Add option to ignore Agent updates

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -3,6 +3,10 @@
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Added
+
+- Add a Settings preference to ignore Hermes Agent update notices while keeping WebUI update checks, banners, and update actions enabled for the WebUI itself.
+
 ## [v0.51.124] — 2026-05-24 — Release CV (stage-batch6 — 3-PR Windows-only stack — agent paths / docs / port hardening)
 
 ### Added

api/config.py

@@ -4365,6 +4365,7 @@ def _get_session_agent_lock(session_id: str) -> threading.Lock:
     "show_previous_messaging_sessions": False,  # show older Telegram/Discord/etc. reset segments
     "sync_to_insights": False,  # mirror WebUI token usage to state.db for /insights
     "check_for_updates": True,  # check if webui/agent repos are behind upstream
+    "ignore_agent_updates": False,  # keep WebUI update notices but suppress Agent update checks
     "whats_new_summary_enabled": False,  # show an LLM-written What's New summary before diff links
     "theme": "dark",  # light | dark | system
     "skin": "default",  # accent color skin: default | ares | mono | slate | poseidon | sisyphus | charizard | sienna | catppuccin | nous
@@ -4524,6 +4525,7 @@ def load_settings() -> dict:
     "show_previous_messaging_sessions",
     "sync_to_insights",
     "check_for_updates",
+    "ignore_agent_updates",
     "whats_new_summary_enabled",
     "sound_enabled",
     "rtl",

api/routes.py

@@ -4260,6 +4260,7 @@ def handle_get(handler, parsed) -> bool:
         settings = load_settings()
         if not settings.get("check_for_updates", True):
             return j(handler, {"disabled": True})
+        include_agent_updates = not bool(settings.get("ignore_agent_updates"))
         qs = parse_qs(parsed.query)
         force = qs.get("force", ["0"])[0] == "1"
         # ?simulate=1 returns fake behind counts for UI testing (localhost only)
@@ -4281,7 +4282,8 @@ def handle_get(handler, parsed) -> bool:
                     },
                     "agent": {
                         "name": "agent",
-                        "behind": 1,
+                        "behind": 1 if include_agent_updates else 0,
+                        "ignored": not include_agent_updates,
                         "current_sha": "aaa0001",
                         "latest_sha": "bbb0002",
                         "branch": "master",
@@ -4293,7 +4295,7 @@ def handle_get(handler, parsed) -> bool:
             )
         from api.updates import check_for_updates
 
-        return j(handler, check_for_updates(force=force))
+        return j(handler, check_for_updates(force=force, include_agent=include_agent_updates))
 
     if parsed.path == "/api/chat/stream/status":
         stream_id = parse_qs(parsed.query).get("stream_id", [""])[0]

api/updates.py

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
 except ImportError:
     _AGENT_DIR = None
 
-_update_cache = {'webui': None, 'agent': None, 'checked_at': 0}
+_update_cache = {'webui': None, 'agent': None, 'checked_at': 0, 'include_agent': True}
 _SUMMARY_CACHE_MAX = 16
 _summary_cache: OrderedDict = OrderedDict()
 _cache_lock = threading.Lock()
@@ -521,11 +521,21 @@ def _check_repo(path, name):
     return _check_repo_branch(path, name, fetch=False)
 
 
-def check_for_updates(force=False):
+def _ignored_agent_update_info() -> dict:
+    """Return a stable update-check payload for intentionally ignored Agent updates."""
+    return {'name': 'agent', 'behind': 0, 'ignored': True}
+
+
+def check_for_updates(force=False, *, include_agent=True):
     """Return cached update status for webui and agent repos."""
     global _check_in_progress
+    include_agent = bool(include_agent)
     with _cache_lock:
-        if not force and time.time() - _update_cache['checked_at'] < CACHE_TTL:
+        if (
+            not force
+            and _update_cache.get('include_agent') == include_agent
+            and time.time() - _update_cache['checked_at'] < CACHE_TTL
+        ):
             return dict(_update_cache)
         if _check_in_progress:
             return dict(_update_cache)  # another thread is already checking
@@ -534,12 +544,13 @@ def check_for_updates(force=False):
     try:
         # Run checks outside the lock (network I/O)
         webui_info = _check_repo(REPO_ROOT, 'webui')
-        agent_info = _check_repo(_AGENT_DIR, 'agent')
+        agent_info = _check_repo(_AGENT_DIR, 'agent') if include_agent else _ignored_agent_update_info()
 
         with _cache_lock:
             _update_cache['webui'] = webui_info
             _update_cache['agent'] = agent_info
             _update_cache['checked_at'] = time.time()
+            _update_cache['include_agent'] = include_agent
             return dict(_update_cache)
     finally:
         _check_in_progress = False