diff --git a/commands/hey.md b/commands/hey.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c07b8dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/commands/hey.md
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+---
+description: " "
+argument-hint: "ping | chirp | knock | coin | chime | yourturn  [times]  [idle-seconds]  |  off"
+allowed-tools: Bash(hey:*), Bash(hey), Bash(hey off)
+---
+Activate **hey** for THIS session only — a short **sound** plays when I hand back to you
+(finish a reply, or hit a permission prompt), but **only if you've been idle longer than
+the threshold**. Fast back-and-forth stays silent; you're beeped only when you've likely
+stepped away. It plays on the machine where you sit (local, or forwarded if I'm driven
+over SSH). Nothing listens, ever. Most alerts are plain sounds; `yourturn` is a
+short pre-rendered voice clip.
+
+Requested: `$ARGUMENTS`
+
+## If `$ARGUMENTS` is empty
+Do NOT pick a sound. Show the options and ask which they want — nothing else.
+
+| Sound | Character |
+|-------|-----------|
+| ping  | one clean bright blip |
+| chirp | two-note rising pip |
+| knock | two soft low thumps |
+| coin  | jaunty pickup blip |
+| chime | Nina's sparkle arpeggio (the speech cue) |
+| yourturn | a voice saying "your turn" — cuts through ambient audio |
+
+Call format: `/hey <sound> [times] [idle-seconds]`. Defaults: times=1, idle-threshold=45s.
+
+## If `$ARGUMENTS` is `off` / `stop`
+Run `hey off`, confirm once. Nothing else.
+
+## Otherwise — a sound, optionally times and threshold
+Run `hey $ARGUMENTS` (e.g. `hey knock 2 45`). It previews the sound once and activates.
+Confirm in one line: which sound, how many plays, and the idle threshold. Nothing more —
+no meta narration on later turns.
+
+## Notes
+- Uniform rule, no model judgement: any hand-back beeps iff `now − last_prompt ≥ threshold`.
+- Standalone tool at `~/42labs/john-w-bsmt/hey` (repo `4242labs/hey`); sounds in `~/42labs/john-w-bsmt/hey/assets/`.
+- Independent of `/nina` voice — you can run either or both.
diff --git a/config.sh b/config.sh
index 146ded9..b38039e 100644
--- a/config.sh
+++ b/config.sh
@@ -12,16 +12,16 @@ mkdir -p "$HEY_CACHE" 2>/dev/null
 HEY_SWITCH="${HEY_SWITCH:-$HOME/.config/agent-signal/on}"
 # Per-session token so concurrent agents isolate their markers + playback and
 # never kill each other. Falls back to PID outside Claude Code.
-HEY_SESSION="${HEY_SESSION:-${CLAUDE_CODE_SESSION_ID:-$$}}"
+HEY_SESSION="${HEY_SESSION:-${HERMES_SESSION_ID:-${CLAUDE_CODE_SESSION_ID:-$$}}}"
 HEY_OUT="$HEY_CACHE/$HEY_SESSION"                       # markers: $HEY_OUT.hey / .turn
 
 # --- sounds -------------------------------------------------------------------
 HEY_DIR="${HEY_DIR:-$HEY_HOME/assets}"   # where the sounds live
 HEY_THRESHOLD="${HEY_THRESHOLD:-45}"     # default idle seconds before a beep fires
 HEY_TIMES="${HEY_TIMES:-1}"              # default number of plays per alert
-HEY_DEFAULT_SOUND="${HEY_DEFAULT_SOUND:-ping}"      # the system-wide default: "beep" x2 after 20s idle
+HEY_DEFAULT_SOUND="${HEY_DEFAULT_SOUND:-chime}"     # the system-wide default: chime x2 after 5s idle
 HEY_DEFAULT_TIMES="${HEY_DEFAULT_TIMES:-2}"
-HEY_DEFAULT_THRESHOLD="${HEY_DEFAULT_THRESHOLD:-20}"
+HEY_DEFAULT_THRESHOLD="${HEY_DEFAULT_THRESHOLD:-5}"
 HEY_GAP="${HEY_GAP:-0.25}"               # seconds between repeated plays
 # One row per sound: "name|file". Names match case-insensitively.
 # A spoken alert is just another row — the player does not care whether the
diff --git a/hermes/hey/SKILL.md b/hermes/hey/SKILL.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b75b45d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hermes/hey/SKILL.md
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+---
+name: hey
+description: Beep when the agent hands back after you have been idle (/hey <sound> [times] [idle-s] | off).
+---
+Activate **hey** for THIS session only — a short **sound** plays when I hand back to you
+(finish a reply), but **only if you've been idle longer than
+the threshold**. Fast back-and-forth stays silent; you're beeped only when you've likely
+stepped away. It plays on the machine where you sit (local, or forwarded if I'm driven
+over SSH). Nothing listens, ever. Most alerts are plain sounds; `yourturn` is a
+short pre-rendered voice clip.
+
+Requested: the user instruction
+
+## If the user instruction is empty
+Do NOT pick a sound. Show the options and ask which they want — nothing else.
+
+| Sound | Character |
+|-------|-----------|
+| ping  | one clean bright blip |
+| chirp | two-note rising pip |
+| knock | two soft low thumps |
+| coin  | jaunty pickup blip |
+| chime | Nina's sparkle arpeggio (the speech cue) |
+| yourturn | a voice saying "your turn" — cuts through ambient audio |
+
+Call format: `/hey <sound> [times] [idle-seconds]`. Defaults: times=1, idle-threshold=45s.
+
+## If the user instruction is `off` / `stop`
+Run `hey off`, confirm once. Nothing else.
+
+## Otherwise — a sound, optionally times and threshold
+Run `hey the user instruction` (e.g. `hey knock 2 45`). It previews the sound once and activates.
+Confirm in one line: which sound, how many plays, and the idle threshold. Nothing more —
+no meta narration on later turns.
+
+## Notes
+- Uniform rule, no model judgement: any hand-back beeps iff `now − last_prompt ≥ threshold`.
+- Standalone tool at `~/42labs/john-w-bsmt/hey` (repo `4242labs/hey`); sounds in `~/42labs/john-w-bsmt/hey/assets/`.
+- Independent of `/nina` voice — you can run either or both.