Restore visible WebUI progress contract

api/streaming.py

@@ -194,8 +194,12 @@ def _clarify_timeout_seconds(default: int = 120) -> int:
 
 _WEBUI_PROGRESS_PROMPT = """
 WebUI progress guidance:
-- Match the normal Hermes messaging style; do not add extra status updates solely because this is a browser session.
-- For long multi-step work that uses tools, you may provide brief user-visible progress updates before continuing with tool calls.
+- Match the normal Hermes messaging style, but do not let long tool-running WebUI turns appear silent.
+- For long multi-step work that uses tools, emit brief user-visible progress updates as normal assistant content, not only as hidden reasoning.
+- Before the first tool batch in a long task, say what you are about to inspect.
+- After each meaningful batch of tool calls, say what you just confirmed and what you will check next before continuing with more tools.
+- Do not run many independent tool batches back-to-back without visible assistant text between them when the task is still ongoing.
+- Do not keep progress only in reasoning, thinking, or tool-result channels; those are not a substitute for visible interim updates.
 - Each update should say what you are about to check, what you just confirmed, or why the next tool call is needed.
 - Keep updates concise, factual, and in the user's language. One or two short sentences are enough.
 - Do not reveal hidden reasoning, chain-of-thought, private scratchpads, secrets, raw logs, or long tool output.

tests/test_sprint42.py

@@ -396,7 +396,34 @@ def path(self):
         self.assertTrue(callable(init_kwargs["interim_assistant_callback"]))
         self.assertIn("WebUI progress guidance", captured["agent"].ephemeral_system_prompt)
         self.assertIn("Match the normal Hermes messaging style", captured["agent"].ephemeral_system_prompt)
-        self.assertIn("user-visible progress updates", captured["agent"].ephemeral_system_prompt)
+        self.assertIn(
+            "do not let long tool-running WebUI turns appear silent",
+            captured["agent"].ephemeral_system_prompt,
+        )
+        self.assertIn(
+            "emit brief user-visible progress updates as normal assistant content",
+            captured["agent"].ephemeral_system_prompt,
+        )
+        self.assertIn(
+            "Before the first tool batch in a long task, say what you are about to inspect",
+            captured["agent"].ephemeral_system_prompt,
+        )
+        self.assertIn(
+            "After each meaningful batch of tool calls, say what you just confirmed",
+            captured["agent"].ephemeral_system_prompt,
+        )
+        self.assertIn(
+            "Do not run many independent tool batches back-to-back without visible assistant text between them",
+            captured["agent"].ephemeral_system_prompt,
+        )
+        self.assertIn(
+            "Do not keep progress only in reasoning, thinking, or tool-result channels",
+            captured["agent"].ephemeral_system_prompt,
+        )
+        self.assertNotIn(
+            "you may provide brief user-visible progress updates",
+            captured["agent"].ephemeral_system_prompt,
+        )
 
         interim_events = []
         while not fake_queue.empty():