho_config
             _agent_mode = _hcfg.peer_memory_mode(_hcfg.ai_peer)
@@ -1349,10 +1349,7 @@ class AIAgent:
         """Return True when remote Honcho should be active."""
         if not hcfg or not hcfg.enabled or not hcfg.api_key:
             return False
-        return not all(
+        return True
-            hcfg.peer_memory_mode(peer) == "local"
-            for peer in (hcfg.ai_peer, hcfg.peer_name or "user")
-        )
 
     def _strip_honcho_tools_from_surface(self) -> None:
         """Remove Honcho tools from the active tool surface."""
@@ -1551,13 +1548,6 @@ class AIAgent:
         """Sync the user/assistant message pair to Honcho."""
         if not self._honcho or not self._honcho_session_key:
             return
-        # Skip Honcho sync only if BOTH peer modes are local
-        _cfg = self._honcho_config
-        if _cfg and all(
-            _cfg.peer_memory_mode(p) == "local"
-            for p in (_cfg.ai_peer, _cfg.peer_name or "user")
-        ):
-            return
         try:
             session = self._honcho.get_or_create(self._honcho_session_key)
             session.add_message("user", user_content)
@@ -1656,7 +1646,7 @@ class AIAgent:
             honcho_block += (
                 "Management commands (refer users here instead of explaining manually):\n"
                 "  hermes honcho status                    — show full config + connection\n"
-                "  hermes honcho mode [hybrid|honcho|local] — show or set memory mode\n"
+                "  hermes honcho mode [hybrid|honcho]       — show or set memory mode\n"
                 "  hermes honcho tokens [--context N] [--dialectic N] — show or set token budgets\n"
                 "  hermes honcho peer [--user NAME] [--ai NAME] [--reasoning LEVEL]\n"
                 "  hermes honcho sessions                  — list directory→session mappings\n"

tests/gateway/test_honcho_lifecycle.py

@@ -64,14 +64,13 @@ class TestGatewayHonchoLifecycle:
         assert second_cfg is hcfg
         mock_mgr_cls.assert_called_once()
 
-    def test_gateway_skips_honcho_manager_in_local_mode(self):
+    def test_gateway_skips_honcho_manager_when_disabled(self):
         runner = _make_runner()
         hcfg = SimpleNamespace(
-            enabled=True,
+            enabled=False,
             api_key="honcho-key",
             ai_peer="hermes",
             peer_name="alice",
-            peer_memory_mode=lambda peer: "local",
         )
 
         with (

tests/honcho_integration/test_async_memory.py

@@ -123,12 +123,6 @@ class TestMemoryModeParsing:
         cfg = HonchoClientConfig.from_global_config(config_path=cfg_file)
         assert cfg.memory_mode == "honcho"
 
-    def test_local_only(self, tmp_path):
-        cfg_file = tmp_path / "config.json"
-        cfg_file.write_text(json.dumps({"apiKey": "k", "memoryMode": "local"}))
-        cfg = HonchoClientConfig.from_global_config(config_path=cfg_file)
-        assert cfg.memory_mode == "local"
-
     def test_defaults_to_hybrid(self, tmp_path):
         cfg_file = tmp_path / "config.json"
         cfg_file.write_text(json.dumps({"apiKey": "k"}))
@@ -152,13 +146,11 @@ class TestMemoryModeParsing:
             "hosts": {"hermes": {"memoryMode": {
                 "default": "hybrid",
                 "hermes": "honcho",
-                "sentinel": "local",
             }}},
         }))
         cfg = HonchoClientConfig.from_global_config(config_path=cfg_file)
         assert cfg.memory_mode == "hybrid"
         assert cfg.peer_memory_mode("hermes") == "honcho"
-        assert cfg.peer_memory_mode("sentinel") == "local"
         assert cfg.peer_memory_mode("unknown") == "hybrid"  # falls through to default
 
     def test_object_form_no_default_falls_back_to_hybrid(self, tmp_path):
@@ -177,11 +169,11 @@ class TestMemoryModeParsing:
         cfg_file = tmp_path / "config.json"
         cfg_file.write_text(json.dumps({
             "apiKey": "k",
-            "memoryMode": "local",
+            "memoryMode": "honcho",
             "hosts": {"hermes": {"memoryMode": {"default": "hybrid", "hermes": "honcho"}}},
         }))
         cfg = HonchoClientConfig.from_global_config(config_path=cfg_file)
-        assert cfg.memory_mode == "hybrid"  # host default wins over global "local"
+        assert cfg.memory_mode == "hybrid"  # host default wins over global "honcho"
         assert cfg.peer_memory_mode("hermes") == "honcho"
 
 
@@ -544,8 +536,8 @@ class TestNewConfigFieldDefaults:
         assert cfg.peer_memory_mode("any-peer") == "honcho"
 
     def test_peer_memory_mode_override(self):
-        cfg = HonchoClientConfig(memory_mode="hybrid", peer_memory_modes={"hermes": "local"})
+        cfg = HonchoClientConfig(memory_mode="hybrid", peer_memory_modes={"hermes": "honcho"})
-        assert cfg.peer_memory_mode("hermes") == "local"
+        assert cfg.peer_memory_mode("hermes") == "honcho"
         assert cfg.peer_memory_mode("other") == "hybrid"
 
 

tests/test_run_agent.py

@@ -1210,11 +1210,10 @@ class TestSystemPromptStability:
 
 
 class TestHonchoActivation:
-    def test_local_mode_skips_honcho_init(self):
+    def test_disabled_config_skips_honcho_init(self):
         hcfg = HonchoClientConfig(
-            enabled=True,
+            enabled=False,
             api_key="honcho-key",
-            memory_mode="local",
             peer_name="user",
             ai_peer="hermes",
         )
@@ -1327,9 +1326,8 @@ class TestHonchoActivation:
 
     def test_inactive_honcho_strips_stale_honcho_tools(self):
         hcfg = HonchoClientConfig(
-            enabled=True,
+            enabled=False,
             api_key="honcho-key",
-            memory_mode="local",
             peer_name="user",
             ai_peer="hermes",
         )

website/docs/user-guide/features/honcho.md

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ Hermes has two memory systems that can work together or be configured separately
 | Content | Manually curated by the agent | Automatically learned from conversations |
 | Write surface | `memory` tool (add/replace/remove) | `honcho_conclude` tool (persist facts) |
 
-Set `memoryMode` to `honcho` to use Honcho exclusively, or `local` to disable Honcho and use only local files. See [Memory Modes](#memory-modes) for per-peer configuration.
+Set `memoryMode` to `honcho` to use Honcho exclusively. See [Memory Modes](#memory-modes) for per-peer configuration.
 
 
 ## Setup
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ Settings are scoped to `hosts.hermes` and fall back to root-level globals when t
 | `environment` | `"production"` | Honcho environment |
 | `enabled` | *(auto)* | Auto-enables when API key is present |
 | `saveMessages` | `true` | Whether to sync messages to Honcho |
-| `memoryMode` | `"hybrid"` | Memory mode: `hybrid`, `honcho`, or `local` |
+| `memoryMode` | `"hybrid"` | Memory mode: `hybrid` or `honcho` |
 | `writeFrequency` | `"async"` | When to write: `async`, `turn`, `session`, or integer N |
 | `recallMode` | `"hybrid"` | Retrieval strategy: `hybrid`, `context`, or `tools` |
 | `sessionStrategy` | `"per-session"` | How sessions are scoped |
@@ -122,7 +122,6 @@ All host-level fields fall back to the equivalent root-level key if not set unde
 |------|--------|
 | `hybrid` | Write to both Honcho and local files (default) |
 | `honcho` | Honcho only — skip local file writes |
-| `local` | Local files only — skip all Honcho activity |
 
 Memory mode can be set globally or per-peer (user, agent1, agent2, etc):
 
@@ -130,13 +129,12 @@ Memory mode can be set globally or per-peer (user, agent1, agent2, etc):
 {
   "memoryMode": {
     "default": "hybrid",
-    "hermes": "honcho",
+    "hermes": "honcho"
-    "user": "local"
   }
 }
 ```
 
-When both active peers resolve to `local`, Hermes skips all remote Honcho activity entirely — no client initialization, no session creation, no prefetch.
+To disable Honcho entirely, set `enabled: false` or remove the API key.
 
 ### Recall Modes
 
@@ -300,7 +298,7 @@ hermes honcho peer --user NAME             # Set user peer name
 hermes honcho peer --ai NAME               # Set AI peer name
 hermes honcho peer --reasoning LEVEL       # Set dialectic reasoning level
 hermes honcho mode                         # Show current memory mode
-hermes honcho mode [hybrid|honcho|local]   # Set memory mode
+hermes honcho mode [hybrid|honcho]         # Set memory mode
 hermes honcho tokens                       # Show token budget settings
 hermes honcho tokens --context N           # Set context token cap
 hermes honcho tokens --dialectic N         # Set dialectic char cap