Skip to main content

Yuanbao

Connect Hermes to Yuanbao, Tencent's enterprise messaging platform. The adapter uses a WebSocket gateway for real-time message delivery and supports both direct (C2C) and group conversations.

info

Yuanbao is an enterprise messaging platform primarily used within Tencent and enterprise environments. It uses WebSocket for real-time communication, HMAC-based authentication, and supports rich media including images, files, and voice messages.

Prerequisites​

  • A Yuanbao account with bot creation permissions
  • Yuanbao APP_ID and APP_SECRET (from platform admin)
  • Python packages: websockets and httpx
  • For media support: aiofiles

Install the required dependencies:

pip install websockets httpx aiofiles

Setup​

1. Create a Bot in Yuanbao​

  1. Download the Yuanbao app from https://yuanbao.tencent.com/
  2. In the app, go to PAI → My Bot and create a new bot
  3. After the bot is created, copy the APP_ID and APP_SECRET

2. Run the Setup Wizard​

The easiest way to configure Yuanbao is through the interactive setup:

hermes gateway setup

Select Yuanbao when prompted. The wizard will:

  1. Ask for your APP_ID
  2. Ask for your APP_SECRET
  3. Save the configuration automatically
tip

The WebSocket URL and API Domain have sensible defaults built in. You only need to provide APP_ID and APP_SECRET to get started.

3. Configure Environment Variables​

After initial setup, verify these variables in ~/.hermes/.env:

# Required
YUANBAO_APP_ID=your-app-id
YUANBAO_APP_SECRET=your-app-secret
YUANBAO_WS_URL=wss://api.yuanbao.example.com/ws
YUANBAO_API_DOMAIN=https://api.yuanbao.example.com

# Optional: bot account ID (normally obtained automatically from sign-token)
# YUANBAO_BOT_ID=your-bot-id

# Optional: internal routing environment (e.g. test/staging/production)
# YUANBAO_ROUTE_ENV=production

# Optional: home channel for cron/notifications (format: direct:<account> or group:<group_code>)
YUANBAO_HOME_CHANNEL=direct:bot_account_id
YUANBAO_HOME_CHANNEL_NAME="Bot Notifications"

# Optional: restrict access (legacy, see Access Control below for fine-grained policies)
YUANBAO_ALLOWED_USERS=user_account_1,user_account_2

4. Start the Gateway​

hermes gateway

The adapter will connect to the Yuanbao WebSocket gateway, authenticate using HMAC signatures, and begin processing messages.

Features​

  • WebSocket gateway — real-time bidirectional communication
  • HMAC authentication — secure request signing with APP_ID/APP_SECRET
  • C2C messaging — direct user-to-bot conversations
  • Group messaging — conversations in group chats
  • Media support — images, files, and voice messages via COS (Cloud Object Storage)
  • Markdown formatting — messages are automatically chunked for Yuanbao's size limits
  • Message deduplication — prevents duplicate processing of the same message
  • Heartbeat/keep-alive — maintains WebSocket connection stability
  • Typing indicators — shows "typing…" status while the agent processes
  • Automatic reconnection — handles WebSocket disconnections with exponential backoff
  • Group information queries — retrieve group details and member lists
  • Sticker/Emoji support — send TIMFaceElem stickers and emoji in conversations
  • Auto-sethome — first user to message the bot is automatically set as the home channel owner
  • Slow-response notification — sends a waiting message when the agent takes longer than expected

Configuration Options​

Chat ID Formats​

Yuanbao uses prefixed identifiers depending on conversation type:

Chat TypeFormatExample
Direct message (C2C)direct:<account>direct:user123
Group messagegroup:<group_code>group:grp456

Media Uploads​

The Yuanbao adapter automatically handles media uploads via COS (Tencent Cloud Object Storage):

  • Images: Supports JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP
  • Files: Supports all common document types
  • Voice: Supports WAV, MP3, OGG

Media URLs are automatically validated and downloaded before upload to prevent SSRF attacks.

Home Channel​

Use the /sethome command in any Yuanbao chat (DM or group) to designate it as the home channel. Scheduled tasks (cron jobs) deliver their results to this channel.

Auto-sethome

If no home channel is configured, the first user to message the bot will be automatically set as the home channel owner. If the current home channel is a group chat, the first DM will upgrade it to a direct channel.

You can also set it manually in ~/.hermes/.env:

YUANBAO_HOME_CHANNEL=direct:user_account_id
# or for a group:
# YUANBAO_HOME_CHANNEL=group:group_code
YUANBAO_HOME_CHANNEL_NAME="My Bot Updates"

Example: Set Home Channel​

  1. Start a conversation with the bot in Yuanbao
  2. Send the command: /sethome
  3. The bot responds: "Home channel set to [chat_name] with ID [chat_id]. Cron jobs will deliver to this location."
  4. Future cron jobs and notifications will be sent to this channel

Example: Cron Job Delivery​

Create a cron job:

/cron "0 9 * * *" Check server status

The scheduled output will be delivered to your Yuanbao home channel every day at 9 AM.

Usage Tips​

Starting a Conversation​

Send any message to the bot in Yuanbao:

hello

The bot responds in the same conversation thread.

Available Commands​

All standard Hermes commands work on Yuanbao:

CommandDescription
/newStart a fresh conversation
/model [provider:model]Show or change the model
/sethomeSet this chat as the home channel
/statusShow session info
/helpShow available commands

Sending Files​

To send a file to the bot, simply attach it directly in the Yuanbao chat. The bot will automatically download and process the file attachment.

You can also include a message with the attachment:

Please analyze this document

Receiving Files​

When you ask the bot to create or export a file, it sends the file directly to your Yuanbao chat.

Troubleshooting​

Bot is online but not responding to messages​

Cause: Authentication failed during WebSocket handshake.

Fix:

  1. Verify APP_ID and APP_SECRET are correct
  2. Check that the WebSocket URL is accessible
  3. Ensure the bot account has proper permissions
  4. Review gateway logs: tail -f ~/.hermes/logs/gateway.log

"Connection refused" error​

Cause: WebSocket URL is unreachable or incorrect.

Fix:

  1. Verify the WebSocket URL format (should start with wss://)
  2. Check network connectivity to the Yuanbao API domain
  3. Confirm firewall allows WebSocket connections
  4. Test URL with: curl -I https://[YUANBAO_API_DOMAIN]

Media uploads fail​

Cause: COS credentials are invalid or media server is unreachable.

Fix:

  1. Verify API_DOMAIN is correct
  2. Check that media upload permissions are enabled for your bot
  3. Ensure the media file is accessible and not corrupted
  4. Check COS bucket configuration with platform admin

Messages not delivered to home channel​

Cause: Home channel ID format is incorrect or cron job hasn't triggered.

Fix:

  1. Verify YUANBAO_HOME_CHANNEL is in correct format
  2. Test with /sethome command to auto-detect correct format
  3. Check cron job schedule with /status
  4. Verify bot has send permissions in the target chat

Frequent disconnections​

Cause: WebSocket connection is unstable or network is unreliable.

Fix:

  1. Check gateway logs for error patterns
  2. Increase heartbeat timeout in connection settings
  3. Ensure stable network connection to Yuanbao API
  4. Consider enabling verbose logging: HERMES_LOG_LEVEL=debug

Access Control​

Yuanbao supports fine-grained access control for both DM and group conversations:

# DM policy: open (default) | allowlist | disabled
YUANBAO_DM_POLICY=open
# Comma-separated user IDs allowed to DM the bot (only used when DM_POLICY=allowlist)
YUANBAO_DM_ALLOW_FROM=user_id_1,user_id_2

# Group policy: open (default) | allowlist | disabled
YUANBAO_GROUP_POLICY=open
# Comma-separated group codes allowed (only used when GROUP_POLICY=allowlist)
YUANBAO_GROUP_ALLOW_FROM=group_code_1,group_code_2

These can also be set in config.yaml:

platforms:
  yuanbao:
    extra:
      dm_policy: allowlist
      dm_allow_from: "user1,user2"
      group_policy: open
      group_allow_from: ""

Advanced Configuration​

Message Chunking​

Yuanbao has a maximum message size. Hermes automatically chunks large responses with Markdown-aware splitting (respects code fences, tables, and paragraph boundaries).

Connection Parameters​

The following connection parameters are built into the adapter with sensible defaults:

ParameterDefault ValueDescription
WebSocket connect timeout15 secondsTime to wait for WS handshake
Heartbeat interval30 secondsPing frequency to keep connection alive
Max reconnect attempts100Maximum number of reconnection tries
Reconnect backoff1s → 60s (exponential)Wait time between reconnect attempts
Reply heartbeat interval2 secondsRUNNING status send frequency
Send timeout30 secondsTimeout for outbound WS messages
note

These values are currently not configurable via environment variables. They are optimized for typical Yuanbao deployments.

Verbose Logging​

Enable debug logging to troubleshoot connection issues:

HERMES_LOG_LEVEL=debug hermes gateway

Integration with Other Features​

Cron Jobs​

Schedule tasks that run on Yuanbao:

/cron "0 */4 * * *" Report system health

Results are delivered to your home channel.

Background Tasks​

Run long operations without blocking the conversation:

/background Analyze all files in the archive

Cross-Platform Messages​

Send a message from CLI to Yuanbao:

hermes chat -q "Send 'Hello from CLI' to yuanbao:group:group_code"