fix(managed-scope): honor managed scope in config→env bridges too

Manual verification surfaced a second bypass class beyond the standalone
config loaders: several code paths bridge config.yaml values into os.environ
(HERMES_TIMEZONE, HERMES_REDACT_SECRETS, HERMES_MAX_ITERATIONS, TERMINAL_*,
network.force_ipv4, ...) by reading the raw user YAML, so the env the whole
process reads carried the USER's value even when an administrator pinned it —
e.g. a managed timezone was overridden because gateway/run.py wrote the user's
timezone into HERMES_TIMEZONE, and _resolve_timezone_name() checks the env var
first.

Wired the shared apply_managed_overlay() into every config→env bridge:

- gateway/run.py module-level startup bridge (timezone, redact_secrets,
  max_turns, terminal, display, gateway.strict, ...)
- gateway/run.py _reload_runtime_env_preserving_config_authority (the per-turn
  re-bridge that keeps config authoritative over reloaded .env — must keep
  MANAGED authoritative on every turn, not just startup)
- hermes_cli/main.py early security.redact_secrets / network.force_ipv4 bridge
  (runs before load_config is usable, at import time)
- hermes_cli/send_cmd.py top-level scalar config→env bridge

Verified end-to-end against a writable managed dir (12/12 checks incl. timezone,
logging, model, skin, gateway settings, write-guard) and in a clean process the
gateway per-turn bridge writes HERMES_TIMEZONE=<managed>. Adds an
order-independent regression test for the bridge overlay.

.github/workflows/contributor-check.yml

@@ -1,12 +1,11 @@
 name: Contributor Attribution Check
 
 on:
-  pull_request:
-    branches: [main]
   # No paths filter — the job must always run so the required check
   # reports a status (path-gated workflows leave checks "pending" forever
   # when no matching files change, which blocks merge).
-
+  pull_request:
+    branches: [main]
 permissions:
   contents: read
 

.github/workflows/deploy-site.yml

@@ -11,8 +11,20 @@ on:
       - 'optional-skills/**'
       - '.github/workflows/deploy-site.yml'
   workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      skills_index_run_id:
+        description: 'Optional Build Skills Index run ID whose skills-index artifact should be deployed'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+      rebuild_skills_index:
+        description: 'Force a fresh multi-source crawl instead of reusing the latest healthy index'
+        required: false
+        default: false
+        type: boolean
 
 permissions:
+  contents: read
+  actions: read
   pages: write
   id-token: write
 
@@ -55,26 +67,81 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install PyYAML for skill extraction
         run: pip install pyyaml==6.0.2 httpx==0.28.1
 
-      - name: Build skills index (unified multi-source catalog)
+      - name: Prepare skills index (unified multi-source catalog)
         env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          SKILLS_INDEX_RUN_ID: ${{ github.event.inputs.skills_index_run_id || '' }}
+          REBUILD_SKILLS_INDEX: ${{ github.event.inputs.rebuild_skills_index || 'false' }}
         run: |
-          # Rebuild the unified catalog. The file is gitignored, so a fresh
-          # checkout starts without it and we want the freshest crawl in
-          # every deploy.
+          # The unified external catalog is expensive to crawl and can burn
+          # through the repository installation's GitHub API quota when several
+          # docs deploys land close together.  Normal docs deploys therefore
+          # reuse the latest healthy catalog: first the artifact from a
+          # scheduled skills-index run, then the currently live index.  Only a
+          # manual force rebuild does a fresh crawl here.
           #
-          # This MUST be fatal. build_skills_index.py runs a health check and
-          # exits non-zero WITHOUT writing the output file when a source
-          # collapses (e.g. a GitHub API rate limit zeroes the github /
-          # claude-marketplace / well-known taps all at once). Letting the
-          # deploy continue would either (a) ship a degenerate index missing
-          # whole hubs — the June 2026 regression where OpenAI/Anthropic/
-          # HuggingFace/NVIDIA tabs vanished — or (b) fall through to a
-          # local-only catalog. Failing here keeps the last good deployment
-          # live (GitHub Pages serves the previous build) instead of
-          # publishing a broken catalog. Re-run the workflow once the
-          # transient rate limit clears.
+          # If we do crawl, the build remains fatal. build_skills_index.py runs
+          # the health check BEFORE writing and exits non-zero on source
+          # collapse, keeping the last good Pages deployment live instead of
+          # publishing a degenerate catalog.
+          set -euo pipefail
+          INDEX_PATH="website/static/api/skills-index.json"
+          mkdir -p "$(dirname "$INDEX_PATH")"
+
+          validate_index() {
+            python3 - "$INDEX_PATH" <<'PY'
+          import json
+          import sys
+          from pathlib import Path
+
+          path = Path(sys.argv[1])
+          try:
+              data = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+          except Exception as exc:
+              print(f"invalid skills index JSON: {exc}", file=sys.stderr)
+              sys.exit(1)
+          skills = data.get("skills")
+          if not isinstance(skills, list) or len(skills) < 1500:
+              count = len(skills) if isinstance(skills, list) else "missing"
+              print(f"skills index too small: {count}", file=sys.stderr)
+              sys.exit(1)
+          print(f"skills index ready: {len(skills)} skills")
+          PY
+          }
+
+          if [ "$REBUILD_SKILLS_INDEX" = "true" ]; then
+            python3 scripts/build_skills_index.py
+            validate_index
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
+          if [ -n "$SKILLS_INDEX_RUN_ID" ]; then
+            tmpdir="$(mktemp -d)"
+            echo "Downloading skills-index artifact from run $SKILLS_INDEX_RUN_ID"
+            if gh run download "$SKILLS_INDEX_RUN_ID" --name skills-index --dir "$tmpdir"; then
+              candidate="$(find "$tmpdir" -name skills-index.json -type f | head -n 1 || true)"
+              if [ -n "$candidate" ]; then
+                cp "$candidate" "$INDEX_PATH"
+                if validate_index; then
+                  exit 0
+                fi
+              fi
+            fi
+            echo "::warning::Could not use skills-index artifact from run $SKILLS_INDEX_RUN_ID; trying live index"
+          fi
+
+          echo "Downloading currently live skills index"
+          if curl -fsSL --retry 3 --retry-delay 5 \
+            "https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/api/skills-index.json" \
+            -o "$INDEX_PATH" && validate_index; then
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
+          echo "::warning::Live skills index unavailable or unhealthy; falling back to a fresh crawl"
+          rm -f "$INDEX_PATH"
           python3 scripts/build_skills_index.py
+          validate_index
 
       - name: Extract skill metadata for dashboard
         run: python3 website/scripts/extract-skills.py

.github/workflows/docker-lint.yml

@@ -18,13 +18,12 @@ on:
       - docker/**
       - .hadolint.yaml
       - .github/workflows/docker-lint.yml
+
+  # No paths filter — the job must always run so the required check
+  # reports a status (path-gated workflows leave checks "pending" forever
+  # when no matching files change, which blocks merge).
   pull_request:
     branches: [main]
-    paths:
-      - Dockerfile
-      - docker/**
-      - .hadolint.yaml
-      - .github/workflows/docker-lint.yml
 
 permissions:
   contents: read

.github/workflows/docker-publish.yml

@@ -11,16 +11,13 @@ on:
       - 'docker/**'
       - '.github/workflows/docker-publish.yml'
       - '.github/actions/hermes-smoke-test/**'
+
+  # No paths filter — the job must always run so the required check
+  # reports a status (path-gated workflows leave checks "pending" forever
+  # when no matching files change, which blocks merge).
   pull_request:
     branches: [main]
-    paths:
-      - '**/*.py'
-      - 'pyproject.toml'
-      - 'uv.lock'
-      - 'Dockerfile'
-      - 'docker/**'
-      - '.github/workflows/docker-publish.yml'
-      - '.github/actions/hermes-smoke-test/**'
+
   release:
     types: [published]
 

.github/workflows/docs-site-checks.yml

@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
 name: Docs Site Checks
 
 on:
+  # No paths filter — the job must always run so the required check
+  # reports a status (path-gated workflows leave checks "pending" forever
+  # when no matching files change, which blocks merge).
   pull_request:
-    paths:
-      - 'website/**'
-      - '.github/workflows/docs-site-checks.yml'
+    branches: [main]
+
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 permissions:
@@ -14,9 +16,9 @@ jobs:
   docs-site-checks:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
+      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
 
-      - uses: actions/setup-node@49933ea5288caeca8642d1e84afbd3f7d6820020  # v4
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@49933ea5288caeca8642d1e84afbd3f7d6820020 # v4
         with:
           node-version: 22
           cache: npm
@@ -26,9 +28,9 @@ jobs:
         run: npm ci
         working-directory: website
 
-      - uses: actions/setup-python@a309ff8b426b58ec0e2a45f0f869d46889d02405  # v6.2.0
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@a309ff8b426b58ec0e2a45f0f869d46889d02405 # v6.2.0
         with:
-          python-version: '3.11'
+          python-version: "3.11"
 
       - name: Install ascii-guard
         run: python -m pip install ascii-guard==2.3.0 pyyaml==6.0.3

.github/workflows/history-check.yml

@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ name: History Check
 # the PR head and main to be non-empty.
 
 on:
+  # No paths filter — the job must always run so the required check
+  # reports a status (path-gated workflows leave checks "pending" forever
+  # when no matching files change, which blocks merge).
   pull_request:
     branches: [main]
 
@@ -24,9 +27,9 @@ jobs:
   check-common-ancestor:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
+      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
         with:
-          fetch-depth: 0  # full history both sides for merge-base
+          fetch-depth: 0 # full history both sides for merge-base
 
       - name: Reject PRs with no common ancestor on main
         run: |

.github/workflows/lint.yml

@@ -15,12 +15,12 @@ on:
       - "**/*.md"
       - "docs/**"
       - "website/**"
+
+  # No paths filter — the job must always run so the required check
+  # reports a status (path-gated workflows leave checks "pending" forever
+  # when no matching files change, which blocks merge).
   pull_request:
     branches: [main]
-    paths-ignore:
-      - "**/*.md"
-      - "docs/**"
-      - "website/**"
 
 permissions:
   contents: read
@@ -154,7 +154,6 @@ jobs:
               });
             }
 
-
   ruff-blocking:
     # Enforce the rules in pyproject.toml [tool.ruff.lint.select]. Currently
     # PLW1514 (unspecified-encoding) — catches bare ``open()`` /

.github/workflows/nix-lockfile-fix.yml

@@ -1,255 +0,0 @@
-name: Nix Lockfile Fix
-
-on:
-  push:
-    branches: [main]
-    paths:
-      - 'package-lock.json'
-      - 'package.json'
-      - 'ui-tui/package.json'
-      - 'apps/desktop/package.json'
-  workflow_dispatch:
-    inputs:
-      pr_number:
-        description: 'PR number to fix (leave empty to run on the selected branch)'
-        required: false
-        type: string
-  issue_comment:
-    types: [edited]
-
-permissions:
-  contents: write
-  pull-requests: write
-
-concurrency:
-  group: nix-lockfile-fix-${{ github.event.issue.number || github.event.inputs.pr_number || github.ref }}
-  cancel-in-progress: false
-
-jobs:
-  # ── Auto-fix on main ───────────────────────────────────────────────
-  # Fires when a push to main touches package.json or package-lock.json.
-  # Runs fix-lockfiles and pushes the hash update commit directly to main
-  # so Nix builds never stay broken.
-  #
-  # Safety invariants:
-  #   1. The fix commit only touches nix/*.nix files, which are NOT in
-  #      the paths filter above, so this cannot re-trigger itself.
-  #   2. An explicit file-whitelist check before commit aborts if
-  #      fix-lockfiles ever modifies unexpected files.
-  #   3. Job-level concurrency with cancel-in-progress: true ensures
-  #      back-to-back pushes collapse to the newest; ref: main checkout
-  #      always operates on the latest branch state.
-  #   4. Uses a GitHub App token (not GITHUB_TOKEN) so the fix commit
-  #      triggers downstream nix.yml verification.
-  auto-fix-main:
-    if: github.event_name == 'push'
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    timeout-minutes: 25
-    concurrency:
-      group: auto-fix-main
-      cancel-in-progress: true
-    steps:
-      - name: Generate GitHub App token
-        id: app-token
-        uses: actions/create-github-app-token@7bfa3a4717ef143a604ee0a99d859b8886a96d00  # v1.9.3
-        with:
-          app-id: ${{ secrets.APP_ID }}
-          private-key: ${{ secrets.APP_PRIVATE_KEY }}
-
-      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
-        with:
-          ref: main
-          token: ${{ steps.app-token.outputs.token }}
-
-      - uses: ./.github/actions/nix-setup
-        with:
-          cachix-auth-token: ${{ secrets.CACHIX_AUTH_TOKEN }}
-
-      - name: Apply lockfile hashes
-        id: apply
-        run: nix run .#fix-lockfiles -- --apply
-
-      - name: Commit & push
-        if: steps.apply.outputs.changed == 'true'
-        shell: bash
-        run: |
-          set -euo pipefail
-
-          # Ensure only nix/lib.nix (home of the single npmDepsHash) was
-          # modified — prevents accidental self-triggering if fix-lockfiles
-          # ever touches package files.
-          unexpected="$(git diff --name-only | grep -Ev '^nix/lib\.nix$' || true)"
-          if [ -n "$unexpected" ]; then
-            echo "::error::Unexpected modified files: $unexpected"
-            exit 1
-          fi
-
-          # Record the base SHA before committing — used to detect package
-          # file changes if we need to rebase after a non-fast-forward push.
-          BASE_SHA="$(git rev-parse HEAD)"
-
-          git config user.name 'github-actions[bot]'
-          git config user.email '41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com'
-          git add nix/lib.nix
-          git commit -m "fix(nix): auto-refresh npm lockfile hashes" \
-            -m "Source: $GITHUB_SHA" \
-            -m "Run: $GITHUB_SERVER_URL/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/actions/runs/$GITHUB_RUN_ID"
-
-          # Retry push with rebase in case main advanced with an unrelated
-          # commit during the nix build. Without this, a non-fast-forward
-          # rejection silently loses the fix. If package files changed during
-          # the rebase, abort — a fresh auto-fix run will handle the new state.
-          for attempt in 1 2 3; do
-            if git push origin HEAD:main; then
-              exit 0
-            fi
-            echo "::warning::Push attempt $attempt failed (non-fast-forward?), rebasing…"
-            git fetch origin main
-
-            # If package files changed between our base and the new main,
-            # our computed hashes are stale. Abort and let the next triggered
-            # run recompute from the correct package-lock state.
-            pkg_changed="$(git diff --name-only "$BASE_SHA"..origin/main -- \
-              'package-lock.json' 'package.json' \
-              'ui-tui/package.json' 'apps/desktop/package.json' || true)"
-            if [ -n "$pkg_changed" ]; then
-              echo "::warning::Package files changed since hash computation — aborting; a fresh run will recompute"
-              exit 0
-            fi
-
-            git rebase origin/main
-          done
-          echo "::error::Failed to push after 3 rebase attempts"
-          exit 1
-
-  # ── PR fix (manual / checkbox) ─────────────────────────────────────
-  # Existing behavior: run on manual dispatch OR when a task-list
-  # checkbox in the sticky lockfile-check comment flips from [ ] to [x].
-  fix:
-    if: |
-      github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' ||
-      (github.event_name == 'issue_comment'
-       && github.event.issue.pull_request != null
-       && contains(github.event.comment.body, '[x] **Apply lockfile fix**')
-       && !contains(github.event.changes.body.from, '[x] **Apply lockfile fix**'))
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    timeout-minutes: 25
-    steps:
-      - name: Authorize & resolve PR
-        id: resolve
-        uses: actions/github-script@60a0d83039c74a4aee543508d2ffcb1c3799cdea  # v7.0.1
-        with:
-          script: |
-            // 1. Verify the actor has write access — applies to both checkbox
-            //    clicks and manual dispatch.
-            const { data: perm } =
-              await github.rest.repos.getCollaboratorPermissionLevel({
-                owner: context.repo.owner,
-                repo: context.repo.repo,
-                username: context.actor,
-              });
-            if (!['admin', 'write', 'maintain'].includes(perm.permission)) {
-              core.setFailed(
-                `${context.actor} lacks write access (has: ${perm.permission})`
-              );
-              return;
-            }
-
-            // 2. Resolve which ref to check out.
-            let prNumber = '';
-            if (context.eventName === 'issue_comment') {
-              prNumber = String(context.payload.issue.number);
-            } else if (context.eventName === 'workflow_dispatch') {
-              prNumber = context.payload.inputs.pr_number || '';
-            }
-
-            if (!prNumber) {
-              core.setOutput('ref', context.ref.replace(/^refs\/heads\//, ''));
-              core.setOutput('repo', context.repo.repo);
-              core.setOutput('owner', context.repo.owner);
-              core.setOutput('pr', '');
-              return;
-            }
-
-            const { data: pr } = await github.rest.pulls.get({
-              owner: context.repo.owner,
-              repo: context.repo.repo,
-              pull_number: Number(prNumber),
-            });
-            core.setOutput('ref', pr.head.ref);
-            core.setOutput('repo', pr.head.repo.name);
-            core.setOutput('owner', pr.head.repo.owner.login);
-            core.setOutput('pr', String(pr.number));
-
-      # Wipe the sticky lockfile-check comment to a "running" state as soon
-      # as the job is authorized, so the user sees their click was picked up
-      # before the ~minute of nix build work.
-      - name: Mark sticky as running
-        if: steps.resolve.outputs.pr != ''
-        uses: marocchino/sticky-pull-request-comment@52423e01640425a022ef5fd42c6fb5f633a02728  # v2.9.1
-        with:
-          header: nix-lockfile-check
-          number: ${{ steps.resolve.outputs.pr }}
-          message: |
-            ### 🔄 Applying lockfile fix…
-
-            Triggered by @${{ github.actor }} — [workflow run](${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}).
-
-      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
-        with:
-          repository: ${{ steps.resolve.outputs.owner }}/${{ steps.resolve.outputs.repo }}
-          ref: ${{ steps.resolve.outputs.ref }}
-          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          fetch-depth: 0
-
-      - uses: ./.github/actions/nix-setup
-        with:
-          cachix-auth-token: ${{ secrets.CACHIX_AUTH_TOKEN }}
-
-      - name: Apply lockfile hashes
-        id: apply
-        run: nix run .#fix-lockfiles
-
-      - name: Commit & push
-        if: steps.apply.outputs.changed == 'true'
-        shell: bash
-        run: |
-          set -euo pipefail
-          git config user.name 'github-actions[bot]'
-          git config user.email '41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com'
-          git add nix/lib.nix
-          git commit -m "fix(nix): refresh npm lockfile hashes"
-          git push
-
-      - name: Update sticky (applied)
-        if: steps.apply.outputs.changed == 'true' && steps.resolve.outputs.pr != ''
-        uses: marocchino/sticky-pull-request-comment@52423e01640425a022ef5fd42c6fb5f633a02728  # v2.9.1
-        with:
-          header: nix-lockfile-check
-          number: ${{ steps.resolve.outputs.pr }}
-          message: |
-            ### ✅ Lockfile fix applied
-
-            Pushed a commit refreshing the npm lockfile hashes — [workflow run](${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}).
-
-      - name: Update sticky (already current)
-        if: steps.apply.outputs.changed == 'false' && steps.resolve.outputs.pr != ''
-        uses: marocchino/sticky-pull-request-comment@52423e01640425a022ef5fd42c6fb5f633a02728  # v2.9.1
-        with:
-          header: nix-lockfile-check
-          number: ${{ steps.resolve.outputs.pr }}
-          message: |
-            ### ✅ Lockfile hashes already current
-
-            Nothing to commit — [workflow run](${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}).
-
-      - name: Update sticky (failed)
-        if: failure() && steps.resolve.outputs.pr != ''
-        uses: marocchino/sticky-pull-request-comment@52423e01640425a022ef5fd42c6fb5f633a02728  # v2.9.1
-        with:
-          header: nix-lockfile-check
-          number: ${{ steps.resolve.outputs.pr }}
-          message: |
-            ### ❌ Lockfile fix failed
-
-            See the [workflow run](${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}) for logs.

.github/workflows/nix.yml

@@ -1,105 +0,0 @@
-name: Nix
-
-on:
-  push:
-    branches: [main]
-  pull_request:
-
-permissions:
-  contents: read
-  pull-requests: write
-
-concurrency:
-  group: nix-${{ github.ref }}
-  cancel-in-progress: true
-
-jobs:
-  nix:
-    strategy:
-      matrix:
-        os: [ubuntu-latest, macos-latest]
-    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
-    timeout-minutes: 30
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
-      - uses: ./.github/actions/nix-setup
-        with:
-          cachix-auth-token: ${{ secrets.CACHIX_AUTH_TOKEN }}
-
-      - name: Resolve head SHA
-        if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
-        id: sha
-        shell: bash
-        run: |
-          FULL="${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha || github.sha }}"
-          echo "full=$FULL" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-          echo "short=${FULL:0:7}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-
-      - name: Check flake
-        id: flake
-        continue-on-error: true
-        run: nix flake check --print-build-logs
-
-      # When the flake check fails, run a targeted diagnostic to see if
-      # the failure is specifically a stale npm lockfile hash in one of the
-      # known npm subpackages (tui / web).  This avoids surfacing a generic
-      # "build failed" message when the fix is a single known command.
-      - name: Diagnose npm lockfile hashes
-        id: hash_check
-        if: steps.flake.outcome == 'failure' && runner.os == 'Linux'
-        continue-on-error: true
-        env:
-          LINK_SHA: ${{ steps.sha.outputs.full }}
-        run: nix run .#fix-lockfiles -- --check
-
-      # If fix-lockfiles itself crashes (infrastructure blip, cache throttle,
-      # etc.) it won't set stale=true/false.  Treat that as a distinct failure
-      # mode rather than silently ignoring it.
-      - name: Fail if hash check crashed without reporting
-        if: steps.hash_check.outcome == 'failure' && steps.hash_check.outputs.stale != 'true' && steps.hash_check.outputs.stale != 'false'
-        run: |
-          echo "::error::fix-lockfiles exited without reporting stale status — likely an infrastructure or script failure"
-          exit 1
-
-      - name: Post sticky PR comment (stale hashes)
-        if: steps.hash_check.outputs.stale == 'true' && github.event_name == 'pull_request'
-        uses: marocchino/sticky-pull-request-comment@52423e01640425a022ef5fd42c6fb5f633a02728  # v2.9.1
-        with:
-          header: nix-lockfile-check
-          message: |
-            ### ⚠️ npm lockfile hash out of date
-
-            Checked against commit [`${{ steps.sha.outputs.short }}`](${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/commit/${{ steps.sha.outputs.full }}) (PR head at check time).
-
-            The `hash = "sha256-..."` line in these nix files no longer matches the committed `package-lock.json`:
-
-            ${{ steps.hash_check.outputs.report }}
-
-            #### Apply the fix
-
-            - [ ] **Apply lockfile fix** — tick to push a commit with the correct hashes to this PR branch
-            - Or [run the Nix Lockfile Fix workflow](${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/actions/workflows/nix-lockfile-fix.yml) manually (pass PR `#${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}`)
-            - Or locally: `nix run .#fix-lockfiles` and commit the diff
-
-      # Clear the sticky comment when either the flake check passed outright (no
-      # hash check needed) or the hash check explicitly returned stale=false
-      # (check failed for a non-hash reason).
-      - name: Clear sticky PR comment (resolved)
-        if: |
-          github.event_name == 'pull_request' &&
-          (steps.hash_check.outputs.stale == 'false' ||
-           steps.flake.outcome == 'success')
-        uses: marocchino/sticky-pull-request-comment@52423e01640425a022ef5fd42c6fb5f633a02728  # v2.9.1
-        with:
-          header: nix-lockfile-check
-          delete: true
-
-      - name: Final fail if flake check failed
-        if: steps.flake.outcome == 'failure'
-        run: |
-          if [ "${{ steps.hash_check.outputs.stale }}" == "true" ]; then
-            echo "::error::Nix build failed due to stale npm lockfile hash. Run: nix run .#fix-lockfiles"
-          else
-            echo "::error::Nix flake check failed. See logs above."
-          fi
-          exit 1

.github/workflows/osv-scanner.yml

@@ -20,29 +20,23 @@ name: OSV-Scanner
 # vulnerabilities in pinned deps that we may need to patch deliberately.
 
 on:
+  # No paths filter — the job must always run so the required check
+  # reports a status (path-gated workflows leave checks "pending" forever
+  # when no matching files change, which blocks merge).
   pull_request:
     branches: [main]
-    paths:
-      - 'uv.lock'
-      - 'pyproject.toml'
-      - 'package.json'
-      - 'package-lock.json'
-      - 'ui-tui/package.json'
-      - 'website/package.json'
-      - 'website/package-lock.json'
-      - '.github/workflows/osv-scanner.yml'
   push:
     branches: [main]
     paths:
-      - 'uv.lock'
-      - 'pyproject.toml'
-      - 'package.json'
-      - 'package-lock.json'
-      - 'website/package-lock.json'
+      - "uv.lock"
+      - "pyproject.toml"
+      - "package.json"
+      - "package-lock.json"
+      - "website/package-lock.json"
   schedule:
     # Weekly scan against main — catches CVEs published after merge for
     # deps that haven't changed since.
-    - cron: '0 9 * * 1'
+    - cron: "0 9 * * 1"
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 permissions:
@@ -54,7 +48,7 @@ permissions:
 jobs:
   scan:
     name: Scan lockfiles
-    uses: google/osv-scanner-action/.github/workflows/osv-scanner-reusable.yml@9a498708959aeaef5ef730655706c5a1df1edbc2  # v2.3.8
+    uses: google/osv-scanner-action/.github/workflows/osv-scanner-reusable.yml@9a498708959aeaef5ef730655706c5a1df1edbc2 # v2.3.8
     with:
       # Scan explicit lockfiles rather than recursing, so we only look at
       # the three sources of truth and skip vendored / test / worktree dirs.

.github/workflows/skills-index.yml

@@ -53,4 +53,4 @@ jobs:
       - name: Trigger Deploy Site workflow
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-        run: gh workflow run deploy-site.yml --repo ${{ github.repository }}
+        run: gh workflow run deploy-site.yml --repo ${{ github.repository }} -f skills_index_run_id=${{ github.run_id }}

.github/workflows/supply-chain-audit.yml

@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 name: Supply Chain Audit
 
 on:
-  pull_request:
-    types: [opened, synchronize, reopened]
   # No paths filter — the jobs must always run so required checks
   # report a status (path-gated workflows leave checks "pending" forever
   # when no matching files change, which blocks merge).
+  pull_request:
+    types: [opened, synchronize, reopened]
 
 permissions:
   pull-requests: write
@@ -29,8 +29,10 @@ jobs:
       scan: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.scan }}
       # True when pyproject.toml changed in this PR
       deps: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.deps }}
+      # True when the curated MCP catalog / bundled MCP manifests changed.
+      mcp_catalog: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.mcp_catalog }}
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
+      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
       - name: Check for relevant file changes
@@ -54,6 +56,14 @@ jobs:
           else
             echo "deps=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           fi
+          MCP_CATALOG_FILES=$(git diff --name-only "$BASE"..."$HEAD" -- \
+            'optional-mcps/**' \
+            'hermes_cli/mcp_catalog.py' || true)
+          if [ -n "$MCP_CATALOG_FILES" ]; then
+            echo "mcp_catalog=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          else
+            echo "mcp_catalog=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          fi
 
   scan:
     name: Scan PR for critical supply chain risks
@@ -62,7 +72,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
+        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
 
@@ -197,7 +207,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
+        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
 
@@ -268,3 +278,50 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - run: echo "No pyproject.toml changes, skipping dependency bounds check."
+
+  mcp-catalog-review:
+    name: MCP catalog security review
+    needs: changes
+    if: needs.changes.outputs.mcp_catalog == 'true'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Require explicit MCP catalog review label
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          PR="${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}"
+          LABELS=$(gh pr view "$PR" --json labels --jq '.labels[].name' || true)
+          if echo "$LABELS" | grep -Fxq 'mcp-catalog-reviewed'; then
+            echo "MCP catalog review label present."
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
+          BODY="## ⚠️ MCP catalog security review required
+
+          This PR changes the bundled MCP catalog or MCP catalog installer code. MCP entries can define local commands that users later install into \`mcp_servers\`, so this needs explicit maintainer review before merge.
+
+          A maintainer should verify:
+          - any new/changed \`optional-mcps/**/manifest.yaml\` command and args are expected,
+          - stdio transports do not use shell+egress/exfiltration payloads,
+          - git install refs are pinned and bootstrap commands are minimal,
+          - requested env vars/secrets match the upstream MCP's documented needs.
+
+          After review, add the \`mcp-catalog-reviewed\` label and re-run this check."
+
+          gh pr comment "$PR" --body "$BODY" || echo "::warning::Could not post PR comment (expected for fork PRs)"
+          echo "::error::MCP catalog changes require the mcp-catalog-reviewed label."
+          exit 1
+
+  mcp-catalog-review-gate:
+    name: MCP catalog security review
+    needs: changes
+    if: always() && needs.changes.outputs.mcp_catalog != 'true'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - run: echo "No MCP catalog changes, skipping MCP catalog security review."

.github/workflows/tests.yml

@@ -6,11 +6,11 @@ on:
     paths-ignore:
       - "**/*.md"
       - "docs/**"
+  # No paths filter — the job must always run so the required check
+  # reports a status (path-gated workflows leave checks "pending" forever
+  # when no matching files change, which blocks merge).
   pull_request:
     branches: [main]
-    paths-ignore:
-      - "**/*.md"
-      - "docs/**"
 
 permissions:
   contents: read
@@ -219,4 +219,4 @@ jobs:
         env:
           OPENROUTER_API_KEY: ""
           OPENAI_API_KEY: ""
-          NOUS_API_KEY: ""
+          NOUS_API_KEY: ""

.github/workflows/typecheck.yml

@@ -4,6 +4,9 @@ name: Typecheck
 on:
   push:
     branches: [main]
+  # No paths filter — the job must always run so the required check
+  # reports a status (path-gated workflows leave checks "pending" forever
+  # when no matching files change, which blocks merge).
   pull_request:
     branches: [main]
 
@@ -23,3 +26,20 @@ jobs:
           cache: npm
       - run: npm ci
       - run: npm run --prefix ${{ matrix.package }} typecheck
+
+  # Production build of the desktop renderer. `typecheck` runs `tsc` only,
+  # which does NOT exercise Vite/Rolldown module resolution — so an
+  # unresolvable package export (e.g. a transitive @assistant-ui/tap that no
+  # longer exports "./react-shim") slips past typecheck and only explodes when
+  # users build apps/desktop from source on install/update. Run the real
+  # `vite build` here so that class of break fails in CI instead.
+  desktop-build:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@49933ea5288caeca8642d1e84afbd3f7d6820020 # v4
+        with:
+          node-version: 22
+          cache: npm
+      - run: npm ci
+      - run: npm run --prefix apps/desktop build

.github/workflows/uv-lockfile-check.yml

@@ -47,15 +47,15 @@ on:
   push:
     branches: [main]
     paths:
-      - 'pyproject.toml'
-      - 'uv.lock'
-      - '.github/workflows/uv-lockfile-check.yml'
+      - "pyproject.toml"
+      - "uv.lock"
+      - ".github/workflows/uv-lockfile-check.yml"
+
+  # No paths filter — the job must always run so the required check
+  # reports a status (path-gated workflows leave checks "pending" forever
+  # when no matching files change, which blocks merge).
   pull_request:
     branches: [main]
-    paths:
-      - 'pyproject.toml'
-      - 'uv.lock'
-      - '.github/workflows/uv-lockfile-check.yml'
 
 permissions:
   contents: read
@@ -71,10 +71,10 @@ jobs:
     timeout-minutes: 5
     steps:
       - name: Checkout code
-        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
+        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
 
       - name: Install uv
-        uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@d4b2f3b6ecc6e67c4457f6d3e41ec42d3d0fcb86  # v5
+        uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@d4b2f3b6ecc6e67c4457f6d3e41ec42d3d0fcb86 # v5
 
       # `uv lock --check` re-resolves the project from pyproject.toml and
       # compares the result to uv.lock, exiting non-zero if they disagree.

.gitignore

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 *.pyc*
 __pycache__/
 .venv/
+.venv
 .vscode/
 .env
 .env.local

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -78,7 +78,41 @@ This isn't a quality bar — it's a coupling-and-maintenance decision. Memory pr
 | **uv** | Fast Python package manager ([install](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/)) |
 | **Node.js 20+** | Optional — needed for browser tools and WhatsApp bridge (matches root `package.json` engines) |
 
-### Clone and install
+### Install with the standard installer
+
+For most contributors, the best development bootstrap is the same path users
+take: run the standard installer, then work inside the repository it cloned.
+The installer creates the Hermes venv, wires the `hermes` command, stamps the
+install method for `hermes update`, and clones the full git project into
+`$HERMES_HOME/hermes-agent` (usually `~/.hermes/hermes-agent`). That keeps your
+development environment on the same layout the CLI, updater, lazy dependency
+installer, gateway, and docs assume.
+
+```bash
+curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash
+cd "${HERMES_HOME:-$HOME/.hermes}/hermes-agent"
+
+# Add dev/test extras on top of the standard install.
+uv pip install -e ".[all,dev]"
+
+# Optional: browser tools / docs site dependencies.
+npm install
+```
+
+After that, create branches and run tests from that checkout:
+
+```bash
+git checkout -b fix/description
+scripts/run_tests.sh
+```
+
+### Manual clone fallback
+
+Use this only if you intentionally do not want Hermes' managed install layout
+(for example, a throwaway clone inside a container or CI job). If you install
+this way, make sure you run the `hermes` entrypoint from this venv; running the
+system `python3 -m hermes_cli.main` can pick up unrelated system Python
+packages.
 
 ```bash
 git clone https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent.git
@@ -109,15 +143,19 @@ echo "OPENROUTER_API_KEY=***" >> ~/.hermes/.env
 ### Run
 
 ```bash
-# Symlink for global access
-mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
-ln -sf "$(pwd)/venv/bin/hermes" ~/.local/bin/hermes
-
-# Verify
+# The standard installer already put `hermes` on PATH.
 hermes doctor
 hermes chat -q "Hello"
 ```
 
+If you used the manual clone fallback, run `./hermes` from the checkout or
+symlink this clone's venv explicitly:
+
+```bash
+mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
+ln -sf "$(pwd)/venv/bin/hermes" ~/.local/bin/hermes
+```
+
 ### Run tests
 
 ```bash

Dockerfile

@@ -9,8 +9,11 @@ FROM ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:0.11.6-python3.13-trixie@sha256:b3c543b6c4f23a5f2df228
 FROM node:22-bookworm-slim@sha256:7af03b14a13c8cdd38e45058fd957bf00a72bbe17feac43b1c15a689c029c732 AS node_source
 FROM debian:13.4
 
-# Disable Python stdout buffering to ensure logs are printed immediately
+# Disable Python stdout buffering to ensure logs are printed immediately.
+# Do not write .pyc files at runtime: /opt/hermes is immutable in the
+# published container and writable state belongs under /opt/data.
 ENV PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
+ENV PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE=1
 
 # Store Playwright browsers outside the volume mount so the build-time
 # install survives the /opt/data volume overlay at runtime.
@@ -186,36 +189,38 @@ RUN cd web && npm run build && \
 
 # ---------- Source code ----------
 # .dockerignore excludes node_modules, so the installs above survive.
-COPY --chown=hermes:hermes . .
+COPY . .
 
 # ---------- Permissions ----------
-# Make install dir world-readable so any HERMES_UID can read it at runtime.
-# The venv needs to be traversable too.
-# node_modules trees additionally need to be writable by the hermes user
-# so the runtime `npm install` triggered by _tui_need_npm_install() in
-# hermes_cli/main.py succeeds (see #18800). /opt/hermes/web is build-time
-# only (HERMES_WEB_DIST points at hermes_cli/web_dist) and is intentionally
-# not chowned here.
-# /opt/hermes/gateway is runtime-writable: Python may create __pycache__ and
-# gateway state artifacts beneath the package after services drop privileges,
-# especially when the hermes UID is remapped at boot (#27221).
-# The .venv MUST remain hermes-writable so lazy_deps.py can install
-# remaining optional platform packages and future pin bumps at first use.
-# Without this, `uv pip install` fails with EACCES and adapters silently
-# fail to load.  See tools/lazy_deps.py.
+# Link hermes-agent itself (editable). Deps are already installed in the
+# cached layer above; `--no-deps` makes this a fast egg-link creation with no
+# resolution or downloads.
+RUN uv pip install --no-cache-dir --no-deps -e "."
+
+# Keep /opt/hermes immutable for the runtime hermes user. Hosted/container
+# instances must not be able to self-edit the installed source or venv; user
+# data, skills, plugins, config, logs, and dashboard uploads live under
+# /opt/data instead. Root can still repair the image during build/boot, but
+# supervised Hermes processes drop to the non-root hermes user.
 USER root
-RUN chmod -R a+rX /opt/hermes && \
-    chown -R hermes:hermes /opt/hermes/.venv /opt/hermes/ui-tui /opt/hermes/gateway /opt/hermes/node_modules
+RUN mkdir -p /opt/hermes/bin && \
+    cp /opt/hermes/docker/hermes-exec-shim.sh /opt/hermes/bin/hermes && \
+    chmod 0755 /opt/hermes/bin/hermes && \
+    printf 'docker\n' > /opt/hermes/.install_method && \
+    chown -R root:root /opt/hermes && \
+    chmod -R a+rX /opt/hermes && \
+    chmod -R a-w /opt/hermes
+# The ``.install_method`` stamp is baked next to the running code (the install
+# tree), NOT into $HERMES_HOME. $HERMES_HOME (/opt/data) is a shared data
+# volume that is commonly bind-mounted from the host and even shared with a
+# host-side Desktop/CLI install; stamping it at boot used to clobber that
+# host install's marker and wrongly block its ``hermes update``. A code-scoped
+# stamp is read first by detect_install_method() and is immune to the share.
 # Start as root so the s6-overlay stage2 hook can usermod/groupmod and chown
 # the data volume. Each supervised service then drops to the hermes user via
 # `s6-setuidgid hermes` in its run script. If HERMES_UID is unset, services
 # run as the default hermes user (UID 10000).
 
-# ---------- Link hermes-agent itself (editable) ----------
-# Deps are already installed in the cached layer above; `--no-deps` makes
-# this a fast (~1s) egg-link creation with no resolution or downloads.
-RUN uv pip install --no-cache-dir --no-deps -e "."
-
 # ---------- Bake build-time git revision ----------
 # .dockerignore excludes .git, so `git rev-parse HEAD` from inside the
 # container always returns nothing — meaning `hermes dump` reports
@@ -235,8 +240,9 @@ RUN uv pip install --no-cache-dir --no-deps -e "."
 # every published image has it.
 ARG HERMES_GIT_SHA=
 RUN if [ -n "${HERMES_GIT_SHA}" ]; then \
+        chmod u+w /opt/hermes && \
         printf '%s\n' "${HERMES_GIT_SHA}" > /opt/hermes/.hermes_build_sha && \
-        chown hermes:hermes /opt/hermes/.hermes_build_sha; \
+        chmod a-w /opt/hermes /opt/hermes/.hermes_build_sha; \
     fi
 
 # ---------- s6-overlay service wiring ----------
@@ -282,6 +288,8 @@ ENV HERMES_WEB_DIST=/opt/hermes/hermes_cli/web_dist
 # check. (A separate launcher hardening is tracked independently.)
 ENV HERMES_TUI_DIR=/opt/hermes/ui-tui
 ENV HERMES_HOME=/opt/data
+ENV HERMES_WRITE_SAFE_ROOT=/opt/data
+ENV HERMES_DISABLE_LAZY_INSTALLS=1
 
 # `docker exec` privilege-drop shim. When operators run
 # `docker exec <c> hermes ...` they default to root, and any file the
@@ -294,7 +302,6 @@ ENV HERMES_HOME=/opt/data
 # Recursion is impossible because the shim exec's the venv binary by
 # absolute path (/opt/hermes/.venv/bin/hermes). See the shim source for
 # the opt-out env var (HERMES_DOCKER_EXEC_AS_ROOT=1).
-COPY --chmod=0755 docker/hermes-exec-shim.sh /opt/hermes/bin/hermes
 
 # Pre-s6 entrypoint.sh did `source .venv/bin/activate` which exported
 # the venv bin onto PATH; Architecture B's main-wrapper.sh does the

README.md

@@ -181,16 +181,20 @@ See `hermes claw migrate --help` for all options, or use the `openclaw-migration
 
 We welcome contributions! See the [Contributing Guide](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/developer-guide/contributing) for development setup, code style, and PR process.
 
-Quick start for contributors — clone and go with `setup-hermes.sh`:
+Quick start for contributors — use the standard installer, then work from the
+full git checkout it creates at `$HERMES_HOME/hermes-agent` (usually
+`~/.hermes/hermes-agent`). This matches the layout used by `hermes update`, the
+managed venv, lazy dependencies, gateway, and docs tooling.
 
 ```bash
-git clone https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent.git
-cd hermes-agent
-./setup-hermes.sh     # installs uv, creates venv, installs .[all], symlinks ~/.local/bin/hermes
-./hermes              # auto-detects the venv, no need to `source` first
+curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash
+cd "${HERMES_HOME:-$HOME/.hermes}/hermes-agent"
+uv pip install -e ".[all,dev]"
+scripts/run_tests.sh
 ```
 
-Manual path (equivalent to the above):
+Manual clone fallback (for throwaway clones/CI where you intentionally do not
+want the managed install layout):
 
 ```bash
 curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

README.zh-CN.md

@@ -164,16 +164,18 @@ hermes claw migrate --overwrite  # 覆盖已有冲突
 
 欢迎贡献！请参阅 [贡献指南](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/developer-guide/contributing) 了解开发设置、代码风格和 PR 流程。
 
-贡献者快速开始——克隆并使用 `setup-hermes.sh`：
+贡献者快速开始——使用标准安装器，然后在它创建的完整 git checkout 中开发：
+`$HERMES_HOME/hermes-agent`（通常是 `~/.hermes/hermes-agent`）。这会匹配
+`hermes update`、托管 venv、lazy dependencies、gateway 和 docs tooling 使用的布局。
 
 ```bash
-git clone https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent.git
-cd hermes-agent
-./setup-hermes.sh     # 安装 uv、创建 venv、安装 .[all]、创建符号链接 ~/.local/bin/hermes
-./hermes              # 自动检测 venv，无需先 source
+curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash
+cd "${HERMES_HOME:-$HOME/.hermes}/hermes-agent"
+uv pip install -e ".[all,dev]"
+scripts/run_tests.sh
 ```
 
-手动安装（等效于上述命令）：
+手动克隆备用路径（用于一次性 clone / CI，或你明确不想使用 managed install layout 时）：
 
 ```bash
 curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

agent/agent_init.py

@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ import threading
 import time
 import uuid
 from datetime import datetime
-from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional
+from typing import Any, Callable, Dict, List, Optional
 from urllib.parse import urlparse, parse_qs, urlunparse
 
 from agent.context_compressor import ContextCompressor
@@ -195,6 +195,7 @@ def init_agent(
     status_callback: callable = None,
     notice_callback: callable = None,
     notice_clear_callback: callable = None,
+    event_callback: Optional[Callable[[str, dict], None]] = None,
     max_tokens: int = None,
     reasoning_config: Dict[str, Any] = None,
     service_tier: str = None,
@@ -299,6 +300,7 @@ def init_agent(
     # would mangle the escape sequences.  None = use builtins.print.
     agent._print_fn = None
     agent.background_review_callback = None  # Optional sync callback for gateway delivery
+    agent.memory_notifications = "on"  # Memory update notifications: "off", "on", "verbose"
     agent.skip_context_files = skip_context_files
     agent.load_soul_identity = load_soul_identity
     agent.pass_session_id = pass_session_id
@@ -425,6 +427,7 @@ def init_agent(
     agent.status_callback = status_callback
     agent.notice_callback = notice_callback
     agent.notice_clear_callback = notice_clear_callback
+    agent.event_callback = event_callback
     agent.tool_gen_callback = tool_gen_callback
 
     
@@ -596,6 +599,7 @@ def init_agent(
     # (e.g. CLI voice mode adds a temporary prefix for the live call only).
     agent._persist_user_message_idx = None
     agent._persist_user_message_override = None
+    agent._persist_user_message_timestamp = None
 
     # Cache anthropic image-to-text fallbacks per image payload/URL so a
     # single tool loop does not repeatedly re-run auxiliary vision on the
@@ -900,6 +904,9 @@ def init_agent(
         agent.api_key = client_kwargs.get("api_key", "")
         agent.base_url = client_kwargs.get("base_url", agent.base_url)
         try:
+            from agent.ssl_guard import verify_ca_bundle_with_fallback
+
+            verify_ca_bundle_with_fallback()
             agent.client = agent._create_openai_client(client_kwargs, reason="agent_init", shared=True)
             if not agent.quiet_mode:
                 print(f"🤖 AI Agent initialized with model: {agent.model}")

agent/agent_runtime_helpers.py

@@ -881,6 +881,8 @@ def try_recover_primary_transport(
 
 def drop_thinking_only_and_merge_users(
     messages: List[Dict[str, Any]],
+    *,
+    drop_codex_reasoning_items: bool = True,
 ) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
     """Drop thinking-only assistant turns; merge any adjacent user messages left behind.
 
@@ -902,7 +904,13 @@ def drop_thinking_only_and_merge_users(
         return messages
 
     # Pass 1: drop thinking-only assistant turns.
-    kept = [m for m in messages if not _ra().AIAgent._is_thinking_only_assistant(m)]
+    kept = [
+        m for m in messages
+        if not _ra().AIAgent._is_thinking_only_assistant(
+            m,
+            drop_codex_reasoning_items=drop_codex_reasoning_items,
+        )
+    ]
     dropped = len(messages) - len(kept)
     if dropped == 0:
         return messages
@@ -1209,12 +1217,23 @@ def dump_api_request_debug(
 
         timestamp = datetime.now().strftime("%Y%m%d_%H%M%S_%f")
         dump_file = agent.logs_dir / f"request_dump_{agent.session_id}_{timestamp}.json"
-        atomic_json_write(dump_file, dump_payload, default=str)
+
+        # Redact secrets before persisting/printing. This dump captures the
+        # full request body (system prompt, tool defs, context-embedded
+        # values), and this path fires unconditionally on API errors — so it
+        # otherwise lands any context-embedded secret in cleartext on disk.
+        # Run the serialized dump through the same scrubber used for logs/tool
+        # output, then hand the resulting payload back to the shared atomic
+        # JSON writer so request dumps keep the same write semantics as before.
+        from agent.redact import redact_sensitive_text
+        _serialized = json.dumps(dump_payload, ensure_ascii=False, indent=2, default=str)
+        _redacted_payload = json.loads(redact_sensitive_text(_serialized, force=True))
+        atomic_json_write(dump_file, _redacted_payload, default=str)
 
         agent._vprint(f"{agent.log_prefix}🧾 Request debug dump written to: {dump_file}")
 
         if env_var_enabled("HERMES_DUMP_REQUEST_STDOUT"):
-            print(json.dumps(dump_payload, ensure_ascii=False, indent=2, default=str))
+            print(json.dumps(_redacted_payload, ensure_ascii=False, indent=2, default=str))
 
         return dump_file
     except Exception as dump_error:

agent/anthropic_adapter.py

@@ -372,7 +372,7 @@ def _detect_claude_code_version() -> str:
 
 
 _CLAUDE_CODE_SYSTEM_PREFIX = "You are Claude Code, Anthropic's official CLI for Claude."
-_MCP_TOOL_PREFIX = "mcp_"
+_MCP_TOOL_PREFIX = "mcp__"
 
 
 def _get_claude_code_version() -> str:
@@ -751,6 +751,9 @@ def build_anthropic_client(
     from httpx import Timeout
 
     normalized_base_url = _normalize_base_url_text(base_url)
+    if normalized_base_url:
+        import re as _re
+        normalized_base_url = _re.sub(r"/v1/?$", "", normalized_base_url.rstrip("/"))
     _read_timeout = timeout if (isinstance(timeout, (int, float)) and timeout > 0) else 900.0
     kwargs = {
         "timeout": Timeout(timeout=float(_read_timeout), connect=10.0),
@@ -2346,25 +2349,46 @@ def build_anthropic_kwargs(
                 text = text.replace("Nous Research", "Anthropic")
                 block["text"] = text
 
-        # 3. Prefix tool names with mcp_ (Claude Code convention)
-        #    Skip names that already begin with the marker — native MCP server
-        #    tools (from mcp_servers: in config.yaml) are registered under their
-        #    full mcp_<server>_<tool> name and would double-prefix otherwise,
-        #    breaking round-trip registry lookup in normalize_response. GH-25255.
+        # 3. Normalize tool names so NOTHING goes on the OAuth wire with a
+        #    single-underscore ``mcp_`` prefix.  Anthropic's subscription/OAuth
+        #    billing classifier treats a single-underscore ``mcp_`` tool name as
+        #    a third-party-app fingerprint and rejects the request with HTTP 400
+        #    "Third-party apps now draw from extra usage, not plan limits"
+        #    (verified empirically: a single ``mcp_foo`` tool flips a request
+        #    from plan-billing to the extra-usage lane; ``mcp__foo`` is accepted).
+        #
+        #    Two cases, both must land on the double-underscore ``mcp__`` form:
+        #      a) bare Hermes-native tools (``read_file``)  -> ``mcp__read_file``
+        #      b) native MCP server tools registered under their full
+        #         single-underscore ``mcp_<server>_<tool>`` name
+        #         (``mcp_linear_get_issue``) -> ``mcp__linear_get_issue``
+        #    Case (b) is the gap that the bare ``mcp_``->``mcp__`` constant swap
+        #    left open: those tools were *skipped* and stayed single-underscore,
+        #    so any session with an MCP server configured still tripped the
+        #    classifier. normalize_response reverses both forms via registry
+        #    lookup so the dispatcher still sees the original name. GH-25255.
+        def _to_oauth_wire_name(name: str) -> str:
+            if name.startswith("mcp__"):
+                return name  # already correct, don't double-prefix
+            if name.startswith("mcp_"):
+                # single-underscore native MCP tool -> promote to double
+                return "mcp__" + name[len("mcp_"):]
+            return _MCP_TOOL_PREFIX + name  # bare name -> mcp__<name>
+
         if anthropic_tools:
             for tool in anthropic_tools:
-                if "name" in tool and not tool["name"].startswith(_MCP_TOOL_PREFIX):
-                    tool["name"] = _MCP_TOOL_PREFIX + tool["name"]
+                if "name" in tool:
+                    tool["name"] = _to_oauth_wire_name(tool["name"])
 
-        # 4. Prefix tool names in message history (tool_use and tool_result blocks)
+        # 4. Apply the same normalization to tool names in message history
+        #    (tool_use blocks) so replayed turns match the wire names above.
         for msg in anthropic_messages:
             content = msg.get("content")
             if isinstance(content, list):
                 for block in content:
                     if isinstance(block, dict):
                         if block.get("type") == "tool_use" and "name" in block:
-                            if not block["name"].startswith(_MCP_TOOL_PREFIX):
-                                block["name"] = _MCP_TOOL_PREFIX + block["name"]
+                            block["name"] = _to_oauth_wire_name(block["name"])
                         elif block.get("type") == "tool_result" and "tool_use_id" in block:
                             pass  # tool_result uses ID, not name
 

agent/auxiliary_client.py

@@ -1144,7 +1144,8 @@ def _endpoint_speaks_anthropic_messages(base_url: str) -> bool:
     normalized = (base_url or "").strip().lower().rstrip("/")
     if not normalized:
         return False
-    if normalized.endswith("/anthropic"):
+    path = urlparse(normalized).path.rstrip("/")
+    if path.endswith("/anthropic") or path.endswith("/anthropic/v1"):
         return True
     hostname = base_url_hostname(normalized)
     if hostname == "api.anthropic.com":
@@ -3078,23 +3079,20 @@ def _try_configured_fallback_chain(
         if not fb_provider or fb_provider.lower() == skip:
             continue
         fb_model = str(entry.get("model", "")).strip() or None
-        fb_base_url = str(entry.get("base_url", "")).strip() or None
-        fb_api_key = str(entry.get("api_key", "")).strip() or None
 
         label = f"fallback_chain[{i}]({fb_provider})"
 
         try:
-            fb_client = _resolve_single_provider(
-                fb_provider, fb_model, fb_base_url, fb_api_key)
+            fb_client, resolved_model = _resolve_fallback_entry(entry)
         except Exception:
-            fb_client = None
+            fb_client, resolved_model = None, None
 
         if fb_client is not None:
             logger.info(
                 "Auxiliary %s: %s on %s — configured fallback to %s (%s)",
-                task, reason, failed_provider, label, fb_model or "default",
+                task, reason, failed_provider, label, resolved_model or fb_model or "default",
             )
-            return fb_client, fb_model, label
+            return fb_client, resolved_model or fb_model, label
         tried.append(label)
 
     if tried:
@@ -3105,6 +3103,103 @@ def _try_configured_fallback_chain(
     return None, None, ""
 
 
+def _fallback_entry_api_key(entry: Dict[str, Any]) -> Optional[str]:
+    """Resolve inline or env-backed API key from a fallback-chain entry."""
+    explicit = str(entry.get("api_key") or "").strip()
+    if explicit:
+        return explicit
+    key_env = str(entry.get("key_env") or entry.get("api_key_env") or "").strip()
+    if key_env:
+        return os.getenv(key_env, "").strip() or None
+    return None
+
+
+def _resolve_fallback_entry(entry: Dict[str, Any]) -> Tuple[Optional[Any], Optional[str]]:
+    """Resolve one fallback entry through the central provider router."""
+    provider = str(entry.get("provider") or "").strip()
+    model = str(entry.get("model") or "").strip() or None
+    if not provider or not model:
+        return None, None
+    base_url = str(entry.get("base_url") or "").strip() or None
+    api_key = _fallback_entry_api_key(entry)
+    api_mode = str(entry.get("api_mode") or entry.get("transport") or "").strip() or None
+    return resolve_provider_client(
+        provider,
+        model=model,
+        explicit_base_url=base_url,
+        explicit_api_key=api_key,
+        api_mode=api_mode,
+    )
+
+
+def _try_main_fallback_chain(
+    task: Optional[str],
+    failed_provider: str = "",
+    reason: str = "error",
+) -> Tuple[Optional[Any], Optional[str], str]:
+    """Try the top-level main-agent fallback chain for an auxiliary call.
+
+    ``provider: auto`` auxiliary tasks should respect the user's declared
+    main fallback policy before dropping into Hermes' built-in discovery
+    chain. The top-level chain is read through ``get_fallback_chain`` so
+    both modern ``fallback_providers`` and legacy ``fallback_model`` entries
+    participate in the same order as the main agent.
+    """
+    try:
+        from hermes_cli.config import load_config
+        from hermes_cli.fallback_config import get_fallback_chain
+
+        chain = get_fallback_chain(load_config())
+    except Exception as exc:
+        logger.debug("Auxiliary %s: could not load main fallback chain: %s", task or "call", exc)
+        return None, None, ""
+
+    if not chain:
+        return None, None, ""
+
+    failed_norm = (failed_provider or "").strip().lower()
+    main_norm = (_read_main_provider() or "").strip().lower()
+    skip = {p for p in (failed_norm, main_norm, "auto") if p}
+    tried: List[str] = []
+
+    for i, entry in enumerate(chain):
+        if not isinstance(entry, dict):
+            continue
+        fb_provider = str(entry.get("provider") or "").strip()
+        fb_model = str(entry.get("model") or "").strip()
+        if not fb_provider or not fb_model:
+            continue
+        fb_norm = fb_provider.lower()
+        label = f"fallback_providers[{i}]({fb_provider})"
+        if fb_norm in skip:
+            tried.append(f"{label} (skipped)")
+            continue
+        if _is_provider_unhealthy(fb_norm):
+            _log_skip_unhealthy(fb_norm, task)
+            tried.append(f"{label} (unhealthy)")
+            continue
+        try:
+            fb_client, resolved_model = _resolve_fallback_entry(entry)
+        except Exception as exc:
+            logger.debug("Auxiliary %s: main fallback %s failed to resolve: %s", task or "call", label, exc)
+            fb_client, resolved_model = None, None
+        if fb_client is not None:
+            logger.info(
+                "Auxiliary %s: %s on %s — main fallback chain to %s (%s)",
+                task or "call", reason, failed_provider or "auto", label,
+                resolved_model or fb_model,
+            )
+            return fb_client, resolved_model or fb_model, fb_provider
+        tried.append(label)
+
+    if tried:
+        logger.debug(
+            "Auxiliary %s: main fallback chain exhausted (tried: %s)",
+            task or "call", ", ".join(tried),
+        )
+    return None, None, ""
+
+
 def _resolve_single_provider(
     provider: str,
     model: Optional[str] = None,
@@ -3115,16 +3210,19 @@ def _resolve_single_provider(
 
     Uses the existing provider resolution infrastructure where possible.
     """
-    # Reuse resolve_provider_client which handles provider→client mapping
+    # Reuse resolve_provider_client which handles provider→client mapping.
     client, resolved_model = resolve_provider_client(
         provider=provider,
         model=model,
-        base_url=base_url,
-        api_key=api_key,
+        explicit_base_url=base_url,
+        explicit_api_key=api_key,
     )
     return client
 
-def _resolve_auto(main_runtime: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None) -> Tuple[Optional[OpenAI], Optional[str]]:
+def _resolve_auto(
+    main_runtime: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
+    task: Optional[str] = None,
+) -> Tuple[Optional[OpenAI], Optional[str]]:
     """Full auto-detection chain.
 
     Priority:
@@ -3222,7 +3320,22 @@ def _resolve_auto(main_runtime: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None) -> Tuple[Option
                             main_provider, resolved or main_model)
                 return client, resolved or main_model
 
-    # ── Step 2: aggregator / fallback chain ──────────────────────────────
+    # ── Step 2: user-configured fallback policy ─────────────────────────
+    # In auto mode, respect the task-specific fallback chain first, then the
+    # main agent's top-level fallback_providers/fallback_model chain. The
+    # hardcoded provider discovery chain below is only the convenience default
+    # for users who have not declared a fallback policy.
+    if task:
+        fb_client, fb_model, _fb_label = _try_configured_fallback_chain(
+            task, main_provider or "auto", reason="main provider unavailable")
+        if fb_client is not None:
+            return fb_client, fb_model
+    fb_client, fb_model, _fb_label = _try_main_fallback_chain(
+        task, main_provider or "auto", reason="main provider unavailable")
+    if fb_client is not None:
+        return fb_client, fb_model
+
+    # ── Step 3: aggregator / fallback chain ──────────────────────────────
     tried = []
     for label, try_fn in _get_provider_chain():
         if _is_provider_unhealthy(label):
@@ -3343,6 +3456,7 @@ def resolve_provider_client(
     api_mode: str = None,
     main_runtime: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
     is_vision: bool = False,
+    task: Optional[str] = None,
 ) -> Tuple[Optional[Any], Optional[str]]:
     """Central router: given a provider name and optional model, return a
     configured client with the correct auth, base URL, and API format.
@@ -3463,7 +3577,7 @@ def resolve_provider_client(
 
     # ── Auto: try all providers in priority order ────────────────────
     if provider == "auto":
-        client, resolved = _resolve_auto(main_runtime=main_runtime)
+        client, resolved = _resolve_auto(main_runtime=main_runtime, task=task)
         if client is None:
             return None, None
         # When auto-detection lands on a non-OpenRouter provider (e.g. a
@@ -4356,11 +4470,16 @@ def _client_cache_key(
     api_mode: Optional[str] = None,
     main_runtime: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
     is_vision: bool = False,
+    task: Optional[str] = None,
 ) -> tuple:
     runtime = _normalize_main_runtime(main_runtime)
     runtime_key = tuple(runtime.get(field, "") for field in _MAIN_RUNTIME_FIELDS) if provider == "auto" else ()
+    # `auto` can now resolve through task-specific or main fallback policy,
+    # so the task participates in the cache key. Non-auto providers keep the
+    # old cache shape because the explicit provider/model tuple is sufficient.
+    task_key = (task or "") if provider == "auto" else ""
     pool_hint = _pool_cache_hint(provider, main_runtime=main_runtime)
-    return (provider, async_mode, base_url or "", api_key or "", api_mode or "", runtime_key, is_vision, pool_hint)
+    return (provider, async_mode, base_url or "", api_key or "", api_mode or "", runtime_key, is_vision, task_key, pool_hint)
 
 
 def _store_cached_client(cache_key: tuple, client: Any, default_model: Optional[str], *, bound_loop: Any = None) -> None:
@@ -4553,6 +4672,7 @@ def _get_cached_client(
     api_mode: str = None,
     main_runtime: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
     is_vision: bool = False,
+    task: Optional[str] = None,
 ) -> Tuple[Optional[Any], Optional[str]]:
     """Get or create a cached client for the given provider.
 
@@ -4590,6 +4710,7 @@ def _get_cached_client(
         api_mode=api_mode,
         main_runtime=main_runtime,
         is_vision=is_vision,
+        task=task,
     )
     with _client_cache_lock:
         if cache_key in _client_cache:
@@ -4634,6 +4755,7 @@ def _get_cached_client(
         api_mode=api_mode,
         main_runtime=runtime,
         is_vision=is_vision,
+        task=task,
     )
     if client is not None:
         # For async clients, remember which loop they were created on so we
@@ -5004,7 +5126,7 @@ def _build_call_kwargs(
 
     # Provider-specific extra_body
     merged_extra = dict(extra_body or {})
-    if provider == "nous" or auxiliary_is_nous:
+    if provider == "nous":
         merged_extra.setdefault("tags", []).extend(_nous_portal_tags())
     if merged_extra:
         kwargs["extra_body"] = merged_extra
@@ -5139,7 +5261,7 @@ def call_llm(
             if not resolved_base_url:
                 logger.info("Auxiliary %s: provider %s unavailable, trying auto-detection chain",
                             task or "call", resolved_provider)
-                client, final_model = _get_cached_client("auto", main_runtime=main_runtime)
+                client, final_model = _get_cached_client("auto", main_runtime=main_runtime, task=task)
         if client is None:
             raise RuntimeError(
                 f"No LLM provider configured for task={task} provider={resolved_provider}. "
@@ -5465,14 +5587,19 @@ def call_llm(
 
             # Fallback order (#26882, #26803):
             #   1. User-configured fallback_chain (per-task) if set
-            #   2. Main agent model (last-resort safety net)
-            # For auto users (no explicit aux provider), use the full
-            # auto-detection chain instead — its Step 1 IS the main agent
-            # model, so users on `auto` already get main-model fallback.
+            #   2. For auto: top-level main fallback_providers/fallback_model
+            #   3. For auto: built-in auxiliary discovery chain
+            #   4. For explicit aux providers: main agent model safety net
             fb_client, fb_model, fb_label = (None, None, "")
             if is_auto:
-                fb_client, fb_model, fb_label = _try_payment_fallback(
-                    resolved_provider, task, reason=reason)
+                fb_client, fb_model, fb_label = _try_configured_fallback_chain(
+                    task, resolved_provider or "auto", reason=reason)
+                if fb_client is None:
+                    fb_client, fb_model, fb_label = _try_main_fallback_chain(
+                        task, resolved_provider or "auto", reason=reason)
+                if fb_client is None:
+                    fb_client, fb_model, fb_label = _try_payment_fallback(
+                        resolved_provider, task, reason=reason)
             else:
                 fb_client, fb_model, fb_label = _try_configured_fallback_chain(
                     task, resolved_provider or "auto", reason=reason)
@@ -5635,7 +5762,7 @@ async def async_call_llm(
             if not resolved_base_url:
                 logger.info("Auxiliary %s: provider %s unavailable, trying auto-detection chain",
                             task or "call", resolved_provider)
-                client, final_model = _get_cached_client("auto", async_mode=True)
+                client, final_model = _get_cached_client("auto", async_mode=True, main_runtime=main_runtime, task=task)
         if client is None:
             raise RuntimeError(
                 f"No LLM provider configured for task={task} provider={resolved_provider}. "
@@ -5903,13 +6030,19 @@ async def async_call_llm(
 
             # Fallback order (#26882, #26803):
             #   1. User-configured fallback_chain (per-task) if set
-            #   2. Main agent model (last-resort safety net)
-            # Auto users get the full auto-detection chain instead — its
-            # Step 1 IS the main agent model.
+            #   2. For auto: top-level main fallback_providers/fallback_model
+            #   3. For auto: built-in auxiliary discovery chain
+            #   4. For explicit aux providers: main agent model safety net
             fb_client, fb_model, fb_label = (None, None, "")
             if is_auto:
-                fb_client, fb_model, fb_label = _try_payment_fallback(
-                    resolved_provider, task, reason=reason)
+                fb_client, fb_model, fb_label = _try_configured_fallback_chain(
+                    task, resolved_provider or "auto", reason=reason)
+                if fb_client is None:
+                    fb_client, fb_model, fb_label = _try_main_fallback_chain(
+                        task, resolved_provider or "auto", reason=reason)
+                if fb_client is None:
+                    fb_client, fb_model, fb_label = _try_payment_fallback(
+                        resolved_provider, task, reason=reason)
             else:
                 fb_client, fb_model, fb_label = _try_configured_fallback_chain(
                     task, resolved_provider or "auto", reason=reason)

agent/background_review.py

@@ -237,18 +237,25 @@ _COMBINED_REVIEW_PROMPT = (
 def summarize_background_review_actions(
     review_messages: List[Dict],
     prior_snapshot: List[Dict],
+    notification_mode: str = "on",
 ) -> List[str]:
     """Build the human-facing action summary for a background review pass.
 
-    Walks the review agent's session messages and collects "successful tool
-    action" descriptions to surface to the user (e.g. "Memory updated").
-    Tool messages already present in ``prior_snapshot`` are skipped so we
-    don't re-surface stale results from the prior conversation that the
-    review agent inherited via ``conversation_history`` (issue #14944).
+    Walks the review agent's session messages and collects successful memory
+    and skill-management actions to surface to the user. Tool messages already
+    present in ``prior_snapshot`` are skipped so stale inherited results are
+    not re-surfaced as fresh background work (issue #14944).
 
-    Matching is by ``tool_call_id`` when available, with a content-equality
-    fallback for tool messages that lack one.
+    ``notification_mode`` controls display detail:
+    - ``off``: return no actions.
+    - ``on``: generic "Memory updated"/tool messages.
+    - ``verbose``: include compact content previews from tool-call arguments.
     """
+    mode = str(notification_mode or "on").lower()
+    if mode == "off":
+        return []
+    verbose = mode == "verbose"
+
     existing_tool_call_ids = set()
     existing_tool_contents = set()
     for prior in prior_snapshot or []:
@@ -262,6 +269,42 @@ def summarize_background_review_actions(
             if isinstance(content, str):
                 existing_tool_contents.add(content)
 
+    # Map review-agent tool results back to the calls that produced them.  The
+    # result JSON only says "Entry added"; the call arguments contain action,
+    # target, and content previews.  Restricting to notify_tools also prevents
+    # helper tools from surfacing as memory work just because they succeeded.
+    notify_tools = {"memory", "skill_manage"}
+    all_tool_call_ids: set = set()
+    call_details: dict = {}
+    for msg in review_messages or []:
+        if not isinstance(msg, dict) or msg.get("role") != "assistant":
+            continue
+        for tc in msg.get("tool_calls", []) or []:
+            if not isinstance(tc, dict):
+                continue
+            fn = tc.get("function", {}) or {}
+            fn_name = fn.get("name", "")
+            tcid = tc.get("id")
+            if tcid:
+                all_tool_call_ids.add(tcid)
+            if fn_name not in notify_tools:
+                continue
+            try:
+                args = json.loads(fn.get("arguments", "{}"))
+            except (json.JSONDecodeError, TypeError):
+                args = {}
+            if tcid:
+                call_details[tcid] = {
+                    "tool": fn_name,
+                    "action": args.get("action", "?"),
+                    "target": args.get("target", "memory"),
+                    "content": args.get("content", ""),
+                    "old_text": args.get("old_text", ""),
+                    "name": args.get("name", ""),
+                    "old_string": args.get("old_string", ""),
+                    "new_string": args.get("new_string", ""),
+                }
+
     actions: List[str] = []
     for msg in review_messages or []:
         if not isinstance(msg, dict) or msg.get("role") != "tool":
@@ -273,6 +316,8 @@ def summarize_background_review_actions(
             content_str = msg.get("content")
             if isinstance(content_str, str) and content_str in existing_tool_contents:
                 continue
+        if tcid and all_tool_call_ids and tcid not in call_details:
+            continue
         try:
             data = json.loads(msg.get("content", "{}"))
         except (json.JSONDecodeError, TypeError):
@@ -280,19 +325,75 @@ def summarize_background_review_actions(
         if not isinstance(data, dict) or not data.get("success"):
             continue
         message = data.get("message", "")
-        target = data.get("target", "")
-        if "created" in message.lower():
-            actions.append(message)
-        elif "updated" in message.lower():
-            actions.append(message)
-        elif "added" in message.lower() or (target and "add" in message.lower()):
-            label = "Memory" if target == "memory" else "User profile" if target == "user" else target
-            actions.append(f"{label} updated")
-        elif "Entry added" in message:
-            label = "Memory" if target == "memory" else "User profile" if target == "user" else target
-            actions.append(f"{label} updated")
-        elif "removed" in message.lower() or "replaced" in message.lower():
+        detail = call_details.get(tcid, {})
+        target = data.get("target", "") or detail.get("target", "")
+        is_skill = detail.get("tool") == "skill_manage"
+
+        message_lower = message.lower()
+        if not verbose:
+            if "created" in message_lower:
+                actions.append(message)
+                continue
+            if "updated" in message_lower:
+                actions.append(message)
+                continue
+            if is_skill and "patched" in message_lower:
+                actions.append(message)
+                continue
+
+        if is_skill:
+            label = "Skill"
+        elif target:
             label = "Memory" if target == "memory" else "User profile" if target == "user" else target
+        else:
+            continue
+
+        if verbose:
+            action = detail.get("action", "")
+            content = detail.get("content", "")
+            old_text = detail.get("old_text", "")
+            skill_name = detail.get("name", "")
+            max_preview = 120
+            if is_skill:
+                change = data.get("_change", {})
+                old_string = change.get("old", "") or detail.get("old_string", "")
+                new_string = change.get("new", "") or detail.get("new_string", "")
+                description = change.get("description", "")
+                if action == "patch" and (old_string or new_string):
+                    old_preview = old_string[:80].replace("\n", " ") + (
+                        "…" if len(old_string) > 80 else ""
+                    )
+                    new_preview = new_string[:80].replace("\n", " ") + (
+                        "…" if len(new_string) > 80 else ""
+                    )
+                    actions.append(
+                        f"📝 Skill '{skill_name}' patched: "
+                        f"\"{old_preview}\" → \"{new_preview}\""
+                    )
+                elif action == "create" and description:
+                    actions.append(f"📝 Skill '{skill_name}' created: {description}")
+                elif action == "edit" and description:
+                    actions.append(f"📝 Skill '{skill_name}' rewritten: {description}")
+                else:
+                    actions.append(f"📝 {message}" if message else f"Skill {action}")
+            elif action == "add" and content:
+                preview = content[:max_preview] + ("…" if len(content) > max_preview else "")
+                actions.append(f"{label} ➕ {preview}")
+            elif action == "replace" and content:
+                preview = content[:max_preview] + ("…" if len(content) > max_preview else "")
+                actions.append(f"{label} ✏️ {preview}")
+            elif action == "remove" and old_text:
+                preview = old_text[:60] + ("…" if len(old_text) > 60 else "")
+                actions.append(f"{label} ➖ {preview}")
+            else:
+                actions.append(f"{label} updated")
+        elif (
+            "added" in message_lower
+            or "replaced" in message_lower
+            or "removed" in message_lower
+            or (target and "add" in message.lower())
+            or "Entry added" in message
+        ):
             actions.append(f"{label} updated")
     return actions
 
@@ -522,6 +623,7 @@ def _run_review_in_thread(
         actions = summarize_background_review_actions(
             review_messages,
             messages_snapshot,
+            notification_mode=getattr(agent, "memory_notifications", "on"),
         )
 
         if actions:

agent/bedrock_adapter.py

@@ -58,17 +58,34 @@ _bedrock_runtime_client_cache: Dict[str, Any] = {}
 _bedrock_control_client_cache: Dict[str, Any] = {}
 
 
+_MIN_BOTO3_VERSION = (1, 34, 59)
+
+
 def _require_boto3():
-    """Import boto3, raising a clear error if not installed."""
+    """Import boto3, raising a clear error if not installed or too old."""
     try:
         import boto3
-        return boto3
     except ImportError:
         raise ImportError(
             "The 'boto3' package is required for the AWS Bedrock provider. "
             "Install it with: pip install boto3\n"
             "Or install Hermes with Bedrock support: pip install -e '.[bedrock]'"
         )
+    # converse() / converse_stream() were added in boto3 1.34.59.
+    # When Hermes is installed editable into system Python, the system boto3
+    # (e.g. Ubuntu 24.04 ships 1.34.46) may take precedence over the venv
+    # version pinned in pyproject.toml.
+    try:
+        version = tuple(int(x) for x in boto3.__version__.split(".")[:3])
+    except (AttributeError, ValueError):
+        return boto3  # can't parse — don't block on version check
+    if version < _MIN_BOTO3_VERSION:
+        raise RuntimeError(
+            f"boto3 {boto3.__version__} does not support converse_stream "
+            f"(minimum 1.34.59 required). Upgrade with: "
+            f"pip install --upgrade boto3"
+        )
+    return boto3
 
 
 def _get_bedrock_runtime_client(region: str):
@@ -935,11 +952,14 @@ def build_converse_kwargs(
     if system_prompt:
         kwargs["system"] = system_prompt
 
-    if temperature is not None:
-        kwargs["inferenceConfig"]["temperature"] = temperature
+    from agent.anthropic_adapter import _forbids_sampling_params
 
-    if top_p is not None:
-        kwargs["inferenceConfig"]["topP"] = top_p
+    if not _forbids_sampling_params(model):
+        if temperature is not None:
+            kwargs["inferenceConfig"]["temperature"] = temperature
+
+        if top_p is not None:
+            kwargs["inferenceConfig"]["topP"] = top_p
 
     if stop_sequences:
         kwargs["inferenceConfig"]["stopSequences"] = stop_sequences

agent/codex_responses_adapter.py

@@ -262,6 +262,26 @@ def _responses_tools(tools: Optional[List[Dict[str, Any]]] = None) -> Optional[L
     return converted or None
 
 
+# Provider-executed built-in tool *declaration* types accepted on the
+# Responses ``tools`` array.  These are declared by ``type`` alone (no
+# client-side name/parameters schema) and run server-side — the provider
+# owns the implementation and reports progress via the matching ``*_call``
+# output items.  Hermes injects xAI's native ``web_search`` for the xAI
+# transport (see agent/transports/codex.py); the rest are listed so the
+# preflight validator passes them through rather than rejecting them as
+# "unsupported type".  Mirrors the ``*_call`` item-type set used in
+# _normalize_codex_response.
+_RESPONSES_BUILTIN_TOOL_TYPES = {
+    "web_search",
+    "web_search_preview",
+    "file_search",
+    "code_interpreter",
+    "image_generation",
+    "computer_use_preview",
+    "local_shell",
+}
+
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Message format conversion
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -802,7 +822,22 @@ def _preflight_codex_api_kwargs(
         for idx, tool in enumerate(tools):
             if not isinstance(tool, dict):
                 raise ValueError(f"Codex Responses tools[{idx}] must be an object.")
-            if tool.get("type") != "function":
+
+            tool_type = tool.get("type")
+
+            # Provider-executed built-in tools (xAI native web_search, code
+            # interpreter, etc.) are declared by ``type`` alone and carry no
+            # ``name``/``parameters`` schema — the provider owns the
+            # implementation.  Pass them through verbatim instead of forcing
+            # them through the function-tool validation below (which would
+            # otherwise reject them with "unsupported type").  See
+            # agent/transports/codex.py for where xAI's native web_search is
+            # injected.
+            if tool_type in _RESPONSES_BUILTIN_TOOL_TYPES:
+                normalized_tools.append(dict(tool))
+                continue
+
+            if tool_type != "function":
                 raise ValueError(f"Codex Responses tools[{idx}] has unsupported type {tool.get('type')!r}.")
 
             name = tool.get("name")
@@ -1081,10 +1116,38 @@ def _normalize_codex_response(
     message_items_raw: List[Dict[str, Any]] = []
     tool_calls: List[Any] = []
     has_incomplete_items = response_status in {"queued", "in_progress", "incomplete"}
+    saw_streaming_or_item_incomplete = response_status in {"queued", "in_progress"}
     saw_commentary_phase = False
     saw_final_answer_phase = False
     saw_reasoning_item = False
 
+    # Server-side built-in tool calls (xAI's native web_search, code
+    # interpreter, etc.) are executed by the provider and reported as
+    # discrete ``*_call`` output items.  xAI's /v1/responses surface
+    # (e.g. grok-composer-2.5-fast on SuperGrok OAuth) routinely leaves
+    # these items at ``status="in_progress"`` even when the overall
+    # ``response.status == "completed"`` — the search ran to completion
+    # server-side, the per-item status simply isn't reconciled.  These
+    # are NOT a signal that the model's turn is unfinished, so they must
+    # not flip ``has_incomplete_items``.  Only the response-level status
+    # and genuine model output items (message/reasoning/function_call)
+    # govern the incomplete verdict.  Without this guard, any turn where
+    # grok-composer invokes server-side search is misclassified as
+    # ``finish_reason="incomplete"`` and burns 3 fruitless continuation
+    # retries before failing with "Codex response remained incomplete
+    # after 3 continuation attempts".  client-side function/custom tool
+    # calls keep their own in_progress handling below (they are skipped,
+    # not awaited).
+    _SERVER_SIDE_TOOL_CALL_TYPES = {
+        "web_search_call",
+        "file_search_call",
+        "code_interpreter_call",
+        "image_generation_call",
+        "computer_call",
+        "local_shell_call",
+        "mcp_call",
+    }
+
     for item in output:
         item_type = getattr(item, "type", None)
         item_status = getattr(item, "status", None)
@@ -1093,8 +1156,12 @@ def _normalize_codex_response(
         else:
             item_status = None
 
-        if item_status in {"queued", "in_progress", "incomplete"}:
+        if (
+            item_status in {"queued", "in_progress", "incomplete"}
+            and item_type not in _SERVER_SIDE_TOOL_CALL_TYPES
+        ):
             has_incomplete_items = True
+            saw_streaming_or_item_incomplete = True
 
         if item_type == "message":
             item_phase = getattr(item, "phase", None)
@@ -1252,7 +1319,9 @@ def _normalize_codex_response(
         finish_reason = "tool_calls"
     elif leaked_tool_call_text:
         finish_reason = "incomplete"
-    elif has_incomplete_items or (saw_commentary_phase and not saw_final_answer_phase):
+    elif saw_streaming_or_item_incomplete:
+        finish_reason = "incomplete"
+    elif (has_incomplete_items or saw_commentary_phase) and not saw_final_answer_phase:
         finish_reason = "incomplete"
     elif (reasoning_items_raw or reasoning_parts or saw_reasoning_item) and not final_text:
         # Response contains only reasoning (encrypted thinking state and/or

agent/conversation_compression.py

@@ -40,6 +40,16 @@ from agent.model_metadata import estimate_request_tokens_rough
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
+# Stable marker the gateway matches on to re-tag the auto-compaction lifecycle
+# status as ``kind="compacting"`` (tui_gateway/server.py::_status_update), so
+# drivers like the desktop app can show an explicit "Summarizing…" indicator
+# instead of the transcript appearing to silently reset. Keep the marker phrase
+# intact if you reword COMPACTION_STATUS.
+COMPACTION_STATUS_MARKER = "Compacting context"
+COMPACTION_STATUS = (
+    f"🗜️ {COMPACTION_STATUS_MARKER} — summarizing earlier conversation so I can continue..."
+)
+
 
 def _compression_lock_holder(agent: Any) -> str:
     """Build a unique holder id for the lock: pid:tid:agent-instance:uuid.
@@ -324,9 +334,7 @@ def compress_context(
         f"{approx_tokens:,}" if approx_tokens else "unknown", agent.model,
         focus_topic,
     )
-    agent._emit_status(
-        "🗜️ Compacting context — summarizing earlier conversation so I can continue..."
-    )
+    agent._emit_status(COMPACTION_STATUS)
 
     # ── Compression lock ────────────────────────────────────────────────
     # Atomic, state.db-backed lock per session_id.  Without this, two
@@ -595,6 +603,20 @@ def compress_context(
             force=True,
         )
 
+    # Emit session:compress event so hooks (e.g. MemPalace sync) can ingest
+    # the completed old session before its details are lost.
+    _old_sid_for_event = locals().get("old_session_id")
+    if getattr(agent, "event_callback", None):
+        try:
+            agent.event_callback("session:compress", {
+                "platform": agent.platform or "",
+                "session_id": agent.session_id,
+                "old_session_id": _old_sid_for_event or "",
+                "compression_count": agent.context_compressor.compression_count,
+            })
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.debug("event_callback error on session:compress: %s", e)
+
     # Keep the post-compression rough estimate for diagnostics, but do not
     # treat it as provider-reported prompt usage. Schema-heavy rough estimates
     # can remain above threshold even after the next real API request fits.
@@ -631,7 +653,11 @@ def compress_context(
     return compressed, new_system_prompt
 
 
-def try_shrink_image_parts_in_messages(api_messages: list) -> bool:
+def try_shrink_image_parts_in_messages(
+    api_messages: list,
+    *,
+    max_dimension: int = 8000,
+) -> bool:
     """Re-encode all native image parts at a smaller size to recover from
     image-too-large errors (Anthropic 5 MB, unknown other providers).
 
@@ -642,7 +668,8 @@ def try_shrink_image_parts_in_messages(api_messages: list) -> bool:
     Strategy: look for ``image_url`` / ``input_image`` parts carrying a
     ``data:image/...;base64,...`` payload.  For each one whose encoded
     size exceeds 4 MB (a safe target that slides under Anthropic's 5 MB
-    ceiling with header overhead), write the base64 to a tempfile, call
+    ceiling with header overhead) or whose longest side exceeds
+    ``max_dimension``, write the base64 to a tempfile, call
     ``vision_tools._resize_image_for_vision`` to produce a smaller data
     URL, and substitute it in place.
 
@@ -664,10 +691,9 @@ def try_shrink_image_parts_in_messages(api_messages: list) -> bool:
     # after a confirmed provider rejection, so the alternative is failure.
     target_bytes = 4 * 1024 * 1024
     # Anthropic enforces an 8000px per-side dimension cap independently of
-    # the 5 MB byte cap.  A tall screenshot can be well under 5 MB yet far
-    # over 8000px (e.g. 1200×12000 at 0.06 MB).  We check pixel dimensions
-    # even when the byte budget is fine.
-    max_dimension = 8000
+    # the 5 MB byte cap.  In many-image requests, the provider can report a
+    # lower cap (observed: 2000px).  The caller passes that parsed ceiling
+    # when the rejection includes it.
     changed_count = 0
     # Track parts that are over the target but could NOT be shrunk under it.
     # If any survive, retrying is pointless — the same oversized payload will
@@ -684,9 +710,9 @@ def try_shrink_image_parts_in_messages(api_messages: list) -> bool:
         # Check both byte size AND pixel dimensions.
         needs_shrink = len(url) > target_bytes  # over byte budget
         if not needs_shrink:
-            # Even if bytes are fine, check pixel dimensions against
-            # Anthropic's 8000px cap.  A tall image can be tiny in bytes
-            # yet huge in pixels.
+            # Even if bytes are fine, check pixel dimensions against the
+            # provider's reported per-side cap.  A screenshot can be tiny in
+            # bytes yet too large in pixels.
             try:
                 import base64 as _b64_dim
                 header_d, _, data_d = url.partition(",")
@@ -795,6 +821,8 @@ def try_shrink_image_parts_in_messages(api_messages: list) -> bool:
 
 
 __all__ = [
+    "COMPACTION_STATUS",
+    "COMPACTION_STATUS_MARKER",
     "check_compression_model_feasibility",
     "replay_compression_warning",
     "compress_context",

agent/conversation_loop.py

@@ -71,6 +71,35 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 INTERRUPT_WAITING_FOR_MODEL_PREFIX = "Operation interrupted: waiting for model response ("
 
 
+def _image_error_max_dimension(error: Exception) -> Optional[int]:
+    """Extract a provider-reported image dimension ceiling, if present."""
+    parts = []
+    for value in (
+        error,
+        getattr(error, "message", None),
+        getattr(error, "body", None),
+    ):
+        if value:
+            try:
+                parts.append(str(value))
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+    text = " ".join(parts).lower()
+    if "image" not in text or "dimension" not in text or "max allowed size" not in text:
+        return None
+
+    match = re.search(r"max allowed size(?:\s+for [^:]+)?:\s*(\d{3,5})\s*pixels?", text)
+    if not match:
+        return None
+    try:
+        max_dimension = int(match.group(1))
+    except ValueError:
+        return None
+    if 512 <= max_dimension <= 8000:
+        return max_dimension
+    return None
+
+
 def _ollama_context_limit_error(agent: Any, request_tokens: int) -> Optional[str]:
     """Return a user-facing error when Ollama is loaded with too little context."""
     if not getattr(agent, "tools", None):
@@ -271,11 +300,20 @@ def _restore_or_build_system_prompt(agent, system_message, conversation_history)
                 agent.session_id, exc,
             )
 
-    if stored_prompt:
+    if stored_prompt and _stored_prompt_matches_runtime(agent, stored_prompt):
         # Continuing session — reuse the exact system prompt from the
         # previous turn so the Anthropic cache prefix matches.
         agent._cached_system_prompt = stored_prompt
         return
+    if stored_prompt:
+        stored_state = "stale_runtime"
+        logger.info(
+            "Stored system prompt for session %s has stale runtime identity; "
+            "rebuilding for model=%s provider=%s.",
+            agent.session_id,
+            getattr(agent, "model", "") or "",
+            getattr(agent, "provider", "") or "",
+        )
 
     if conversation_history and stored_state in ("null", "empty"):
         # Continuing session whose stored prompt is unusable.  The
@@ -337,6 +375,30 @@ def _restore_or_build_system_prompt(agent, system_message, conversation_history)
             )
 
 
+def _stored_prompt_matches_runtime(agent, prompt: str) -> bool:
+    """Return False when the persisted Model/Provider lines are stale."""
+
+    def line_value(label: str) -> str:
+        prefix = f"{label}:"
+        value = ""
+        for line in prompt.splitlines():
+            if line.startswith(prefix):
+                value = line[len(prefix):].strip()
+        return value
+
+    stored_model = line_value("Model")
+    current_model = str(getattr(agent, "model", "") or "").strip()
+    if stored_model and current_model and stored_model != current_model:
+        return False
+
+    stored_provider = line_value("Provider")
+    current_provider = str(getattr(agent, "provider", "") or "").strip()
+    if stored_provider and current_provider and stored_provider != current_provider:
+        return False
+
+    return True
+
+
 def _get_continuation_prompt(is_partial_stub: bool, dropped_tools: Optional[List[str]] = None) -> str:
     if is_partial_stub and dropped_tools:
         tool_list = ", ".join(dropped_tools[:3])
@@ -368,6 +430,42 @@ def _get_continuation_prompt(is_partial_stub: bool, dropped_tools: Optional[List
         )
 
 
+# Shared recovery hint appended to every content-policy refusal message. Both
+# the HTTP-200 refusal path (``finish_reason=content_filter``) and the
+# exception path (a provider moderation error classified as
+# ``content_policy_blocked``) end with the same actionable next steps, so they
+# share one trailer to keep the guidance from drifting between the two sites.
+_CONTENT_POLICY_RECOVERY_HINT = (
+    "Try rephrasing the request, narrowing the context, or "
+    "adding a fallback provider with `hermes fallback add`."
+)
+
+
+def _content_policy_blocked_result(
+    messages: List[Dict],
+    api_call_count: int,
+    *,
+    final_response: str,
+    error_detail: str,
+) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    """Build the terminal turn result for a content-policy block.
+
+    A content-policy refusal is deterministic for the unchanged prompt, so the
+    turn ends here (no retry). Both the HTTP-200 refusal handler and the
+    exception-path handler return the identical shape — a failed, non-completed
+    turn carrying the user-facing message and a ``content_policy_blocked:``
+    prefixed error — so they funnel through this one builder.
+    """
+    return {
+        "final_response": final_response,
+        "messages": messages,
+        "api_calls": api_call_count,
+        "completed": False,
+        "failed": True,
+        "error": f"content_policy_blocked: {error_detail}",
+    }
+
+
 def run_conversation(
     agent,
     user_message: str,
@@ -376,6 +474,7 @@ def run_conversation(
     task_id: str = None,
     stream_callback: Optional[callable] = None,
     persist_user_message: Optional[str] = None,
+    persist_user_timestamp: Optional[float] = None,
 ) -> Dict[str, Any]:
     """
     Run a complete conversation with tool calling until completion.
@@ -391,6 +490,8 @@ def run_conversation(
         persist_user_message: Optional clean user message to store in
             transcripts/history when user_message contains API-only
             synthetic prefixes.
+        persist_user_timestamp: Optional platform event timestamp to store
+            as metadata on that persisted user message.
                 or queuing follow-up prefetch work.
 
     Returns:
@@ -412,6 +513,7 @@ def run_conversation(
         task_id,
         stream_callback,
         persist_user_message,
+        persist_user_timestamp,
         restore_or_build_system_prompt=_restore_or_build_system_prompt,
         install_safe_stdio=_install_safe_stdio,
         sanitize_surrogates=_sanitize_surrogates,
@@ -707,7 +809,10 @@ def run_conversation(
         # a thinking-only turn. Runs on the per-call copy only — the
         # stored conversation history keeps the reasoning block for the
         # UI transcript and session persistence.
-        api_messages = agent._drop_thinking_only_and_merge_users(api_messages)
+        api_messages = agent._drop_thinking_only_and_merge_users(
+            api_messages,
+            drop_codex_reasoning_items=agent.api_mode != "codex_responses",
+        )
 
         # Normalize message whitespace and tool-call JSON for consistent
         # prefix matching.  Ensures bit-perfect prefixes across turns,
@@ -1316,6 +1421,106 @@ def run_conversation(
                         )
                         finish_reason = "length"
 
+                # ── Content-policy refusal (HTTP 200) ──────────────────
+                # The model — or the provider's safety system — returned a
+                # *successful* response whose stop/finish reason is a refusal:
+                # Anthropic ``stop_reason="refusal"`` → ``content_filter``;
+                # OpenAI / portal ``finish_reason="content_filter"`` or a
+                # populated ``message.refusal`` (mapped in the chat_completions
+                # transport); Bedrock ``guardrail_intervened``. The content is
+                # typically empty, so without this branch the response falls
+                # through to the empty-response / invalid-response retry loops
+                # and is mis-surfaced as "rate limited" / "no content after
+                # retries" — burning paid attempts reproducing a deterministic
+                # refusal. Surface it clearly and stop. Mirrors the
+                # exception-based ``content_policy_blocked`` recovery: try a
+                # configured fallback once, otherwise return the refusal.
+                if finish_reason == "content_filter":
+                    _refusal_transport = agent._get_transport()
+                    if agent.api_mode == "anthropic_messages":
+                        _refusal_result = _refusal_transport.normalize_response(
+                            response, strip_tool_prefix=agent._is_anthropic_oauth
+                        )
+                    else:
+                        _refusal_result = _refusal_transport.normalize_response(response)
+                    _refusal_text = (getattr(_refusal_result, "content", None) or "").strip()
+                    # Some refusals carry the explanation only in the reasoning
+                    # channel; fall back to it so the user sees *something*.
+                    if not _refusal_text:
+                        _refusal_text = (agent._extract_reasoning(_refusal_result) or "").strip()
+
+                    agent._invoke_api_request_error_hook(
+                        task_id=effective_task_id,
+                        turn_id=turn_id,
+                        api_request_id=api_request_id,
+                        api_call_count=api_call_count,
+                        api_start_time=api_start_time,
+                        api_kwargs=api_kwargs,
+                        error_type="ContentPolicyBlocked",
+                        error_message=_refusal_text or "model declined to respond (content_filter)",
+                        status_code=None,
+                        retry_count=retry_count,
+                        max_retries=max_retries,
+                        retryable=False,
+                        reason=FailoverReason.content_policy_blocked.value,
+                    )
+
+                    if thinking_spinner:
+                        thinking_spinner.stop("")
+                        thinking_spinner = None
+                    if agent.thinking_callback:
+                        agent.thinking_callback("")
+
+                    # Deterministic for the unchanged prompt — never retry.
+                    # Try a configured fallback once (a different model may not
+                    # refuse); otherwise surface the refusal terminally.
+                    if agent._has_pending_fallback():
+                        agent._buffer_status(
+                            "⚠️ Model declined to respond (safety refusal) — trying fallback..."
+                        )
+                    if agent._try_activate_fallback():
+                        retry_count = 0
+                        compression_attempts = 0
+                        _retry.primary_recovery_attempted = False
+                        continue
+
+                    agent._flush_status_buffer()
+                    _refusal_log = (
+                        _refusal_text[:500] + "..."
+                        if len(_refusal_text) > 500
+                        else _refusal_text
+                    )
+                    logger.warning(
+                        "%sModel declined to respond (finish_reason=content_filter). "
+                        "model=%s provider=%s refusal=%s",
+                        agent.log_prefix, agent.model, agent.provider,
+                        _refusal_log or "(no text)",
+                    )
+                    agent._emit_status(
+                        "⚠️ The model declined to respond to this request (safety refusal)."
+                    )
+
+                    _refusal_detail = (
+                        f"Model's explanation: {_refusal_text}"
+                        if _refusal_text
+                        else "The model returned no explanation."
+                    )
+                    _refusal_response = (
+                        "⚠️  The model declined to respond to this request "
+                        "(safety refusal — not a Hermes/gateway failure).\n\n"
+                        f"{_refusal_detail}\n\n"
+                        f"{_CONTENT_POLICY_RECOVERY_HINT}"
+                    )
+
+                    agent._cleanup_task_resources(effective_task_id)
+                    agent._persist_session(messages, conversation_history)
+                    return _content_policy_blocked_result(
+                        messages,
+                        api_call_count,
+                        final_response=_refusal_response,
+                        error_detail=_refusal_text or "model declined (content_filter)",
+                    )
+
                 if finish_reason == "length":
                     if getattr(response, "id", "") == PARTIAL_STREAM_STUB_ID:
                         agent._vprint(
@@ -2067,7 +2272,11 @@ def run_conversation(
                     and not _retry.image_shrink_retry_attempted
                 ):
                     _retry.image_shrink_retry_attempted = True
-                    if agent._try_shrink_image_parts_in_messages(api_messages):
+                    image_max_dimension = _image_error_max_dimension(api_error) or 8000
+                    if agent._try_shrink_image_parts_in_messages(
+                        api_messages,
+                        max_dimension=image_max_dimension,
+                    ):
                         agent._vprint(
                             f"{agent.log_prefix}📐 Image(s) exceeded provider size limit — "
                             f"shrank and retrying...",
@@ -3083,20 +3292,17 @@ def run_conversation(
                     if classified.reason == FailoverReason.content_policy_blocked:
                         _summary = agent._summarize_api_error(api_error)
                         _policy_response = (
-                            f"⚠️  The model provider's safety filter blocked this request "
-                            f"(not a Hermes/gateway failure).\n\n"
+                            "⚠️  The model provider's safety filter blocked this request "
+                            "(not a Hermes/gateway failure).\n\n"
                             f"Provider message: {_summary}\n\n"
-                            f"Try rephrasing the request, narrowing the context, or "
-                            f"adding a fallback provider with `hermes fallback add`."
+                            f"{_CONTENT_POLICY_RECOVERY_HINT}"
+                        )
+                        return _content_policy_blocked_result(
+                            messages,
+                            api_call_count,
+                            final_response=_policy_response,
+                            error_detail=_summary,
                         )
-                        return {
-                            "final_response": _policy_response,
-                            "messages": messages,
-                            "api_calls": api_call_count,
-                            "completed": False,
-                            "failed": True,
-                            "error": f"content_policy_blocked: {_summary}",
-                        }
                     return {
                         "final_response": None,
                         "messages": messages,
@@ -3550,8 +3756,30 @@ def run_conversation(
                     assistant_msg = agent._build_assistant_message(assistant_message, finish_reason)
                     messages.append(assistant_msg)
                     for tc in assistant_message.tool_calls:
-                        if tc.function.name not in agent.valid_tool_names:
-                            content = f"Tool '{tc.function.name}' does not exist. Available tools: {available}"
+                        _tc_name = tc.function.name
+                        if _tc_name not in agent.valid_tool_names:
+                            # A blank/whitespace-only name is not a typo the
+                            # model can fuzzy-correct toward a real tool — it is
+                            # almost always a weak open model echoing tool-call
+                            # XML/JSON it saw in file or tool output (#47967:
+                            # <tool_call>/<invoke name=...> payloads in a file
+                            # prime mimo/nemotron-class models to emit empty
+                            # structured calls). Dumping the full tool catalog
+                            # in that case feeds the priming loop more names to
+                            # mimic and inflates context 3-4x across retries, so
+                            # send a terse error that tells the model in-context
+                            # tool-call syntax is DATA, not a call to make.
+                            if not (_tc_name or "").strip():
+                                content = (
+                                    "Tool call rejected: the tool name was empty. "
+                                    "If tool-call XML or JSON appeared in file "
+                                    "contents or tool output, that is data — do "
+                                    "not re-emit it as a tool call. To call a "
+                                    "tool, use a valid name from your tool list; "
+                                    "otherwise reply in plain text."
+                                )
+                            else:
+                                content = f"Tool '{_tc_name}' does not exist. Available tools: {available}"
                         else:
                             content = "Skipped: another tool call in this turn used an invalid name. Please retry this tool call."
                         messages.append({

agent/copilot_acp_client.py

@@ -70,16 +70,6 @@ def _resolve_args() -> list[str]:
 
 def _resolve_home_dir() -> str:
     """Return a stable HOME for child ACP processes."""
-
-    try:
-        from hermes_constants import get_subprocess_home
-
-        profile_home = get_subprocess_home()
-        if profile_home:
-            return profile_home
-    except Exception:
-        pass
-
     home = os.environ.get("HOME", "").strip()
     if home:
         return home
@@ -105,7 +95,10 @@ def _resolve_home_dir() -> str:
 
 def _build_subprocess_env() -> dict[str, str]:
     env = os.environ.copy()
-    env["HOME"] = _resolve_home_dir()
+    home = _resolve_home_dir()
+    env["HOME"] = home
+    from hermes_constants import apply_subprocess_home_env
+    apply_subprocess_home_env(env)
     return env
 
 

agent/curator.py

@@ -57,6 +57,11 @@ DEFAULT_INTERVAL_HOURS = 24 * 7  # 7 days
 DEFAULT_MIN_IDLE_HOURS = 2
 DEFAULT_STALE_AFTER_DAYS = 30
 DEFAULT_ARCHIVE_AFTER_DAYS = 90
+# Consolidation (the LLM umbrella-building fork) is OFF by default. The
+# deterministic inactivity prune (apply_automatic_transitions) still runs
+# whenever the curator is enabled; only the opinionated, aux-model-cost
+# consolidation pass is opt-in.
+DEFAULT_CONSOLIDATE = False
 
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -182,6 +187,22 @@ def get_prune_builtins() -> bool:
     return bool(cfg.get("prune_builtins", True))
 
 
+def get_consolidate() -> bool:
+    """Whether the curator runs its LLM consolidation (umbrella-building) pass.
+
+    OFF by default. When off, a curator run does ONLY the deterministic
+    inactivity prune (mark stale / archive long-unused skills) and skips the
+    forked aux-model review entirely — no consolidation, no umbrella-building,
+    no aux-model cost. Set ``curator.consolidate: true`` to opt back into the
+    LLM pass that merges overlapping skills into class-level umbrellas.
+
+    The explicit ``hermes curator run --consolidate`` flag overrides this for
+    a single invocation regardless of the config value.
+    """
+    cfg = _load_config()
+    return bool(cfg.get("consolidate", DEFAULT_CONSOLIDATE))
+
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Idle / interval check
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -1408,25 +1429,38 @@ def run_curator_review(
     on_summary: Optional[Callable[[str], None]] = None,
     synchronous: bool = False,
     dry_run: bool = False,
+    consolidate: Optional[bool] = None,
 ) -> Dict[str, Any]:
     """Execute a single curator review pass.
 
     Steps:
       1. Apply automatic state transitions (pure, no LLM).
-      2. If there are agent-created skills, spawn a forked AIAgent that runs
-         the LLM review prompt against the current candidate list.
+      2. If consolidation is enabled AND there are agent-created skills, spawn
+         a forked AIAgent that runs the LLM review prompt against the current
+         candidate list.
       3. Update .curator_state with last_run_at and a one-line summary.
       4. Invoke *on_summary* with a user-visible description.
 
     If *synchronous* is True, the LLM review runs in the calling thread; the
     default is to spawn a daemon thread so the caller returns immediately.
 
+    *consolidate* gates the LLM umbrella-building pass. ``None`` (the default)
+    reads ``curator.consolidate`` from config (OFF by default). Passing
+    ``True``/``False`` overrides the config for this invocation — used by the
+    ``hermes curator run --consolidate`` flag. When consolidation is off, only
+    the deterministic inactivity prune runs and the forked aux-model review is
+    skipped entirely (no aux-model cost).
+
     If *dry_run* is True, the automatic stale/archive transitions are SKIPPED
     and the LLM review pass is instructed to produce a report only — no
     skill_manage mutations, no terminal archive moves. The REPORT.md still
     gets written and ``state.last_report_path`` still records it so users
-    can read what the curator WOULD have done.
+    can read what the curator WOULD have done. A dry-run also honors
+    *consolidate*: when consolidation is off, the preview only reports the
+    deterministic prune candidates.
     """
+    if consolidate is None:
+        consolidate = get_consolidate()
     start = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
     if dry_run:
         # Count candidates without mutating state.
@@ -1489,6 +1523,53 @@ def run_curator_review(
             before_report = []
         before_names = {r.get("name") for r in before_report if isinstance(r, dict)}
 
+        # Consolidation gate. When off (the default), the curator does ONLY the
+        # deterministic inactivity prune above — no forked aux-model review, no
+        # umbrella-building, no aux-model cost. Record the run, write a report
+        # reflecting the prune-only outcome, and return without spawning a fork.
+        if not consolidate:
+            final_summary = (
+                f"{prefix}{auto_summary}; llm: skipped (consolidation off)"
+            )
+            llm_meta = {
+                "final": "",
+                "summary": "skipped (consolidation off)",
+                "model": "",
+                "provider": "",
+                "tool_calls": [],
+                "error": None,
+            }
+            elapsed = (datetime.now(timezone.utc) - start).total_seconds()
+            state2 = load_state()
+            state2["last_run_duration_seconds"] = elapsed
+            state2["last_run_summary"] = final_summary
+            try:
+                after_report = skill_usage.agent_created_report()
+            except Exception:
+                after_report = []
+            try:
+                report_path = _write_run_report(
+                    started_at=start,
+                    elapsed_seconds=elapsed,
+                    auto_counts=counts,
+                    auto_summary=auto_summary,
+                    before_report=before_report,
+                    before_names=before_names,
+                    after_report=after_report,
+                    llm_meta=llm_meta,
+                )
+                if report_path is not None:
+                    state2["last_report_path"] = str(report_path)
+            except Exception as e:
+                logger.debug("Curator report write failed: %s", e, exc_info=True)
+            save_state(state2)
+            if on_summary:
+                try:
+                    on_summary(f"curator: {final_summary}")
+                except Exception:
+                    pass
+            return
+
         llm_meta: Dict[str, Any] = {}
         try:
             candidate_list = _render_candidate_list()

agent/curator_backup.py

@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ import shutil
 import tarfile
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Tuple
+from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Set, Tuple
 
 from hermes_constants import get_hermes_home
 from agent.skill_utils import is_excluded_skill_path
@@ -208,13 +208,17 @@ def _write_manifest(dest: Path, reason: str, archive_path: Path,
     )
 
 
-def snapshot_skills(reason: str = "manual") -> Optional[Path]:
+def snapshot_skills(reason: str = "manual", *, protect_ids: Optional[Set[str]] = None) -> Optional[Path]:
     """Create a tar.gz snapshot of ``~/.hermes/skills/`` and prune old ones.
 
     Returns the snapshot directory path, or ``None`` if the snapshot was
     skipped (backup disabled, skills dir missing, or an IO error occurred —
     in which case we log at debug and return None so the curator never
     aborts a pass because of a backup failure).
+
+    ``protect_ids`` is forwarded to the prune step so callers can guarantee
+    specific snapshot ids survive even when they fall outside the keep
+    window (rollback passes the id it is about to restore from).
     """
     if not is_enabled():
         logger.debug("Curator backup disabled by config; skipping snapshot")
@@ -276,15 +280,19 @@ def snapshot_skills(reason: str = "manual") -> Optional[Path]:
             pass
         return None
 
-    _prune_old(keep=get_keep())
+    _prune_old(keep=get_keep(), protect=protect_ids)
     logger.info("Curator snapshot created: %s (%s)", snap_id, reason)
     return dest
 
 
-def _prune_old(keep: int) -> List[str]:
+def _prune_old(keep: int, protect: Optional[Set[str]] = None) -> List[str]:
     """Delete regular snapshots beyond the newest *keep*. Returns deleted
-    ids. Staging dirs (``.rollback-staging-*``) are implementation detail
-    and pruned independently on every call."""
+    ids. Snapshot ids in *protect* are never deleted even when they fall
+    outside the keep window — rollback() uses this so the mandatory
+    pre-rollback safety snapshot can never evict the very snapshot being
+    restored. Staging dirs (``.rollback-staging-*``) are implementation
+    detail and pruned independently on every call."""
+    protect = protect or set()
     backups = _backups_dir()
     if not backups.exists():
         return []
@@ -305,6 +313,8 @@ def _prune_old(keep: int) -> List[str]:
     entries.sort(key=lambda t: t[0], reverse=True)
     deleted: List[str] = []
     for _, path in entries[keep:]:
+        if path.name in protect:
+            continue
         try:
             shutil.rmtree(path)
             deleted.append(path.name)
@@ -454,16 +464,16 @@ def _restore_cron_skill_links(snapshot_dir: Path) -> Dict[str, Any]:
         report["attempted"] = True  # we tried but there was nothing to do
         return report
 
-    # Load and rewrite the live jobs under the scheduler's lock.
+    # Load and rewrite the live jobs under the scheduler's cross-process lock.
     try:
-        from cron.jobs import load_jobs, save_jobs, _jobs_file_lock
+        from cron.jobs import load_jobs, save_jobs, _jobs_lock
     except ImportError as e:
         report["error"] = f"cron module unavailable: {e}"
         return report
 
     report["attempted"] = True
     try:
-        with _jobs_file_lock:
+        with _jobs_lock():
             live_jobs = load_jobs()
             changed = False
 
@@ -564,7 +574,13 @@ def rollback(backup_id: Optional[str] = None) -> Tuple[bool, str, Optional[Path]
     # out before touching anything — otherwise a failed extract could leave
     # the user with no skills.
     try:
-        snapshot_skills(reason=f"pre-rollback to {target.name}")
+        # Protect the target from this snapshot's prune step: at the steady
+        # keep limit, pruning the oldest snapshot would otherwise delete the
+        # very snapshot we are about to extract from.
+        snapshot_skills(
+            reason=f"pre-rollback to {target.name}",
+            protect_ids={target.name},
+        )
     except Exception as e:
         return (False, f"pre-rollback safety snapshot failed: {e}", None)
 

agent/display.py

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import time
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 from difflib import unified_diff
 from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any
 
 from utils import safe_json_loads
 from agent.tool_result_classification import file_mutation_result_landed
@@ -168,6 +169,27 @@ def _oneline(text: str) -> str:
     return " ".join(text.split())
 
 
+def _truncate_preview(text: str, max_len: int | None) -> str:
+    if max_len and max_len > 0 and len(text) > max_len:
+        if max_len <= 3:
+            return "." * max_len
+        return text[:max_len - 3] + "..."
+    return text
+
+
+def _delegate_task_goal_parts(tasks: Any, *, per_goal_len: int) -> tuple[int, list[str]]:
+    if not isinstance(tasks, list):
+        return 0, []
+    goals: list[str] = []
+    for task in tasks:
+        if not isinstance(task, dict):
+            continue
+        raw_goal = task.get("goal")
+        goal = "?" if raw_goal is None else _oneline(str(raw_goal))
+        goals.append(_truncate_preview(goal or "?", per_goal_len))
+    return len(goals), goals
+
+
 def build_tool_preview(tool_name: str, args: dict, max_len: int | None = None) -> str | None:
     """Build a short preview of a tool call's primary argument for display.
 
@@ -191,6 +213,22 @@ def build_tool_preview(tool_name: str, args: dict, max_len: int | None = None) -
         "clarify": "question", "skill_manage": "name",
     }
 
+    # delegate_task: show goal (single) or individual task goals (batch)
+    if tool_name == "delegate_task":
+        tasks = args.get("tasks")
+        if tasks and isinstance(tasks, list):
+            task_count, goals = _delegate_task_goal_parts(tasks, per_goal_len=40)
+            preview = (
+                f"{task_count} tasks: " + " | ".join(goals)
+                if goals else f"{len(tasks)} parallel tasks"
+            )
+            return _truncate_preview(preview, max_len)
+        goal = args.get("goal", "")
+        if goal is None:
+            return None
+        preview = _oneline(str(goal))
+        return _truncate_preview(preview, max_len) if preview else None
+
     if tool_name == "process":
         action = args.get("action", "")
         sid = args.get("session_id", "")
@@ -858,20 +896,6 @@ def _detect_tool_failure(tool_name: str, result: str | None) -> tuple[bool, str]
     return False, ""
 
 
-def _used_free_parallel(result: str | None) -> bool:
-    """True when a web result came from Parallel's free Search MCP.
-
-    Only the keyless Parallel path tags its result with ``provider="parallel"``;
-    the paid REST path and every other provider omit it. Used to label the tool
-    line "Parallel search" / "Parallel fetch" exactly when the free MCP served
-    the call.
-    """
-    if not isinstance(result, str) or '"provider"' not in result:
-        return False
-    data = safe_json_loads(result)
-    return isinstance(data, dict) and str(data.get("provider", "")).lower() == "parallel"
-
-
 def get_cute_tool_message(
     tool_name: str, args: dict, duration: float, result: str | None = None,
 ) -> str:
@@ -909,17 +933,15 @@ def get_cute_tool_message(
         return f"{line}{failure_suffix}"
 
     if tool_name == "web_search":
-        verb = "Parallel search" if _used_free_parallel(result) else "search"
-        return _wrap(f"┊ 🔍 {verb:<9} {_trunc(args.get('query', ''), 42)}  {dur}")
+        return _wrap(f"┊ 🔍 search    {_trunc(args.get('query', ''), 42)}  {dur}")
     if tool_name == "web_extract":
-        verb = "Parallel fetch" if _used_free_parallel(result) else "fetch"
         urls = args.get("urls", [])
         if urls:
             url = urls[0] if isinstance(urls, list) else str(urls)
             domain = url.replace("https://", "").replace("http://", "").split("/")[0]
             extra = f" +{len(urls)-1}" if len(urls) > 1 else ""
-            return _wrap(f"┊ 📄 {verb:<9} {_trunc(domain, 35)}{extra}  {dur}")
-        return _wrap(f"┊ 📄 {verb:<9} pages  {dur}")
+            return _wrap(f"┊ 📄 fetch     {_trunc(domain, 35)}{extra}  {dur}")
+        return _wrap(f"┊ 📄 fetch     pages  {dur}")
     if tool_name == "terminal":
         return _wrap(f"┊ 💻 $         {_trunc(args.get('command', ''), 42)}  {dur}")
     if tool_name == "process":
@@ -1035,7 +1057,10 @@ def get_cute_tool_message(
     if tool_name == "delegate_task":
         tasks = args.get("tasks")
         if tasks and isinstance(tasks, list):
-            return _wrap(f"┊ 🔀 delegate  {len(tasks)} parallel tasks  {dur}")
+            task_count, goals = _delegate_task_goal_parts(tasks, per_goal_len=30)
+            detail = " | ".join(goals) if goals else "parallel"
+            count_label = task_count or len(tasks)
+            return _wrap(f"┊ 🔀 delegate  {count_label}x: {_trunc(detail, 35)}  {dur}")
         return _wrap(f"┊ 🔀 delegate  {_trunc(args.get('goal', ''), 35)}  {dur}")
 
     preview = build_tool_preview(tool_name, args) or ""

agent/errors.py

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+class SSLConfigurationError(Exception):
+    """Raised when SSL/TLS certificate bundle configuration fails."""
+    pass

agent/file_safety.py

@@ -46,11 +46,6 @@ def build_write_denied_paths(home: str) -> set[str]:
             # Top-level Anthropic PKCE credential store remains sensitive even
             # when a profile is active; default/non-profile sessions still read it.
             str(hermes_root / ".anthropic_oauth.json"),
-            os.path.join(home, ".bashrc"),
-            os.path.join(home, ".zshrc"),
-            os.path.join(home, ".profile"),
-            os.path.join(home, ".bash_profile"),
-            os.path.join(home, ".zprofile"),
             os.path.join(home, ".netrc"),
             os.path.join(home, ".pgpass"),
             os.path.join(home, ".npmrc"),
@@ -104,12 +99,6 @@ def is_write_denied(path: str) -> bool:
         if resolved.startswith(prefix):
             return True
 
-    # Hermes control-plane files: block both the ACTIVE profile's view
-    # (hermes_home) AND the global root view. Without the root pass, a
-    # profile-mode session leaves <root>/auth.json + <root>/config.yaml
-    # writable — letting a prompt-injected write_file overwrite the global
-    # files that every profile inherits from (same shape as #15981).
-    control_file_names = ("auth.json", "config.yaml", "webhook_subscriptions.json")
     mcp_tokens_dir_name = "mcp-tokens"
 
     hermes_dirs = []
@@ -122,12 +111,6 @@ def is_write_denied(path: str) -> bool:
             continue
 
     for base_real in hermes_dirs:
-        for name in control_file_names:
-            try:
-                if resolved == os.path.realpath(os.path.join(base_real, name)):
-                    return True
-            except Exception:
-                continue
         try:
             mcp_real = os.path.realpath(os.path.join(base_real, mcp_tokens_dir_name))
             if resolved == mcp_real or resolved.startswith(mcp_real + os.sep):

agent/gemini_native_adapter.py

@@ -41,6 +41,16 @@ DEFAULT_GEMINI_BASE_URL = "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta"
 GEMINI_DEFAULT_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS = 65535
 
 
+def bare_gemini_model_id(model: str) -> str:
+    """Strip Gemini's own provider prefix from an aggregator-style model id."""
+    name = (model or "").strip()
+    lowered = name.lower()
+    for prefix in ("google/", "gemini/"):
+        if lowered.startswith(prefix):
+            return name[len(prefix):].strip() or name
+    return name
+
+
 def is_native_gemini_base_url(base_url: str) -> bool:
     """Return True when the endpoint speaks Gemini's native REST API."""
     normalized = str(base_url or "").strip().rstrip("/").lower()
@@ -914,6 +924,7 @@ class GeminiNativeClient:
             thinking_config=thinking_config,
         )
 
+        model = bare_gemini_model_id(model)
         if stream:
             return self._stream_completion(model=model, request=request, timeout=timeout)
 

agent/memory_manager.py

@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
 from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional
 
 from agent.memory_provider import MemoryProvider
+from agent.skill_commands import extract_user_instruction_from_skill_message
 from tools.registry import tool_error
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -430,16 +431,37 @@ class MemoryManager:
 
     # -- Prefetch / recall ---------------------------------------------------
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def _strip_skill_scaffolding(text: str) -> Optional[str]:
+        """Return memory-worthy user text, or None to skip the turn.
+
+        When a user invokes a /skill or /bundle, Hermes expands the turn into
+        a model-facing message that embeds the entire skill body. Feeding that
+        verbatim to memory providers pollutes their stores/embeddings with
+        prompt scaffolding instead of what the user actually asked. We recover
+        just the user's instruction here, once, for every provider — so this
+        is fixed for the whole provider fan-out, not per backend.
+
+        - Non-skill messages pass through unchanged.
+        - Skill turns with a user instruction return that instruction.
+        - Bare skill invocations (no instruction) return None → callers skip
+          the turn, since there is no user content worth remembering.
+        """
+        return extract_user_instruction_from_skill_message(text)
+
     def prefetch_all(self, query: str, *, session_id: str = "") -> str:
         """Collect prefetch context from all providers.
 
         Returns merged context text labeled by provider. Empty providers
         are skipped. Failures in one provider don't block others.
         """
+        clean_query = self._strip_skill_scaffolding(query)
+        if not clean_query:
+            return ""
         parts = []
         for provider in self._providers:
             try:
-                result = provider.prefetch(query, session_id=session_id)
+                result = provider.prefetch(clean_query, session_id=session_id)
                 if result and result.strip():
                     parts.append(result)
             except Exception as e:
@@ -460,10 +482,14 @@ class MemoryManager:
         if not providers:
             return
 
+        clean_query = self._strip_skill_scaffolding(query)
+        if not clean_query:
+            return
+
         def _run() -> None:
             for provider in providers:
                 try:
-                    provider.queue_prefetch(query, session_id=session_id)
+                    provider.queue_prefetch(clean_query, session_id=session_id)
                 except Exception as e:
                     logger.debug(
                         "Memory provider '%s' queue_prefetch failed (non-fatal): %s",
@@ -515,6 +541,11 @@ class MemoryManager:
         if not providers:
             return
 
+        clean_user_content = self._strip_skill_scaffolding(user_content)
+        if not clean_user_content:
+            return
+        user_content = clean_user_content
+
         def _run() -> None:
             for provider in providers:
                 try:

agent/model_metadata.py

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ and run_agent.py for pre-flight context checks.
 """
 
 import ipaddress
+import json
 import logging
 import os
 import re
@@ -16,7 +17,7 @@ from urllib.parse import urlparse
 import requests
 import yaml
 
-from utils import base_url_host_matches, base_url_hostname
+from utils import atomic_json_write, base_url_host_matches, base_url_hostname
 
 from hermes_constants import OPENROUTER_MODELS_URL
 
@@ -111,6 +112,57 @@ _endpoint_model_metadata_cache: Dict[str, Dict[str, Dict[str, Any]]] = {}
 _endpoint_model_metadata_cache_time: Dict[str, float] = {}
 _ENDPOINT_MODEL_CACHE_TTL = 300
 
+
+def _get_model_metadata_cache_path() -> Path:
+    """Return path to the OpenRouter model metadata disk cache."""
+    from hermes_constants import get_hermes_home
+    return get_hermes_home() / "cache" / "openrouter_model_metadata.json"
+
+
+def _model_metadata_disk_cache_age_seconds() -> Optional[float]:
+    """Return disk-cache age in seconds, or None if freshness is unknown."""
+    try:
+        cache_path = _get_model_metadata_cache_path()
+        if not cache_path.exists():
+            return None
+        age = time.time() - cache_path.stat().st_mtime
+        if age < 0:
+            return None
+        return age
+    except Exception:
+        return None
+
+
+def _load_model_metadata_disk_cache() -> Dict[str, Dict[str, Any]]:
+    """Load processed OpenRouter metadata cache from disk."""
+    try:
+        cache_path = _get_model_metadata_cache_path()
+        with cache_path.open("r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+            data = json.load(f)
+        if not isinstance(data, dict):
+            return {}
+        return {
+            str(key): value
+            for key, value in data.items()
+            if isinstance(value, dict)
+        }
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.debug("Failed to load OpenRouter model metadata disk cache: %s", e)
+        return {}
+
+
+def _save_model_metadata_disk_cache(data: Dict[str, Dict[str, Any]]) -> None:
+    """Save processed OpenRouter metadata cache to disk atomically."""
+    try:
+        atomic_json_write(
+            _get_model_metadata_cache_path(),
+            data,
+            indent=0,
+            separators=(",", ":"),
+        )
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.debug("Failed to save OpenRouter model metadata disk cache: %s", e)
+
 # Descending tiers for context length probing when the model is unknown.
 # We start at 256K (covers GPT-5.x, many current large-context models) and
 # step down on context-length errors until one works.  Tier[0] is also the
@@ -209,7 +261,13 @@ DEFAULT_CONTEXT_LENGTHS = {
     # https://platform.minimax.io/docs/api-reference/text-chat-openai
     "minimax-m3": 1000000,
     "minimax": 204800,
-    # GLM
+    # GLM — GLM-5.2 ships with a 1M context window (verified empirically:
+    # needle-in-a-haystack retrieval at 789K prompt tokens succeeded with
+    # zero errors on api.z.ai/api/coding/paas/v4).  Older GLM models
+    # (5, 5.1, 5-turbo) are ~202K.  Longest-key-first substring matching
+    # ensures "glm-5.2" resolves to 1M while older variants still hit the
+    # generic 202K fallback.
+    "glm-5.2": 1_048_576,
     "glm": 202752,
     # xAI Grok — xAI /v1/models does not return context_length metadata,
     # so these hardcoded fallbacks prevent Hermes from probing-down to
@@ -217,6 +275,11 @@ DEFAULT_CONTEXT_LENGTHS = {
     # via a custom provider. Values sourced from models.dev (2026-04).
     # Keys use substring matching (longest-first), so e.g. "grok-4.20"
     # matches "grok-4.20-0309-reasoning" / "-non-reasoning" / "-multi-agent-0309".
+    # OAuth-only slug; absent from GET /v1/models. xAI publishes a 200k
+    # usable context window for Composer 2.5 on Grok Build (SuperGrok /
+    # Premium+); /v1/responses additionally enforces a ~262144 input+output
+    # budget, but the usable context (what we track here) is 200k.
+    "grok-composer": 200000,    # grok-composer-2.5-fast (Grok Build CLI)
     "grok-build": 256000,       # grok-build-0.1
     "grok-code-fast": 256000,   # grok-code-fast-1
     "grok-2-vision": 8192,      # grok-2-vision, -1212, -latest
@@ -627,6 +690,15 @@ def fetch_model_metadata(force_refresh: bool = False) -> Dict[str, Dict[str, Any
     if not force_refresh and _model_metadata_cache and (time.time() - _model_metadata_cache_time) < _MODEL_CACHE_TTL:
         return _model_metadata_cache
 
+    if not force_refresh:
+        disk_age = _model_metadata_disk_cache_age_seconds()
+        if disk_age is not None and disk_age < _MODEL_CACHE_TTL:
+            disk_cache = _load_model_metadata_disk_cache()
+            if disk_cache:
+                _model_metadata_cache = disk_cache
+                _model_metadata_cache_time = time.time() - disk_age
+                return _model_metadata_cache
+
     try:
         response = requests.get(OPENROUTER_MODELS_URL, timeout=10, verify=_resolve_requests_verify())
         response.raise_for_status()
@@ -648,12 +720,24 @@ def fetch_model_metadata(force_refresh: bool = False) -> Dict[str, Dict[str, Any
 
         _model_metadata_cache = cache
         _model_metadata_cache_time = time.time()
+        _save_model_metadata_disk_cache(cache)
         logger.debug("Fetched metadata for %s models from OpenRouter", len(cache))
         return cache
 
     except Exception as e:
         logger.warning(f"Failed to fetch model metadata from OpenRouter: {e}")
-        return _model_metadata_cache or {}
+        if _model_metadata_cache:
+            return _model_metadata_cache
+        disk_cache = _load_model_metadata_disk_cache()
+        if disk_cache:
+            _model_metadata_cache = disk_cache
+            disk_age = _model_metadata_disk_cache_age_seconds()
+            if disk_age is not None:
+                _model_metadata_cache_time = time.time() - min(disk_age, _MODEL_CACHE_TTL)
+            else:
+                _model_metadata_cache_time = time.time() - _MODEL_CACHE_TTL + 1
+            return _model_metadata_cache
+        return {}
 
 
 def fetch_endpoint_model_metadata(

agent/prompt_builder.py

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import json
 import logging
 import os
 import threading
+import contextvars
 from collections import OrderedDict
 from pathlib import Path
 
@@ -511,13 +512,19 @@ PLATFORM_HINTS = {
         "Standard Markdown is automatically converted to Telegram formatting. "
         "Supported: **bold**, *italic*, ~~strikethrough~~, ||spoiler||, "
         "`inline code`, ```code blocks```, [links](url), and ## headers. "
-        "Telegram supports rich Markdown, so when it improves clarity you may "
-        "use headings, tables (pipe `| col | col |` syntax), task lists "
-        "(`- [ ]` / `- [x]`), nested blockquotes, collapsible details, "
-        "footnotes/references, math/formulas (`$...$`, `$$...$$`), underline, "
-        "subscript/superscript, marked (highlighted) text, and anchors. Prefer "
-        "real Markdown tables and task lists over hand-built bullet substitutes "
-        "when presenting structured data. "
+        "Telegram now supports rich Markdown, so lean into it: whenever it "
+        "makes the answer clearer or easier to scan, actively reach for real "
+        "Markdown tables (pipe `| col | col |` syntax), bullet and numbered "
+        "lists, task lists (`- [ ]` / `- [x]`), headings, nested blockquotes, "
+        "collapsible details, footnotes/references, math/formulas (`$...$`, "
+        "`$$...$$`), underline, subscript/superscript, marked (highlighted) "
+        "text, and anchors. Default to structured formatting over dense "
+        "paragraphs for any comparison, set of steps, key/value summary, or "
+        "tabular data. Prefer real Markdown tables and task lists over "
+        "hand-built bullet substitutes when presenting structured data; these "
+        "degrade gracefully (tables become readable bullet groups) when rich "
+        "rendering is unavailable, but advanced constructs like math and "
+        "collapsible details may render as plain source text in that case. "
         "You can send media files natively: to deliver a file to the user, "
         "include MEDIA:/absolute/path/to/file in your response. Images "
         "(.png, .jpg, .webp) appear as photos, audio (.ogg) sends as voice "
@@ -951,6 +958,80 @@ CONTEXT_FILE_MAX_CHARS = 20_000
 CONTEXT_TRUNCATE_HEAD_RATIO = 0.7
 CONTEXT_TRUNCATE_TAIL_RATIO = 0.2
 
+# Dynamic-cap parameters (used when no explicit context_file_max_chars is set).
+# The cap scales with the model's context window so large-context models rarely
+# truncate a project doc, while small-context models stay at the historical
+# 20K floor. ~4 chars/token is the usual English heuristic; we spend a small
+# slice of the window on context files since they share the cached prefix with
+# the system prompt, tools, memory, and the whole conversation.
+_CONTEXT_FILE_CHARS_PER_TOKEN = 4
+_CONTEXT_FILE_WINDOW_FRACTION = 0.06
+_CONTEXT_FILE_DYNAMIC_CEILING = 500_000
+
+
+def _dynamic_context_file_max_chars(context_length: Optional[int]) -> int:
+    """Derive a char cap from the model's context window.
+
+    Returns at least ``CONTEXT_FILE_MAX_CHARS`` (the historical 20K floor) and
+    at most ``_CONTEXT_FILE_DYNAMIC_CEILING``. When ``context_length`` is
+    unknown/invalid, returns the flat default so behavior is unchanged.
+    """
+    if not isinstance(context_length, int) or context_length <= 0:
+        return CONTEXT_FILE_MAX_CHARS
+    budget = int(
+        context_length * _CONTEXT_FILE_CHARS_PER_TOKEN * _CONTEXT_FILE_WINDOW_FRACTION
+    )
+    return max(CONTEXT_FILE_MAX_CHARS, min(budget, _CONTEXT_FILE_DYNAMIC_CEILING))
+
+
+def _get_context_file_max_chars(context_length: Optional[int] = None) -> int:
+    """Return the context-file truncation limit.
+
+    Resolution order:
+      1. Explicit ``context_file_max_chars`` in config.yaml — user knows best,
+         always wins (including over the dynamic cap).
+      2. Dynamic cap derived from the model's ``context_length`` when provided
+         (scales the budget to the window; floor 20K, ceiling 500K).
+      3. ``CONTEXT_FILE_MAX_CHARS`` (20K) as the upstream-compatible fallback.
+    """
+    try:
+        from hermes_cli.config import load_config
+
+        val = load_config().get("context_file_max_chars")
+        if isinstance(val, (int, float)) and val > 0:
+            return int(val)
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.debug("Could not read context_file_max_chars from config: %s", e)
+    return _dynamic_context_file_max_chars(context_length)
+
+# Collect truncation warnings so the caller (run_agent) can surface them.
+# A ContextVar (not a module-global list) isolates accumulation per thread /
+# per async task, so concurrent gateway-session prompt builds can't drain or
+# clear each other's pending warnings (cross-session leak). Each build runs in
+# its own context, collects its own warnings, and drains them synchronously.
+_truncation_warnings: "contextvars.ContextVar[Optional[list]]" = contextvars.ContextVar(
+    "context_file_truncation_warnings", default=None
+)
+
+
+def _record_truncation_warning(msg: str) -> None:
+    """Append a truncation warning to the current context's accumulator."""
+    warnings = _truncation_warnings.get()
+    if warnings is None:
+        warnings = []
+        _truncation_warnings.set(warnings)
+    warnings.append(msg)
+
+
+def drain_truncation_warnings() -> list:
+    """Return and clear any truncation warnings accumulated in this context."""
+    warnings = _truncation_warnings.get()
+    if not warnings:
+        return []
+    drained = list(warnings)
+    warnings.clear()
+    return drained
+
 
 # =========================================================================
 # Skills prompt cache
@@ -1158,7 +1239,7 @@ def build_skills_system_prompt(
         or get_session_env("HERMES_SESSION_PLATFORM")
         or ""
     )
-    disabled = get_disabled_skill_names()
+    disabled = get_disabled_skill_names(_platform_hint or None)
     cache_key = (
         str(skills_dir.resolve()),
         tuple(str(d) for d in external_dirs),
@@ -1457,19 +1538,47 @@ def build_nous_subscription_prompt(valid_tool_names: "set[str] | None" = None) -
 # Context files (SOUL.md, AGENTS.md, .cursorrules)
 # =========================================================================
 
-def _truncate_content(content: str, filename: str, max_chars: int = CONTEXT_FILE_MAX_CHARS) -> str:
-    """Head/tail truncation with a marker in the middle."""
+def _truncate_content(
+    content: str,
+    filename: str,
+    max_chars: Optional[int] = None,
+    context_length: Optional[int] = None,
+    read_path: Optional[str] = None,
+) -> str:
+    """Head/tail truncation with a marker in the middle.
+
+    ``filename`` is the human label used in warnings. ``read_path`` is the
+    concrete path the agent should ``read_file`` to recover the full content
+    (defaults to ``filename`` when not supplied). ``context_length`` lets the
+    cap scale to the model's window when no explicit config override is set.
+    """
+    if max_chars is None:
+        max_chars = _get_context_file_max_chars(context_length)
     if len(content) <= max_chars:
         return content
+    target = read_path or filename
+    msg = (
+        f"⚠️  Context file {filename} TRUNCATED: "
+        f"{len(content)} chars exceeds limit of {max_chars} — "
+        f"trim the file, pin a larger context_file_max_chars, or use a "
+        f"larger-context model!"
+    )
+    logger.warning(msg)
+    _record_truncation_warning(msg)
     head_chars = int(max_chars * CONTEXT_TRUNCATE_HEAD_RATIO)
     tail_chars = int(max_chars * CONTEXT_TRUNCATE_TAIL_RATIO)
     head = content[:head_chars]
     tail = content[-tail_chars:]
-    marker = f"\n\n[...truncated {filename}: kept {head_chars}+{tail_chars} of {len(content)} chars. Use file tools to read the full file.]\n\n"
+    marker = (
+        f"\n\n[...truncated {filename}: kept {head_chars}+{tail_chars} of "
+        f"{len(content)} chars. The middle is omitted — if you need the full "
+        f"instructions, read the complete file with the read_file tool: "
+        f"{target}]\n\n"
+    )
     return head + marker + tail
 
 
-def load_soul_md() -> Optional[str]:
+def load_soul_md(context_length: Optional[int] = None) -> Optional[str]:
     """Load SOUL.md from HERMES_HOME and return its content, or None.
 
     Used as the agent identity (slot #1 in the system prompt).  When this
@@ -1490,14 +1599,17 @@ def load_soul_md() -> Optional[str]:
         if not content:
             return None
         content = _scan_context_content(content, "SOUL.md")
-        content = _truncate_content(content, "SOUL.md")
+        content = _truncate_content(
+            content, "SOUL.md", context_length=context_length,
+            read_path=str(soul_path),
+        )
         return content
     except Exception as e:
         logger.debug("Could not read SOUL.md from %s: %s", soul_path, e)
         return None
 
 
-def _load_hermes_md(cwd_path: Path) -> str:
+def _load_hermes_md(cwd_path: Path, context_length: Optional[int] = None) -> str:
     """.hermes.md / HERMES.md — walk to git root."""
     hermes_md_path = _find_hermes_md(cwd_path)
     if not hermes_md_path:
@@ -1514,13 +1626,16 @@ def _load_hermes_md(cwd_path: Path) -> str:
             pass
         content = _scan_context_content(content, rel)
         result = f"## {rel}\n\n{content}"
-        return _truncate_content(result, ".hermes.md")
+        return _truncate_content(
+            result, ".hermes.md", context_length=context_length,
+            read_path=str(hermes_md_path),
+        )
     except Exception as e:
         logger.debug("Could not read %s: %s", hermes_md_path, e)
         return ""
 
 
-def _load_agents_md(cwd_path: Path) -> str:
+def _load_agents_md(cwd_path: Path, context_length: Optional[int] = None) -> str:
     """AGENTS.md — top-level only (no recursive walk)."""
     for name in ["AGENTS.md", "agents.md"]:
         candidate = cwd_path / name
@@ -1530,13 +1645,16 @@ def _load_agents_md(cwd_path: Path) -> str:
                 if content:
                     content = _scan_context_content(content, name)
                     result = f"## {name}\n\n{content}"
-                    return _truncate_content(result, "AGENTS.md")
+                    return _truncate_content(
+                        result, "AGENTS.md", context_length=context_length,
+                        read_path=str(candidate),
+                    )
             except Exception as e:
                 logger.debug("Could not read %s: %s", candidate, e)
     return ""
 
 
-def _load_claude_md(cwd_path: Path) -> str:
+def _load_claude_md(cwd_path: Path, context_length: Optional[int] = None) -> str:
     """CLAUDE.md / claude.md — cwd only."""
     for name in ["CLAUDE.md", "claude.md"]:
         candidate = cwd_path / name
@@ -1546,13 +1664,16 @@ def _load_claude_md(cwd_path: Path) -> str:
                 if content:
                     content = _scan_context_content(content, name)
                     result = f"## {name}\n\n{content}"
-                    return _truncate_content(result, "CLAUDE.md")
+                    return _truncate_content(
+                        result, "CLAUDE.md", context_length=context_length,
+                        read_path=str(candidate),
+                    )
             except Exception as e:
                 logger.debug("Could not read %s: %s", candidate, e)
     return ""
 
 
-def _load_cursorrules(cwd_path: Path) -> str:
+def _load_cursorrules(cwd_path: Path, context_length: Optional[int] = None) -> str:
     """.cursorrules + .cursor/rules/*.mdc — cwd only."""
     cursorrules_content = ""
     cursorrules_file = cwd_path / ".cursorrules"
@@ -1579,10 +1700,17 @@ def _load_cursorrules(cwd_path: Path) -> str:
 
     if not cursorrules_content:
         return ""
-    return _truncate_content(cursorrules_content, ".cursorrules")
+    return _truncate_content(
+        cursorrules_content, ".cursorrules", context_length=context_length,
+        read_path=str(cwd_path / ".cursorrules"),
+    )
 
 
-def build_context_files_prompt(cwd: Optional[str] = None, skip_soul: bool = False) -> str:
+def build_context_files_prompt(
+    cwd: Optional[str] = None,
+    skip_soul: bool = False,
+    context_length: Optional[int] = None,
+) -> str:
     """Discover and load context files for the system prompt.
 
     Priority (first found wins — only ONE project context type is loaded):
@@ -1592,7 +1720,11 @@ def build_context_files_prompt(cwd: Optional[str] = None, skip_soul: bool = Fals
       4. .cursorrules / .cursor/rules/*.mdc  (cwd only)
 
     SOUL.md from HERMES_HOME is independent and always included when present.
-    Each context source is capped at 20,000 chars.
+
+    Each context source is capped before injection. The cap defaults to the
+    model's context window (scaled — see ``_dynamic_context_file_max_chars``)
+    when *context_length* is provided, falling back to 20,000 chars otherwise.
+    An explicit ``context_file_max_chars`` in config.yaml always wins.
 
     When *skip_soul* is True, SOUL.md is not included here (it was already
     loaded via ``load_soul_md()`` for the identity slot).
@@ -1605,17 +1737,17 @@ def build_context_files_prompt(cwd: Optional[str] = None, skip_soul: bool = Fals
 
     # Priority-based project context: first match wins
     project_context = (
-        _load_hermes_md(cwd_path)
-        or _load_agents_md(cwd_path)
-        or _load_claude_md(cwd_path)
-        or _load_cursorrules(cwd_path)
+        _load_hermes_md(cwd_path, context_length)
+        or _load_agents_md(cwd_path, context_length)
+        or _load_claude_md(cwd_path, context_length)
+        or _load_cursorrules(cwd_path, context_length)
     )
     if project_context:
         sections.append(project_context)
 
     # SOUL.md from HERMES_HOME only — skip when already loaded as identity
     if not skip_soul:
-        soul_content = load_soul_md()
+        soul_content = load_soul_md(context_length)
         if soul_content:
             sections.append(soul_content)
 

agent/redact.py

@@ -104,6 +104,7 @@ _PREFIX_PATTERNS = [
     r"mem0_[A-Za-z0-9]{10,}",           # Mem0 Platform API key
     r"brv_[A-Za-z0-9]{10,}",            # ByteRover API key
     r"xai-[A-Za-z0-9]{30,}",            # xAI (Grok) API key
+    r"ntn_[A-Za-z0-9]{10,}",            # Notion internal integration token
 ]
 
 # ENV assignment patterns: KEY=value where KEY contains a secret-like name

agent/skill_commands.py

@@ -26,6 +26,91 @@ _skill_commands_platform: Optional[str] = None
 _SKILL_INVALID_CHARS = re.compile(r"[^a-z0-9-]")
 _SKILL_MULTI_HYPHEN = re.compile(r"-{2,}")
 
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Skill-scaffolding markers and the canonical extractor.
+#
+# When a user invokes a /skill (or /bundle), Hermes expands the turn into a
+# model-facing message that embeds the full skill body plus scaffolding. That
+# expanded text is what flows into the agent loop — and into memory providers
+# via MemoryManager. Providers that store or embed the raw user turn (mem0,
+# openviking, hindsight, retaindb, byterover, honcho, supermemory) would
+# otherwise capture the entire skill body instead of what the user actually
+# asked. ``extract_user_instruction_from_skill_message`` recovers just the
+# user's instruction so memory stays clean.
+#
+# These markers MUST stay byte-identical to the builders below
+# (``_build_skill_message`` here, ``build_bundle_invocation_message`` in
+# agent/skill_bundles.py). They are co-located with the single-skill builder
+# on purpose, and the bundle markers are asserted against the bundle builder in
+# tests/openviking_plugin/test_openviking.py::test_skill_markers_match_hermes_scaffolding.
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+_SKILL_INVOCATION_PREFIX = "[IMPORTANT: The user has invoked the "
+_SINGLE_SKILL_MARKER = "The full skill content is loaded below.]"
+_SINGLE_SKILL_INSTRUCTION = (
+    "The user has provided the following instruction alongside the skill invocation: "
+)
+_RUNTIME_NOTE = "\n\n[Runtime note:"
+_BUNDLE_MARKER = " skill bundle,"
+_BUNDLE_USER_INSTRUCTION = "\nUser instruction: "
+_BUNDLE_FIRST_SKILL_BLOCK = "\n\n[Loaded as part of the "
+
+
+def extract_user_instruction_from_skill_message(content: Any) -> Optional[str]:
+    """Recover the user's instruction from a slash-skill-expanded turn.
+
+    Returns:
+        - The original string unchanged when it is NOT skill scaffolding
+          (a normal user message passes straight through).
+        - The extracted user instruction when the scaffolding carried one.
+        - ``None`` when the content is skill scaffolding with no user
+          instruction (i.e. a bare ``/skill`` invocation). Callers that feed
+          memory providers should skip the turn in that case — there is no
+          user content worth storing.
+    """
+    if not isinstance(content, str):
+        return None
+
+    if not content.startswith(_SKILL_INVOCATION_PREFIX):
+        return content
+
+    if _BUNDLE_MARKER in content:
+        return _extract_bundle_user_instruction(content)
+
+    if _SINGLE_SKILL_MARKER in content:
+        return _extract_single_skill_user_instruction(content)
+
+    return None
+
+
+def _extract_single_skill_user_instruction(message: str) -> Optional[str]:
+    # Single-skill format appends the user instruction after the skill body, so
+    # the last occurrence is the user-provided one; the body may quote this text.
+    marker_idx = message.rfind(_SINGLE_SKILL_INSTRUCTION)
+    if marker_idx < 0:
+        return None
+
+    instruction = message[marker_idx + len(_SINGLE_SKILL_INSTRUCTION):]
+    runtime_idx = instruction.find(_RUNTIME_NOTE)
+    if runtime_idx >= 0:
+        instruction = instruction[:runtime_idx]
+    instruction = instruction.strip()
+    return instruction or None
+
+
+def _extract_bundle_user_instruction(message: str) -> Optional[str]:
+    # Bundle format puts the user instruction before the loaded skills, so the
+    # first occurrence is the user-provided one.
+    marker_idx = message.find(_BUNDLE_USER_INSTRUCTION)
+    if marker_idx < 0:
+        return None
+
+    instruction = message[marker_idx + len(_BUNDLE_USER_INSTRUCTION):]
+    first_skill_idx = instruction.find(_BUNDLE_FIRST_SKILL_BLOCK)
+    if first_skill_idx >= 0:
+        instruction = instruction[:first_skill_idx]
+    instruction = instruction.strip()
+    return instruction or None
+
 
 def _resolve_skill_commands_platform() -> Optional[str]:
     """Return the current platform scope used for disabled-skill filtering.

agent/skill_utils.py

@@ -43,14 +43,20 @@ EXCLUDED_SKILL_DIRS = frozenset(
     )
 )
 
+# Supporting files live inside a skill package and are loaded explicitly via
+# skill_view(skill, file_path=...). They are not standalone skills and must not
+# be scanned for active SKILL.md/DESCRIPTION.md entries, even if a Curator or
+# archive workflow preserves a complete old skill package under references/.
+SKILL_SUPPORT_DIRS = frozenset(("references", "templates", "assets", "scripts"))
+
 
 def is_excluded_skill_path(path) -> bool:
-    """True if any component of *path* is in EXCLUDED_SKILL_DIRS.
+    """True if *path* should be skipped by active skill scanners.
 
-    Use this on every SKILL.md path produced by ``rglob`` to prune
-    dependency, virtualenv, VCS, and cache directories. Centralising the
-    check here keeps every skill-scanning site in sync with the shared
-    exclusion set.
+    Use this on every ``SKILL.md`` path produced by direct ``rglob`` scans to
+    prune dependency, virtualenv, VCS, cache, and progressive-disclosure
+    support-package paths. Centralising the check here keeps every
+    skill-scanning site in sync with the shared exclusion set.
 
     Accepts a Path or string.
     """
@@ -59,7 +65,36 @@ def is_excluded_skill_path(path) -> bool:
     except AttributeError:
         from pathlib import PurePath
         parts = PurePath(str(path)).parts
-    return any(part in EXCLUDED_SKILL_DIRS for part in parts)
+    return any(part in EXCLUDED_SKILL_DIRS for part in parts) or is_skill_support_path(
+        path
+    )
+
+
+def is_skill_support_path(path) -> bool:
+    """True if *path* is under a support dir of an actual skill root.
+
+    ``references/``, ``templates/``, ``assets/``, and ``scripts/`` are
+    progressive-disclosure support areas when they sit directly inside a skill
+    directory containing ``SKILL.md``. They are not active discovery roots for
+    standalone skills. A preserved package such as
+    ``some-skill/references/old-skill-package/SKILL.md`` is documentation data
+    unless the caller explicitly loads it via ``file_path``.
+
+    Legitimate categories or skill names such as ``skills/scripts/foo`` remain
+    discoverable because their ``scripts`` component is not directly under a
+    directory that contains ``SKILL.md``.
+    """
+    path_obj = path if isinstance(path, Path) else Path(str(path))
+    parts = path_obj.parts
+    # Last component may be a file or candidate skill directory name. Only
+    # components before the leaf can be containing support directories.
+    for idx, part in enumerate(parts[:-1]):
+        if part not in SKILL_SUPPORT_DIRS or idx == 0:
+            continue
+        skill_root = Path(*parts[:idx])
+        if (skill_root / "SKILL.md").exists():
+            return True
+    return False
 
 
 # ── Lazy YAML loader ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -272,27 +307,65 @@ def skill_matches_environment(frontmatter: Dict[str, Any]) -> bool:
 # ── Disabled skills ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 
+_RAW_CONFIG_CACHE: Dict[Tuple[str, int, int], Dict[str, Any]] = {}
+
+
+def _raw_config_cache_clear() -> None:
+    """Test hook — drop the shared raw config cache."""
+    _RAW_CONFIG_CACHE.clear()
+
+
+def _load_raw_config() -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    """Read config.yaml with a shared mtime+size keyed cache.
+
+    This module intentionally avoids importing ``hermes_cli.config`` on the
+    skill prompt/build path. A tiny local cache gives the same repeated-read
+    win without pulling the heavier CLI config stack into startup.
+    """
+    config_path = get_config_path()
+    if not config_path.exists():
+        return {}
+    try:
+        stat = config_path.stat()
+        cache_key = (str(config_path), stat.st_mtime_ns, stat.st_size)
+    except OSError:
+        cache_key = None
+
+    if cache_key is not None:
+        cached = _RAW_CONFIG_CACHE.get(cache_key)
+        if cached is not None:
+            return cached
+
+    try:
+        parsed = yaml_load(config_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.debug("Could not read skill config %s: %s", config_path, e)
+        return {}
+    if not isinstance(parsed, dict):
+        return {}
+
+    if cache_key is not None:
+        _RAW_CONFIG_CACHE.clear()
+        _RAW_CONFIG_CACHE[cache_key] = parsed
+    return parsed
+
+
 def get_disabled_skill_names(platform: str | None = None) -> Set[str]:
     """Read disabled skill names from config.yaml.
 
     Args:
         platform: Explicit platform name (e.g. ``"telegram"``).  When
             *None*, resolves from ``HERMES_PLATFORM`` or
-            ``HERMES_SESSION_PLATFORM`` env vars.  Falls back to the
-            global disabled list when no platform is determined.
+            ``HERMES_SESSION_PLATFORM`` env vars.  Returns the global
+            disabled list, unioned with the platform-specific list when a
+            platform is resolved (a globally-disabled skill stays disabled
+            on every platform).
 
     Reads the config file directly (no CLI config imports) to stay
     lightweight.
     """
-    config_path = get_config_path()
-    if not config_path.exists():
-        return set()
-    try:
-        parsed = yaml_load(config_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
-    except Exception as e:
-        logger.debug("Could not read skill config %s: %s", config_path, e)
-        return set()
-    if not isinstance(parsed, dict):
+    parsed = _load_raw_config()
+    if not parsed:
         return set()
 
     skills_cfg = parsed.get("skills")
@@ -305,13 +378,14 @@ def get_disabled_skill_names(platform: str | None = None) -> Set[str]:
         or os.getenv("HERMES_PLATFORM")
         or get_session_env("HERMES_SESSION_PLATFORM")
     )
+    global_disabled = _normalize_string_set(skills_cfg.get("disabled"))
     if resolved_platform:
         platform_disabled = (skills_cfg.get("platform_disabled") or {}).get(
             resolved_platform
         )
         if platform_disabled is not None:
-            return _normalize_string_set(platform_disabled)
-    return _normalize_string_set(skills_cfg.get("disabled"))
+            return global_disabled | _normalize_string_set(platform_disabled)
+    return global_disabled
 
 
 def _normalize_string_set(values) -> Set[str]:
@@ -336,6 +410,7 @@ _EXTERNAL_DIRS_CACHE: Dict[Tuple[str, int], List[Path]] = {}
 def _external_dirs_cache_clear() -> None:
     """Test hook — drop the in-process cache."""
     _EXTERNAL_DIRS_CACHE.clear()
+    _raw_config_cache_clear()
 
 
 def get_external_skills_dirs() -> List[Path]:
@@ -368,11 +443,8 @@ def get_external_skills_dirs() -> List[Path]:
             # Return a copy so callers can't mutate the cached list.
             return list(cached)
 
-    try:
-        parsed = yaml_load(config_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
-    except Exception:
-        return []
-    if not isinstance(parsed, dict):
+    parsed = _load_raw_config()
+    if not parsed:
         return []
 
     skills_cfg = parsed.get("skills")
@@ -584,15 +656,7 @@ def resolve_skill_config_values(
     current values (or the declared default if the key isn't set).
     Path values are expanded via ``os.path.expanduser``.
     """
-    config_path = get_config_path()
-    config: Dict[str, Any] = {}
-    if config_path.exists():
-        try:
-            parsed = yaml_load(config_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
-            if isinstance(parsed, dict):
-                config = parsed
-        except Exception:
-            pass
+    config = _load_raw_config()
 
     resolved: Dict[str, Any] = {}
     for var in config_vars:
@@ -632,12 +696,21 @@ def extract_skill_description(frontmatter: Dict[str, Any]) -> str:
 def iter_skill_index_files(skills_dir: Path, filename: str):
     """Walk skills_dir yielding sorted paths matching *filename*.
 
-    Excludes Hermes metadata, VCS, virtualenv/dependency, and cache
-    directories so dependencies cannot register nested skills.
+    Excludes Hermes metadata, VCS, virtualenv/dependency, cache, and skill
+    support directories. Support directories (references/templates/assets/
+    scripts) can contain arbitrary markdown and even archived package
+    ``SKILL.md`` files, but they are progressive-disclosure data loaded through
+    ``skill_view(..., file_path=...)`` rather than active skill roots.
     """
     matches = []
     for root, dirs, files in os.walk(skills_dir, followlinks=True):
-        dirs[:] = [d for d in dirs if d not in EXCLUDED_SKILL_DIRS]
+        has_skill_md = "SKILL.md" in files
+        dirs[:] = [
+            d
+            for d in dirs
+            if d not in EXCLUDED_SKILL_DIRS
+            and not (has_skill_md and d in SKILL_SUPPORT_DIRS)
+        ]
         if filename in files:
             matches.append(Path(root) / filename)
     for path in sorted(matches, key=lambda p: str(p.relative_to(skills_dir))):

agent/ssl_guard.py

@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+"""Preventive SSL CA certificate checks for Hermes Agent.
+
+This module catches broken CA bundle paths before OpenAI/httpx turns them into
+opaque ``FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory`` failures.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import logging
+import os
+import ssl
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from agent.errors import SSLConfigurationError
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+_CA_BUNDLE_ENV_VARS = (
+    "HERMES_CA_BUNDLE",
+    "SSL_CERT_FILE",
+    "REQUESTS_CA_BUNDLE",
+    "CURL_CA_BUNDLE",
+)
+
+_SKIP_VALUES = {"1", "true", "yes", "on"}
+
+
+def _skip_ssl_guard_enabled() -> bool:
+    return os.getenv("HERMES_SKIP_SSL_GUARD", "").strip().lower() in _SKIP_VALUES
+
+
+def _repair_hint() -> str:
+    return (
+        "Repair: python -m pip install --force-reinstall certifi openai httpx\n"
+        "If you configured a custom corporate CA bundle, fix or unset the "
+        "broken CA bundle environment variable."
+    )
+
+
+def _ssl_err(message: str) -> SSLConfigurationError:
+    """Create a consistent, user-actionable SSL configuration error."""
+    return SSLConfigurationError(f"{message}\n{_repair_hint()}")
+
+
+def _validate_bundle_path(label: str, value: str, *, require_substantial: bool = False) -> None:
+    path = Path(value).expanduser()
+    if not path.exists():
+        raise _ssl_err(f"{label} points to a missing CA bundle: {value}")
+    if not path.is_file():
+        raise _ssl_err(f"{label} does not point to a CA bundle file: {value}")
+    if require_substantial and path.stat().st_size < 1024:
+        raise _ssl_err(f"{label} at {value} appears corrupted (too small)")
+    try:
+        ctx = ssl.create_default_context(cafile=str(path))
+    except Exception as exc:
+        raise _ssl_err(f"{label} CA bundle at {value} cannot be loaded: {exc}") from exc
+    if not ctx.get_ca_certs():
+        raise _ssl_err(f"{label} CA bundle at {value} did not load any certificates")
+
+
+def verify_ca_bundle() -> None:
+    """Verify configured and bundled CA certificates are present and loadable.
+
+    Raises:
+        SSLConfigurationError: If an explicit CA-bundle environment variable
+            points at a bad path, or if certifi's bundled ``cacert.pem`` is
+            missing/corrupt.
+    """
+    if _skip_ssl_guard_enabled():
+        logger.debug("SSL CA bundle guard skipped via HERMES_SKIP_SSL_GUARD")
+        return
+
+    for env_var in _CA_BUNDLE_ENV_VARS:
+        value = os.getenv(env_var)
+        if value:
+            _validate_bundle_path(env_var, value)
+
+    try:
+        import certifi
+    except Exception as exc:
+        raise _ssl_err(f"certifi is not importable: {exc}") from exc
+
+    ca_bundle = str(certifi.where())
+    _validate_bundle_path("certifi", ca_bundle, require_substantial=True)
+
+
+def verify_ca_bundle_with_fallback() -> None:
+    """Backward-compatible wrapper for older call sites.
+
+    The old PR name mentioned a platform fallback, but allowing startup with a
+    broken certifi bundle still leaves httpx/OpenAI and requests call sites
+    failing later. Keep the wrapper name but enforce the same check.
+    """
+    verify_ca_bundle()

agent/system_prompt.py

@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ from agent.prompt_builder import (
     TASK_COMPLETION_GUIDANCE,
     TOOL_USE_ENFORCEMENT_GUIDANCE,
     TOOL_USE_ENFORCEMENT_MODELS,
+    drain_truncation_warnings,
 )
 from agent.runtime_cwd import resolve_context_cwd
 
@@ -82,6 +83,17 @@ def build_system_prompt_parts(agent: Any, system_message: Optional[str] = None)
     # we resolve through ``_ra()`` to honor those patches.
     _r = _ra()
 
+    # Resolve the model's context window once so context-file caps can scale
+    # to it (dynamic cap — see prompt_builder._dynamic_context_file_max_chars).
+    # None falls back to the historical flat default. This value is stable for
+    # the life of the conversation, so it does not threaten prompt caching.
+    _ctx_len: Optional[int] = None
+    _cc = getattr(agent, "context_compressor", None)
+    if _cc is not None:
+        _cc_len = getattr(_cc, "context_length", None)
+        if isinstance(_cc_len, int) and _cc_len > 0:
+            _ctx_len = _cc_len
+
     # ── Stable tier ────────────────────────────────────────────────
     stable_parts: List[str] = []
 
@@ -90,7 +102,7 @@ def build_system_prompt_parts(agent: Any, system_message: Optional[str] = None)
     # cwd project instructions disabled.
     _soul_loaded = False
     if agent.load_soul_identity or not agent.skip_context_files:
-        _soul_content = _r.load_soul_md()
+        _soul_content = _r.load_soul_md(_ctx_len)
         if _soul_content:
             stable_parts.append(_soul_content)
             _soul_loaded = True
@@ -333,7 +345,8 @@ def build_system_prompt_parts(agent: Any, system_message: Optional[str] = None)
         # dir — the user's real cwd there, but the install dir for the gateway
         # daemon, which is why the gateway sets TERMINAL_CWD.
         context_files_prompt = _r.build_context_files_prompt(
-            cwd=resolve_context_cwd(), skip_soul=_soul_loaded)
+            cwd=resolve_context_cwd(), skip_soul=_soul_loaded,
+            context_length=_ctx_len)
         if context_files_prompt:
             context_parts.append(context_files_prompt)
 
@@ -400,7 +413,14 @@ def build_system_prompt(agent: Any, system_message: Optional[str] = None) -> str
     warm across turns.
     """
     parts = build_system_prompt_parts(agent, system_message=system_message)
-    return "\n\n".join(p for p in (parts["stable"], parts["context"], parts["volatile"]) if p)
+    joined = "\n\n".join(p for p in (parts["stable"], parts["context"], parts["volatile"]) if p)
+
+    # Surface context-file truncation warnings through the normal agent status
+    # channel so gateway/CLI users see them in chat instead of only in logs.
+    for warning in drain_truncation_warnings():
+        agent._emit_status(warning)
+
+    return joined
 
 
 def invalidate_system_prompt(agent: Any) -> None:

agent/transports/anthropic.py

@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ class AnthropicTransport(ProviderTransport):
         from agent.transports.types import ToolCall
 
         strip_tool_prefix = kwargs.get("strip_tool_prefix", False)
-        _MCP_PREFIX = "mcp_"
+        _MCP_PREFIX = "mcp__"
 
         text_parts = []
         reasoning_parts = []
@@ -132,17 +132,25 @@ class AnthropicTransport(ProviderTransport):
             elif block.type == "tool_use":
                 name = block.name
                 if strip_tool_prefix and name.startswith(_MCP_PREFIX):
-                    stripped = name[len(_MCP_PREFIX):]
-                    # Only strip the mcp_ prefix for OAuth-injected tools
-                    # (where Hermes adds the prefix when sending to Anthropic
-                    # and must remove it on the way back).  Native MCP server
-                    # tools (from mcp_servers: in config.yaml) are registered
-                    # in the tool registry under their FULL mcp_<server>_<tool>
-                    # name and must NOT be stripped.  GH-25255.
+                    # On the OAuth wire every tool carries a double-underscore
+                    # ``mcp__`` prefix (added in build_anthropic_kwargs to avoid
+                    # Anthropic's single-underscore third-party classifier).
+                    # Reverse it back to the name the registry/dispatcher knows.
+                    # Two original forms map onto the same ``mcp__`` wire name:
+                    #   ``mcp__read_file``       <- bare native tool ``read_file``
+                    #   ``mcp__linear_get_issue`` <- MCP server tool
+                    #                                ``mcp_linear_get_issue``
+                    # Resolve by registry lookup, preferring whichever original
+                    # is actually registered; never rewrite a name the LLM used
+                    # that already resolves natively. GH-25255.
                     from tools.registry import registry as _tool_registry
-                    if (_tool_registry.get_entry(stripped)
-                            and not _tool_registry.get_entry(name)):
-                        name = stripped
+                    if not _tool_registry.get_entry(name):
+                        bare = name[len(_MCP_PREFIX):]            # read_file
+                        single = "mcp_" + bare                    # mcp_read_file / mcp_linear_get_issue
+                        if _tool_registry.get_entry(single):
+                            name = single
+                        elif _tool_registry.get_entry(bare):
+                            name = bare
                 tool_calls.append(
                     ToolCall(
                         id=block.id,
@@ -186,10 +194,21 @@ class AnthropicTransport(ProviderTransport):
     def validate_response(self, response: Any) -> bool:
         """Check Anthropic response structure is valid.
 
-        An empty content list is legitimate when ``stop_reason == "end_turn"``
-        — the model's canonical way of signalling "nothing more to add" after
-        a tool turn that already delivered the user-facing text. Treating it
-        as invalid falsely retries a completed response.
+        An empty content list is legitimate for terminal stop reasons that
+        carry no text payload:
+
+        - ``end_turn`` — the model's canonical "nothing more to add" after a
+          tool turn that already delivered the user-facing text.
+        - ``refusal`` — the model declined to respond (Claude 4.5+). The
+          Messages API returns an empty ``content`` list with this stop
+          reason. Treating it as invalid sends a deterministic refusal into
+          the invalid-response retry loop, which reproduces the refusal on
+          every attempt and surfaces a misleading "rate limited / invalid
+          response" error instead of the refusal. ``normalize_response`` maps
+          ``refusal`` → ``content_filter`` so the agent loop's refusal handler
+          can surface it.
+
+        Treating either as invalid falsely retries a completed response.
         """
         if response is None:
             return False
@@ -197,7 +216,7 @@ class AnthropicTransport(ProviderTransport):
         if not isinstance(content_blocks, list):
             return False
         if not content_blocks:
-            return getattr(response, "stop_reason", None) == "end_turn"
+            return getattr(response, "stop_reason", None) in {"end_turn", "refusal"}
         return True
 
     def extract_cache_stats(self, response: Any) -> Optional[Dict[str, int]]:

agent/transports/chat_completions.py

@@ -531,6 +531,7 @@ class ChatCompletionsTransport(ProviderTransport):
                 supports_reasoning=params.get("supports_reasoning", False),
                 qwen_session_metadata=params.get("qwen_session_metadata"),
                 model=model,
+                base_url=params.get("base_url"),
                 ollama_num_ctx=params.get("ollama_num_ctx"),
                 session_id=params.get("session_id"),
             )
@@ -664,8 +665,42 @@ class ChatCompletionsTransport(ProviderTransport):
         if rd:
             provider_data["reasoning_details"] = rd
 
+        # OpenAI structured-refusal field. When a model declines, the SDK
+        # populates ``message.refusal`` with the explanation and leaves
+        # ``content`` empty. OpenAI-compatible proxies that front Anthropic /
+        # Bedrock (e.g. Nous Portal) surface a Claude refusal this way — or via
+        # ``finish_reason="content_filter"`` — instead of the native
+        # ``stop_reason="refusal"``. Without capturing it the refusal looks
+        # like an empty response, so the agent loop retries a deterministic
+        # refusal three times and gives up with "no content after retries".
+        # Promote it to content + a ``content_filter`` finish reason so the
+        # loop's refusal handler surfaces it clearly and stops. ``refusal`` is
+        # ``None`` for normal responses, so this is a no-op in the common case.
+        content = msg.content
+        refusal = getattr(msg, "refusal", None)
+        if refusal is None and hasattr(msg, "model_extra"):
+            _msg_extra = getattr(msg, "model_extra", None) or {}
+            if isinstance(_msg_extra, dict):
+                refusal = _msg_extra.get("refusal")
+        if isinstance(refusal, str) and refusal.strip():
+            # Record the refusal explanation regardless — it's useful provider
+            # metadata even when the model also returned a usable payload.
+            provider_data["refusal"] = refusal
+            _has_text = isinstance(content, str) and content.strip()
+            _has_tool_calls = bool(tool_calls)
+            # Only promote to a terminal ``content_filter`` when the refusal is
+            # the *sole* payload — no visible text and no tool calls. A response
+            # that carries real content (or tool calls) alongside a refusal note
+            # is a normal, usable turn: surfacing it as a failed safety refusal
+            # would discard the model's actual work. In the empty-payload case,
+            # adopt the refusal as content so the loop has something to show.
+            if not _has_text and not _has_tool_calls:
+                content = refusal
+                if finish_reason in (None, "stop"):
+                    finish_reason = "content_filter"
+
         return NormalizedResponse(
-            content=msg.content,
+            content=content,
             tool_calls=tool_calls,
             finish_reason=finish_reason,
             reasoning=reasoning,

agent/transports/codex.py

@@ -128,6 +128,65 @@ class ResponsesApiTransport(ProviderTransport):
         reasoning_effort = _effort_clamp.get(reasoning_effort, reasoning_effort)
 
         response_tools = _responses_tools(tools)
+
+        # xAI server-side web search.
+        #
+        # grok models on xAI's /v1/responses surface (notably
+        # grok-composer-2.5-fast on SuperGrok OAuth) have a *native*,
+        # server-executed web search.  When the model is handed a
+        # client-side function literally named ``web_search``, it routes
+        # the intent to that native engine — but because the tool is
+        # declared as a plain ``function`` rather than xAI's first-class
+        # ``{"type": "web_search"}`` built-in, the server-side search is
+        # dispatched but never reconciled: the response streams reasoning
+        # + ``web_search_call`` progress items, the searches never reach
+        # ``status="completed"`` in the assembled output, no final
+        # message is emitted, and ``_normalize_codex_response`` correctly
+        # sees reasoning-with-no-answer and reports ``incomplete``.  The
+        # turn then burns 3 continuation retries and fails with "Codex
+        # response remained incomplete after 3 continuation attempts".
+        # Verified live against grok-composer-2.5-fast (2026-06).
+        #
+        # Fix: when the agent HAS a client-side ``web_search`` function (i.e.
+        # the user enabled the web toolset), declare xAI's native
+        # ``web_search`` built-in instead so the search actually runs to
+        # completion server-side and the model streams a real answer.  The
+        # Responses API rejects two tools sharing the name ``web_search``
+        # (HTTP 400 "Duplicate tool names"), so we drop the client-side
+        # ``web_search`` function for the xAI path and let the native tool
+        # satisfy it.  All other client-side tools (read_file, terminal,
+        # web_extract, MCP tools, …) are untouched and continue to dispatch
+        # through Hermes's agent loop.
+        #
+        # Scope: we ONLY swap in the native built-in when the client
+        # ``web_search`` was actually present.  We do NOT force-enable Grok
+        # server-side search on turns where the user never had web enabled —
+        # that would silently route around Hermes's web-provider config and
+        # tool-trace/citation plumbing for every xai-oauth turn.  The swap is
+        # a 1:1 replacement of an already-requested capability, not an
+        # additive grant.
+        #
+        # NOTE: for the swapped case this routes ``web_search`` to Grok's
+        # native search engine for xAI sessions instead of Hermes's
+        # configured web provider (Tavily/etc.), and those results bypass
+        # Hermes's tool-trace / citation plumbing (they arrive baked into the
+        # model's answer rather than as a tool result the loop observes).
+        # Scoped to ``is_xai_responses`` deliberately; narrow to specific
+        # models if a future grok variant should keep the client-side
+        # function.
+        if is_xai_responses and response_tools:
+            has_client_web_search = any(
+                isinstance(t, dict) and t.get("name") == "web_search"
+                for t in response_tools
+            )
+            if has_client_web_search:
+                filtered = [
+                    t for t in response_tools
+                    if not (isinstance(t, dict) and t.get("name") == "web_search")
+                ]
+                filtered.append({"type": "web_search"})
+                response_tools = filtered
+
         # ``tools`` MUST be omitted entirely when there are no functions to
         # expose: the openai SDK's ``responses.stream()`` / ``responses.parse()``
         # eagerly call ``_make_tools(tools)`` which does ``for tool in tools``
@@ -218,8 +277,14 @@ class ResponsesApiTransport(ProviderTransport):
             kwargs.pop("timeout", None)
 
         if is_codex_backend:
-            prompt_cache_key = kwargs.get("prompt_cache_key")
-            cache_scope_id = str(prompt_cache_key or session_id or "").strip()
+            # The Codex backend rejects body-level ``extra_headers`` with
+            # HTTP 400, but the OpenAI SDK's ``extra_headers`` kwarg maps
+            # to actual HTTP request headers (not body fields).  We need
+            # these headers for cache-scope routing so prompt cache hits
+            # remain high.  Send session_id / x-client-request-id as HTTP
+            # headers while keeping ``prompt_cache_key`` in the body for
+            # standard OpenAI routing as a belt-and-braces fallback.
+            cache_scope_id = str(session_id or "").strip()
             if cache_scope_id:
                 existing_extra_headers = kwargs.get("extra_headers")
                 merged_extra_headers: Dict[str, str] = {}

agent/turn_context.py

@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ def build_turn_context(
     task_id: Optional[str],
     stream_callback,
     persist_user_message: Optional[str],
+    persist_user_timestamp: Optional[float] = None,
     *,
     restore_or_build_system_prompt,
     install_safe_stdio,
@@ -121,6 +122,7 @@ def build_turn_context(
     agent._stream_callback = stream_callback
     agent._persist_user_message_idx = None
     agent._persist_user_message_override = persist_user_message
+    agent._persist_user_message_timestamp = persist_user_timestamp
     # Generate unique task_id if not provided to isolate VMs between tasks.
     effective_task_id = task_id or str(uuid.uuid4())
     agent._current_task_id = effective_task_id

apps/bootstrap-installer/package.json

@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@nous-research/ui": "0.16.0",
-    "@tailwindcss/vite": "^4.2.1",
+    "@tailwindcss/vite": "^4.2.4",
     "@tailwindcss/typography": "^0.5.19",
     "@tauri-apps/api": "^2.0.0",
     "@tauri-apps/plugin-dialog": "^2.0.0",
@@ -40,8 +40,8 @@
     "@tauri-apps/cli": "^2.0.0",
     "@types/react": "^19.2.14",
     "@types/react-dom": "^19.2.3",
-    "@vitejs/plugin-react": "^5.2.0",
+    "@vitejs/plugin-react": "^6.0.2",
     "typescript": "^6.0.3",
-    "vite": "^7.3.1"
+    "vite": "^8.0.16"
   }
 }

apps/bootstrap-installer/src-tauri/src/update.rs

@@ -286,7 +286,7 @@ async fn run_update(app: AppHandle) -> Result<()> {
     emit_stage(&app, "rebuild", StageState::Running, None, None);
     let started = Instant::now();
     let rebuild_args: Vec<String> = vec!["desktop".into(), "--build-only".into()];
-    let rebuild = run_streamed(
+    let mut rebuild = run_streamed(
         &app,
         &hermes,
         &rebuild_args,
@@ -295,6 +295,33 @@ async fn run_update(app: AppHandle) -> Result<()> {
         Some("rebuild"),
     )
     .await?;
+
+    // Retry-once: the first `--build-only` can return nonzero on a still-settling
+    // post-update tree or a network-blocked Electron fetch that our self-heal
+    // repaired mid-run. A second attempt then builds clean off the healed dist
+    // (the content-hash stamp makes it a near-no-op when the first actually
+    // succeeded). Without this the updater bails here and never reaches the
+    // relaunch below — the app updates but doesn't restart. Matches the
+    // retry-once `hermes update` already does above, and `hermes update`'s own
+    // desktop rebuild in cmd_update.
+    if rebuild_needs_retry(rebuild.exit_code) {
+        emit_log(
+            &app,
+            Some("rebuild"),
+            LogStream::Stdout,
+            "[rebuild] first desktop rebuild failed; retrying once (a self-healed \
+             Electron download builds clean on the second run)…",
+        );
+        rebuild = run_streamed(
+            &app,
+            &hermes,
+            &rebuild_args,
+            &install_root,
+            &child_env,
+            Some("rebuild"),
+        )
+        .await?;
+    }
     let rebuild_ms = started.elapsed().as_millis() as u64;
 
     if rebuild.exit_code != Some(0) {
@@ -533,6 +560,14 @@ fn is_locked(path: &Path) -> bool {
     }
 }
 
+/// Whether the `desktop --build-only` rebuild should be retried once. Any
+/// non-success exit qualifies: the common cause is a transient first-attempt
+/// failure (still-settling tree / self-healed Electron download) that a clean
+/// second run resolves.
+fn rebuild_needs_retry(exit_code: Option<i32>) -> bool {
+    exit_code != Some(0)
+}
+
 /// Spawn `hermes <args>` from `cwd`, stream stdout/stderr as Log events on the
 /// bootstrap channel, and return the exit code. Mirrors powershell::run_script
 /// but for an arbitrary command (no install.ps1 -File wrapping).
@@ -970,6 +1005,16 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(update_branch_from_args(["--update"]), None);
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn rebuild_retries_only_on_failure() {
+        assert!(!rebuild_needs_retry(Some(0)), "a clean rebuild must not retry");
+        assert!(rebuild_needs_retry(Some(1)), "a failed rebuild retries once");
+        assert!(
+            rebuild_needs_retry(None),
+            "a killed/signalled rebuild (no exit code) retries once"
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn parses_only_app_targets() {
         assert_eq!(

apps/bootstrap-installer/tsconfig.json

@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 {
   "compilerOptions": {
-    "target": "ES2022",
+    "target": "ES2023",
     "useDefineForClassFields": true,
-    "lib": ["ES2022", "DOM", "DOM.Iterable"],
+    "lib": ["ES2023", "DOM", "DOM.Iterable"],
     "module": "ESNext",
     "skipLibCheck": true,
     "moduleResolution": "bundler",

apps/desktop/README.md

@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ It builds and launches the GUI against your existing install — same config, ke
 
 ### Prebuilt installers
 
-Prebuilt installers are built and distributed via [the Hermes Desktop website.](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/desktop).
+Prebuilt installers are built and distributed via [the Hermes Desktop website.](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/).
 
 ---
 

apps/desktop/electron/backend-env.cjs

@@ -67,6 +67,16 @@ function buildDesktopBackendPath({
   )
 }
 
+function normalizeHermesHomeRoot(hermesHome, { pathModule = pathModuleForPlatform(process.platform) } = {}) {
+  if (!hermesHome) return hermesHome
+  const resolved = pathModule.resolve(String(hermesHome))
+  const parent = pathModule.dirname(resolved)
+  if (pathModule.basename(parent).toLowerCase() === 'profiles') {
+    return pathModule.dirname(parent)
+  }
+  return resolved
+}
+
 function buildDesktopBackendEnv({
   hermesHome,
   pythonPathEntries = [],
@@ -97,5 +107,6 @@ module.exports = {
   buildDesktopBackendEnv,
   buildDesktopBackendPath,
   delimiterForPlatform,
+  normalizeHermesHomeRoot,
   pathEnvKey
 }

apps/desktop/electron/backend-env.test.cjs

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ const {
   appendUniquePathEntries,
   buildDesktopBackendEnv,
   buildDesktopBackendPath,
+  normalizeHermesHomeRoot,
   pathEnvKey
 } = require('./backend-env.cjs')
 
@@ -66,6 +67,21 @@ test('buildDesktopBackendEnv extends PYTHONPATH and backend PATH together', () =
   assert.ok(env.PATH.includes('/opt/homebrew/bin'))
 })
 
+test('normalizeHermesHomeRoot maps profile homes back to the global Hermes root', () => {
+  assert.equal(
+    normalizeHermesHomeRoot('/Users/test/.hermes/profiles/oracle', { pathModule: path.posix }),
+    '/Users/test/.hermes'
+  )
+  assert.equal(
+    normalizeHermesHomeRoot('C:\\Users\\test\\AppData\\Local\\hermes\\profiles\\oracle', { pathModule: path.win32 }),
+    'C:\\Users\\test\\AppData\\Local\\hermes'
+  )
+  assert.equal(
+    normalizeHermesHomeRoot('/Users/test/.hermes', { pathModule: path.posix }),
+    '/Users/test/.hermes'
+  )
+})
+
 test('Windows PATH casing and delimiter are preserved without POSIX sane entries', () => {
   const env = buildDesktopBackendEnv({
     hermesHome: 'C:\\Users\\test\\AppData\\Local\\hermes',

apps/desktop/electron/connection-config.cjs

@@ -166,6 +166,39 @@ function profileRemoteOverride(config, profile) {
   return { url, authMode: normAuthMode(entry.authMode), token: entry.token }
 }
 
+/**
+ * In global-remote mode one backend serves every Desktop profile, so REST calls
+ * that are scoped by renderer-side `request.profile` must carry that scope as a
+ * query parameter. Local pooled backends and per-profile remote overrides do not
+ * need this: they already run against a backend scoped to the target profile.
+ */
+function pathWithGlobalRemoteProfile(path, profile, opts = {}) {
+  const scopedProfile = connectionScopeKey(profile)
+  if (!scopedProfile || !opts.globalRemote || opts.profileRemoteOverride) {
+    return path
+  }
+
+  const rawPath = String(path || '')
+  if (!rawPath) {
+    return path
+  }
+
+  let parsed
+  try {
+    parsed = new URL(rawPath, 'http://hermes.local')
+  } catch {
+    return path
+  }
+
+  if (parsed.searchParams.has('profile')) {
+    return path
+  }
+
+  parsed.searchParams.set('profile', scopedProfile)
+
+  return `${parsed.pathname}${parsed.search}${parsed.hash}`
+}
+
 function tokenPreview(value) {
   const raw = String(value || '')
 
@@ -247,6 +280,7 @@ module.exports = {
   cookiesHaveLiveSession,
   normAuthMode,
   normalizeRemoteBaseUrl,
+  pathWithGlobalRemoteProfile,
   profileRemoteOverride,
   resolveAuthMode,
   resolveTestWsUrl,

apps/desktop/electron/connection-config.test.cjs

@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ const {
   cookiesHaveLiveSession,
   normAuthMode,
   normalizeRemoteBaseUrl,
+  pathWithGlobalRemoteProfile,
   profileRemoteOverride,
   resolveAuthMode,
   resolveTestWsUrl,
@@ -90,6 +91,72 @@ test('profileRemoteOverride tolerates a missing/!object profiles map', () => {
   assert.equal(profileRemoteOverride(null, 'coder'), null)
 })
 
+// --- pathWithGlobalRemoteProfile ---
+
+test('pathWithGlobalRemoteProfile appends profile in global remote mode', () => {
+  assert.equal(
+    pathWithGlobalRemoteProfile('/api/model/info', 'iris', {
+      globalRemote: true,
+      profileRemoteOverride: false
+    }),
+    '/api/model/info?profile=iris'
+  )
+})
+
+test('pathWithGlobalRemoteProfile preserves existing query params', () => {
+  assert.equal(
+    pathWithGlobalRemoteProfile('/api/model/options?force=1', 'iris', {
+      globalRemote: true,
+      profileRemoteOverride: false
+    }),
+    '/api/model/options?force=1&profile=iris'
+  )
+})
+
+test('pathWithGlobalRemoteProfile does not replace an explicit profile query', () => {
+  assert.equal(
+    pathWithGlobalRemoteProfile('/api/model/info?profile=default', 'iris', {
+      globalRemote: true,
+      profileRemoteOverride: false
+    }),
+    '/api/model/info?profile=default'
+  )
+})
+
+test('pathWithGlobalRemoteProfile skips local and per-profile remote override paths', () => {
+  assert.equal(
+    pathWithGlobalRemoteProfile('/api/model/info', 'iris', {
+      globalRemote: false,
+      profileRemoteOverride: false
+    }),
+    '/api/model/info'
+  )
+  assert.equal(
+    pathWithGlobalRemoteProfile('/api/model/info', 'iris', {
+      globalRemote: true,
+      profileRemoteOverride: true
+    }),
+    '/api/model/info'
+  )
+})
+
+test('pathWithGlobalRemoteProfile skips empty profile/path safely', () => {
+  assert.equal(
+    pathWithGlobalRemoteProfile('/api/model/info', '', {
+      globalRemote: true,
+      profileRemoteOverride: false
+    }),
+    '/api/model/info'
+  )
+  assert.equal(
+    pathWithGlobalRemoteProfile('', 'iris', {
+      globalRemote: true,
+      profileRemoteOverride: false
+    }),
+    ''
+  )
+})
+
 // --- normalizeRemoteBaseUrl ---
 
 test('normalizeRemoteBaseUrl strips trailing slashes, hash, and query', () => {

apps/desktop/electron/main.cjs

@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ const { detectRemoteDisplay, isWindowsBinaryPathInWsl, isWslEnvironment } = requ
 const { runBootstrap } = require('./bootstrap-runner.cjs')
 const {
   buildSessionWindowUrl,
+  chatWindowWebPreferences,
   createSessionWindowRegistry,
   SESSION_WINDOW_MIN_HEIGHT,
   SESSION_WINDOW_MIN_WIDTH
@@ -38,11 +39,13 @@ const { adoptServedDashboardToken } = require('./dashboard-token.cjs')
 const { waitForDashboardPort } = require('./backend-ready.cjs')
 const { serializeJsonBody, setJsonRequestHeaders } = require('./oauth-net-request.cjs')
 const { fetchMarketplaceThemes, searchMarketplaceThemes } = require('./vscode-marketplace.cjs')
-const { buildDesktopBackendEnv } = require('./backend-env.cjs')
+const { buildDesktopBackendEnv, normalizeHermesHomeRoot } = require('./backend-env.cjs')
+const { readWindowsUserEnvVar } = require('./windows-user-env.cjs')
 const { readDirForIpc } = require('./fs-read-dir.cjs')
 const { gitRootForIpc } = require('./git-root.cjs')
 const { worktreesForIpc } = require('./git-worktrees.cjs')
 const { OFFICIAL_REPO_HTTPS_URL, isOfficialSshRemote } = require('./update-remote.cjs')
+const { runRebuildWithRetry } = require('./update-rebuild.cjs')
 const {
   buildPosixCleanupScript,
   buildWindowsCleanupScript,
@@ -62,6 +65,7 @@ const {
   cookiesHaveLiveSession,
   normAuthMode,
   normalizeRemoteBaseUrl,
+  pathWithGlobalRemoteProfile,
   profileRemoteOverride,
   resolveAuthMode,
   resolveTestWsUrl,
@@ -240,8 +244,18 @@ if (INSTALL_STAMP) {
 // HERMES_HOME beneath the throwaway userData dir so a fresh-install run never
 // touches the user's real ~/.hermes / %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes.
 function resolveHermesHome() {
-  if (process.env.HERMES_HOME) return path.resolve(process.env.HERMES_HOME)
+  if (process.env.HERMES_HOME) return normalizeHermesHomeRoot(process.env.HERMES_HOME)
   if (USER_DATA_OVERRIDE) return path.join(path.resolve(USER_DATA_OVERRIDE), 'hermes-home')
+  if (IS_WINDOWS) {
+    // A GUI app launched from Explorer inherits the environment block captured
+    // at login, so a HERMES_HOME set via `setx` AFTER login is invisible in
+    // process.env even though the CLI (a fresh shell) sees it. Without this the
+    // backend silently falls back to %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes and reports "No
+    // inference provider configured" despite a valid configured home (#45471).
+    // Consult the live User-scoped registry value before the default below.
+    const fromRegistry = readWindowsUserEnvVar('HERMES_HOME')
+    if (fromRegistry) return normalizeHermesHomeRoot(fromRegistry)
+  }
   if (IS_WINDOWS && process.env.LOCALAPPDATA) {
     const localappdata = path.join(process.env.LOCALAPPDATA, 'hermes')
     const legacy = path.join(app.getPath('home'), '.hermes')
@@ -1996,10 +2010,14 @@ async function applyUpdatesPosixInApp() {
   }
 
   emitUpdateProgress({ stage: 'rebuild', message: 'Rebuilding the desktop app…', percent: 60 })
-  const rebuilt = await runStreamedUpdate(hermes, ['desktop', '--build-only'], {
-    cwd: updateRoot,
-    env,
-    stage: 'rebuild'
+  // Retry-once: a first rebuild can fail on a still-settling tree or a
+  // self-healed (network-blocked) Electron download; a second run builds clean
+  // off the healed dist so we reach the swap+relaunch below instead of bailing.
+  const rebuilt = await runRebuildWithRetry(attempt => {
+    if (attempt > 0) {
+      emitUpdateProgress({ stage: 'rebuild', message: 'Retrying the desktop rebuild…', percent: 60 })
+    }
+    return runStreamedUpdate(hermes, ['desktop', '--build-only'], { cwd: updateRoot, env, stage: 'rebuild' })
   })
   if (rebuilt.code !== 0) {
     emitUpdateProgress({
@@ -5072,65 +5090,68 @@ function focusWindow(win) {
   win.focus()
 }
 
+function spawnSecondaryWindow({ sessionId, watch, newSession } = {}) {
+  const icon = getAppIconPath()
+  const win = new BrowserWindow({
+    width: SESSION_WINDOW_MIN_WIDTH,
+    height: SESSION_WINDOW_MIN_HEIGHT,
+    minWidth: SESSION_WINDOW_MIN_WIDTH,
+    minHeight: SESSION_WINDOW_MIN_HEIGHT,
+    title: 'Hermes',
+    titleBarStyle: 'hidden',
+    titleBarOverlay: getTitleBarOverlayOptions(),
+    trafficLightPosition: IS_MAC ? WINDOW_BUTTON_POSITION : undefined,
+    vibrancy: IS_MAC ? 'sidebar' : undefined,
+    opacity: windowOpacity(),
+    icon,
+    // Don't show until the renderer's first themed paint is ready. macOS
+    // `vibrancy` ignores `backgroundColor` and paints a translucent OS
+    // material (which follows the OS appearance, not the app theme), so a
+    // dark-themed app on a light-mode Mac flashes white until the renderer
+    // covers it. ready-to-show fires after the boot-time paint in
+    // themes/context.tsx, so the window appears already themed.
+    show: false,
+    backgroundColor: getWindowBackgroundColor(),
+    webPreferences: chatWindowWebPreferences(path.join(__dirname, 'preload.cjs'))
+  })
+
+  if (IS_MAC) {
+    win.setWindowButtonPosition?.(WINDOW_BUTTON_POSITION)
+  }
+
+  win.once('ready-to-show', () => {
+    if (!win.isDestroyed()) win.show()
+  })
+
+  win.on('will-enter-full-screen', () => sendWindowStateChanged(true))
+  win.on('enter-full-screen', () => sendWindowStateChanged(true))
+  win.on('will-leave-full-screen', () => sendWindowStateChanged(false))
+  win.on('leave-full-screen', () => sendWindowStateChanged(false))
+
+  wireCommonWindowHandlers(win)
+
+  win.loadURL(
+    buildSessionWindowUrl(sessionId, {
+      devServer: DEV_SERVER,
+      rendererIndexPath: DEV_SERVER ? undefined : resolveRendererIndex(),
+      watch,
+      newSession
+    })
+  )
+
+  return win
+}
+
 // Open (or focus) a standalone window for a single chat session.
 function createSessionWindow(sessionId, { watch = false } = {}) {
-  return sessionWindows.openOrFocus(sessionId, () => {
-    const icon = getAppIconPath()
-    const win = new BrowserWindow({
-      width: SESSION_WINDOW_MIN_WIDTH,
-      height: SESSION_WINDOW_MIN_HEIGHT,
-      minWidth: SESSION_WINDOW_MIN_WIDTH,
-      minHeight: SESSION_WINDOW_MIN_HEIGHT,
-      title: 'Hermes',
-      titleBarStyle: 'hidden',
-      titleBarOverlay: getTitleBarOverlayOptions(),
-      trafficLightPosition: IS_MAC ? WINDOW_BUTTON_POSITION : undefined,
-      vibrancy: IS_MAC ? 'sidebar' : undefined,
-      opacity: windowOpacity(),
-      icon,
-      // Don't show until the renderer's first themed paint is ready. macOS
-      // `vibrancy` ignores `backgroundColor` and paints a translucent OS
-      // material (which follows the OS appearance, not the app theme), so a
-      // dark-themed app on a light-mode Mac flashes white until the renderer
-      // covers it. ready-to-show fires after the boot-time paint in
-      // themes/context.tsx, so the window appears already themed.
-      show: false,
-      backgroundColor: getWindowBackgroundColor(),
-      webPreferences: {
-        preload: path.join(__dirname, 'preload.cjs'),
-        contextIsolation: true,
-        webviewTag: true,
-        sandbox: true,
-        nodeIntegration: false,
-        devTools: true
-      }
-    })
+  return sessionWindows.openOrFocus(sessionId, () => spawnSecondaryWindow({ sessionId, watch }))
+}
 
-    if (IS_MAC) {
-      win.setWindowButtonPosition?.(WINDOW_BUTTON_POSITION)
-    }
-
-    win.once('ready-to-show', () => {
-      if (!win.isDestroyed()) win.show()
-    })
-
-    win.on('will-enter-full-screen', () => sendWindowStateChanged(true))
-    win.on('enter-full-screen', () => sendWindowStateChanged(true))
-    win.on('will-leave-full-screen', () => sendWindowStateChanged(false))
-    win.on('leave-full-screen', () => sendWindowStateChanged(false))
-
-    wireCommonWindowHandlers(win)
-
-    win.loadURL(
-      buildSessionWindowUrl(sessionId, {
-        devServer: DEV_SERVER,
-        rendererIndexPath: DEV_SERVER ? undefined : resolveRendererIndex(),
-        watch
-      })
-    )
-
-    return win
-  })
+// Open a fresh compact window on the new-session draft (#/). Not registry-keyed:
+// like ⌘N in a browser, every press opens a new window — and a draft window that
+// later converts to a real session must not get refocused as if it were blank.
+function createNewSessionWindow() {
+  return spawnSecondaryWindow({ newSession: true })
 }
 
 function createWindow() {
@@ -5158,23 +5179,11 @@ function createWindow() {
     // material before the renderer paints the app theme. See createSessionWindow.
     show: false,
     backgroundColor: getWindowBackgroundColor(),
-    webPreferences: {
-      preload: path.join(__dirname, 'preload.cjs'),
-      contextIsolation: true,
-      webviewTag: true,
-      sandbox: true,
-      nodeIntegration: false,
-      devTools: true,
-      // Keep timers + requestAnimationFrame running at full speed when the
-      // window is blurred/occluded. The chat transcript streams to the screen
-      // through a requestAnimationFrame-gated flush (useSessionStateCache),
-      // so with Chromium's default background throttling the live answer
-      // stalls whenever this window isn't focused (e.g. you switch to your
-      // editor mid-turn, or open detached devtools) and only appears once you
-      // refocus or refresh. A streaming chat app must render in the
-      // background, so opt out — matching the secondary windows above.
-      backgroundThrottling: false
-    }
+    // Shared with the secondary session windows (chatWindowWebPreferences) so
+    // both keep `backgroundThrottling: false` — the chat transcript streams via
+    // a requestAnimationFrame-gated flush that Chromium pauses for blurred
+    // windows, stalling the live answer until refocus. See session-windows.cjs.
+    webPreferences: chatWindowWebPreferences(path.join(__dirname, 'preload.cjs'))
   })
 
   if (IS_MAC) {
@@ -5317,6 +5326,11 @@ ipcMain.handle('hermes:window:openSession', async (_event, sessionId, opts) => {
 
   return { ok: true }
 })
+ipcMain.handle('hermes:window:openNewSession', async () => {
+  createNewSessionWindow()
+
+  return { ok: true }
+})
 ipcMain.handle('hermes:bootstrap:reset', async () => {
   // Renderer's "Reload and retry" path. Clear the latched failure and
   // reset connection state so the next startHermes() call restarts the
@@ -5586,9 +5600,14 @@ ipcMain.handle('hermes:api', async (_event, request) => {
 
   await prepareProfileDeleteRequest(request)
 
-  const connection = await ensureBackend(request?.profile)
+  const profile = request?.profile
+  const connection = await ensureBackend(profile)
   const timeoutMs = resolveTimeoutMs(request?.timeoutMs, DEFAULT_FETCH_TIMEOUT_MS)
-  const url = `${connection.baseUrl}${request.path}`
+  const requestPath = pathWithGlobalRemoteProfile(request.path, profile, {
+    globalRemote: globalRemoteActive(),
+    profileRemoteOverride: profileHasRemoteOverride(profile)
+  })
+  const url = `${connection.baseUrl}${requestPath}`
   // OAuth gateways authenticate REST via the HttpOnly session cookie held in
   // the OAuth partition — route through Electron's net stack bound to that
   // session so the cookie attaches automatically. Token/local modes keep using
@@ -5609,11 +5628,30 @@ ipcMain.handle('hermes:api', async (_event, request) => {
 
 ipcMain.handle('hermes:notify', (_event, payload) => {
   if (!Notification.isSupported()) return false
-  new Notification({
+  // Action buttons render only on signed macOS builds; elsewhere they're dropped
+  // and the body click still works.
+  const actions = Array.isArray(payload?.actions) ? payload.actions : []
+  const notification = new Notification({
     title: payload?.title || 'Hermes',
     body: payload?.body || '',
-    silent: Boolean(payload?.silent)
-  }).show()
+    silent: Boolean(payload?.silent),
+    actions: actions.map(action => ({ type: 'button', text: String(action?.text || '') }))
+  })
+  notification.on('click', () => {
+    if (!mainWindow || mainWindow.isDestroyed()) return
+    focusWindow(mainWindow)
+    if (payload?.sessionId) {
+      mainWindow.webContents.send('hermes:focus-session', payload.sessionId)
+    }
+  })
+  notification.on('action', (_actionEvent, index) => {
+    if (!mainWindow || mainWindow.isDestroyed()) return
+    const action = actions[index]
+    if (action?.id) {
+      mainWindow.webContents.send('hermes:notification-action', { sessionId: payload?.sessionId, actionId: action.id })
+    }
+  })
+  notification.show()
   return true
 })
 

apps/desktop/electron/preload.cjs

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld('hermesDesktop', {
   touchBackend: profile => ipcRenderer.invoke('hermes:backend:touch', profile),
   getGatewayWsUrl: profile => ipcRenderer.invoke('hermes:gateway:ws-url', profile),
   openSessionWindow: (sessionId, opts) => ipcRenderer.invoke('hermes:window:openSession', sessionId, opts),
+  openNewSessionWindow: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('hermes:window:openNewSession'),
   getBootProgress: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('hermes:boot-progress:get'),
   getConnectionConfig: profile => ipcRenderer.invoke('hermes:connection-config:get', profile),
   saveConnectionConfig: payload => ipcRenderer.invoke('hermes:connection-config:save', payload),
@@ -94,6 +95,16 @@ contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld('hermesDesktop', {
     ipcRenderer.on('hermes:window-state-changed', listener)
     return () => ipcRenderer.removeListener('hermes:window-state-changed', listener)
   },
+  onFocusSession: callback => {
+    const listener = (_event, sessionId) => callback(sessionId)
+    ipcRenderer.on('hermes:focus-session', listener)
+    return () => ipcRenderer.removeListener('hermes:focus-session', listener)
+  },
+  onNotificationAction: callback => {
+    const listener = (_event, payload) => callback(payload)
+    ipcRenderer.on('hermes:notification-action', listener)
+    return () => ipcRenderer.removeListener('hermes:notification-action', listener)
+  },
   onPreviewFileChanged: callback => {
     const listener = (_event, payload) => callback(payload)
     ipcRenderer.on('hermes:preview-file-changed', listener)

apps/desktop/electron/session-windows.cjs

@@ -10,17 +10,41 @@ const { pathToFileURL } = require('node:url')
 const SESSION_WINDOW_MIN_WIDTH = 420
 const SESSION_WINDOW_MIN_HEIGHT = 620
 
+// Shared webPreferences for every window that renders the chat transcript — the
+// primary window AND the secondary session windows. Keeping it in one place is
+// the whole point: the two BrowserWindow definitions in main.cjs used to be
+// hand-copied, and the secondary windows silently lost `backgroundThrottling:
+// false`, so a streamed answer stalled until the window regained focus.
+//
+// `backgroundThrottling: false` is load-bearing: the transcript streams to the
+// screen through a requestAnimationFrame-gated flush, which Chromium pauses for
+// blurred/occluded windows. A streaming chat app must keep painting in the
+// background, so every chat window opts out. The preload path is injected
+// because it depends on the Electron entry's __dirname.
+function chatWindowWebPreferences(preloadPath) {
+  return {
+    preload: preloadPath,
+    contextIsolation: true,
+    webviewTag: true,
+    sandbox: true,
+    nodeIntegration: false,
+    devTools: true,
+    backgroundThrottling: false
+  }
+}
+
 // Build the renderer URL for a secondary window. The renderer uses a
 // HashRouter, so the session route lives after the '#'. The `?win=secondary`
 // flag MUST sit in the query string BEFORE the '#': anything after the '#' is
 // treated as the route by HashRouter and would break routeSessionId(). The
 // renderer reads the flag from window.location.search to suppress the install /
-// onboarding overlays and the global session sidebar. `watch=1` marks a
-// spectator window (e.g. a running subagent's session): the renderer resumes
-// it lazily so the gateway never builds an agent just to stream into it.
-function buildSessionWindowUrl(sessionId, { devServer, rendererIndexPath, watch } = {}) {
-  const query = `?win=secondary${watch ? '&watch=1' : ''}`
-  const route = `#/${encodeURIComponent(sessionId)}`
+// onboarding overlays and the global session sidebar. `new=1` marks the compact
+// scratch window; `watch=1` marks a spectator window (e.g. a running subagent's
+// session): the renderer resumes it lazily so the gateway never builds an agent
+// just to stream into it.
+function buildSessionWindowUrl(sessionId, { devServer, rendererIndexPath, watch, newSession } = {}) {
+  const query = `?win=secondary${newSession ? '&new=1' : ''}${watch ? '&watch=1' : ''}`
+  const route = newSession ? '#/' : `#/${encodeURIComponent(sessionId)}`
 
   if (devServer) {
     const base = devServer.endsWith('/') ? devServer.slice(0, -1) : devServer
@@ -93,6 +117,7 @@ function createSessionWindowRegistry() {
 
 module.exports = {
   buildSessionWindowUrl,
+  chatWindowWebPreferences,
   createSessionWindowRegistry,
   SESSION_WINDOW_MIN_HEIGHT,
   SESSION_WINDOW_MIN_WIDTH

apps/desktop/electron/session-windows.test.cjs

@@ -1,7 +1,11 @@
 const assert = require('node:assert/strict')
 const test = require('node:test')
 
-const { buildSessionWindowUrl, createSessionWindowRegistry } = require('./session-windows.cjs')
+const {
+  buildSessionWindowUrl,
+  chatWindowWebPreferences,
+  createSessionWindowRegistry
+} = require('./session-windows.cjs')
 
 // A minimal fake BrowserWindow: tracks listeners + destroyed state and lets a
 // test fire the 'closed' event, mirroring the slice of the Electron API the
@@ -82,6 +86,12 @@ test('buildSessionWindowUrl adds the watch flag for spectator windows, before th
   assert.equal(url, 'http://localhost:5173/?win=secondary&watch=1#/abc')
 })
 
+test('buildSessionWindowUrl routes new-session windows to the draft (#/)', () => {
+  const url = buildSessionWindowUrl(null, { devServer: 'http://localhost:5173', newSession: true })
+
+  assert.equal(url, 'http://localhost:5173/?win=secondary&new=1#/')
+})
+
 test('registry opens one window per session and focuses on re-open', () => {
   const registry = createSessionWindowRegistry()
   let built = 0
@@ -169,3 +179,21 @@ test('registry trims the session id before keying', () => {
 
   assert.equal(registry.has('s1'), true)
 })
+
+test('chatWindowWebPreferences disables background throttling so streaming paints while blurred', () => {
+  // Regression: secondary session windows used to omit this flag, so a streamed
+  // answer stalled until the window regained focus (Chromium pauses the
+  // requestAnimationFrame-gated transcript flush for backgrounded windows).
+  const prefs = chatWindowWebPreferences('/tmp/preload.cjs')
+
+  assert.equal(prefs.backgroundThrottling, false)
+})
+
+test('chatWindowWebPreferences passes the preload path through and keeps the hardened defaults', () => {
+  const prefs = chatWindowWebPreferences('/some/preload.cjs')
+
+  assert.equal(prefs.preload, '/some/preload.cjs')
+  assert.equal(prefs.contextIsolation, true)
+  assert.equal(prefs.sandbox, true)
+  assert.equal(prefs.nodeIntegration, false)
+})

apps/desktop/electron/update-rebuild.cjs

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+'use strict'
+
+/**
+ * Retry-once policy for the desktop `--build-only` rebuild during self-update.
+ *
+ * The first rebuild can return nonzero on a still-settling post-update tree or a
+ * network-blocked Electron fetch that the installer's self-heal repaired mid-run.
+ * A second attempt then builds clean off the healed dist (the content-hash stamp
+ * makes it a near-no-op when the first actually succeeded). Without the retry the
+ * updater bails before the relaunch step — the app updates but doesn't restart.
+ */
+
+function shouldRetryRebuild(code) {
+  return code !== 0
+}
+
+/**
+ * Run `rebuild()` (async, resolves `{ code, ... }`), retrying once on failure.
+ * Returns the final result.
+ */
+async function runRebuildWithRetry(rebuild) {
+  let result = await rebuild(0)
+  if (shouldRetryRebuild(result.code)) {
+    result = await rebuild(1)
+  }
+  return result
+}
+
+module.exports = { shouldRetryRebuild, runRebuildWithRetry }

apps/desktop/electron/update-rebuild.test.cjs

@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+/**
+ * Tests for electron/update-rebuild.cjs — the retry-once policy for the desktop
+ * `--build-only` rebuild during self-update.
+ *
+ * Run with: node --test electron/update-rebuild.test.cjs
+ * (Wired into npm test:desktop:platforms in package.json.)
+ *
+ * Why this matters: a first rebuild can return nonzero on a still-settling tree
+ * or a self-healed (network-blocked) Electron download. Without a second attempt
+ * the updater bails before the relaunch step — the app updates but never restarts
+ * (the field report behind this fix). The retry must fire on failure, not on
+ * success, and must run at most twice.
+ */
+
+const test = require('node:test')
+const assert = require('node:assert/strict')
+
+const { shouldRetryRebuild, runRebuildWithRetry } = require('./update-rebuild.cjs')
+
+test('shouldRetryRebuild retries only on a non-success exit', () => {
+  assert.equal(shouldRetryRebuild(0), false)
+  assert.equal(shouldRetryRebuild(1), true)
+  assert.equal(shouldRetryRebuild(null), true)
+})
+
+test('a clean first rebuild runs once and does not retry', async () => {
+  const codes = []
+  const result = await runRebuildWithRetry(attempt => {
+    codes.push(attempt)
+    return Promise.resolve({ code: 0 })
+  })
+  assert.deepEqual(codes, [0])
+  assert.equal(result.code, 0)
+})
+
+test('a failed first rebuild retries once and succeeds', async () => {
+  const codes = []
+  const result = await runRebuildWithRetry(attempt => {
+    codes.push(attempt)
+    return Promise.resolve({ code: attempt === 0 ? 1 : 0 })
+  })
+  assert.deepEqual(codes, [0, 1])
+  assert.equal(result.code, 0)
+})
+
+test('a rebuild that keeps failing runs at most twice and reports the failure', async () => {
+  const codes = []
+  const result = await runRebuildWithRetry(attempt => {
+    codes.push(attempt)
+    return Promise.resolve({ code: 1, error: 'rebuild-failed' })
+  })
+  assert.deepEqual(codes, [0, 1])
+  assert.equal(result.code, 1)
+  assert.equal(result.error, 'rebuild-failed')
+})

apps/desktop/electron/windows-user-env.cjs

@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+// windows-user-env.cjs
+//
+// Read a User-scoped environment variable straight from the Windows registry
+// (HKCU\Environment).
+//
+// A GUI app launched from Explorer inherits the environment block captured at
+// login, so a variable set via `setx` AFTER login is invisible in process.env
+// even though a fresh shell — and the Hermes CLI — sees it immediately. The
+// desktop's HERMES_HOME resolution relies on process.env, so that stale-snapshot
+// gap silently sends the backend to the default %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes. Reading
+// the live registry value closes the gap. See #45471.
+
+const { execFileSync } = require('node:child_process')
+
+// Parse the output of `reg query HKCU\Environment /v <name>`, which looks like:
+//
+//   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Environment
+//       HERMES_HOME    REG_SZ    F:\Hermes\data
+//
+// Returns the raw value string (spaces inside the value preserved), or null when
+// the requested value line isn't present.
+function parseRegQueryValue(stdout, name) {
+  if (!stdout || !name) return null
+  const typePattern =
+    /^(\S+)\s+(?:REG_SZ|REG_EXPAND_SZ|REG_MULTI_SZ|REG_DWORD|REG_QWORD|REG_BINARY|REG_NONE)\s+(.*)$/
+  for (const rawLine of String(stdout).split(/\r?\n/)) {
+    const line = rawLine.trim()
+    const match = line.match(typePattern)
+    if (match && match[1].toLowerCase() === name.toLowerCase()) {
+      return match[2]
+    }
+  }
+  return null
+}
+
+// Expand %VAR% references against an env map. REG_EXPAND_SZ values store
+// unexpanded references; plain REG_SZ paths have none, so this is a no-op for
+// the common F:\... case. Unknown references are left verbatim.
+function expandWindowsEnvRefs(value, env = process.env) {
+  if (!value) return value
+  return value.replace(/%([^%]+)%/g, (whole, name) => {
+    const key = Object.keys(env).find(k => k.toUpperCase() === String(name).toUpperCase())
+    return key != null && env[key] != null ? env[key] : whole
+  })
+}
+
+// Read a User-scoped env var from HKCU\Environment. Windows-only: returns null
+// off-Windows (without spawning), on any spawn error, when `reg` exits non-zero
+// (the value doesn't exist), or when the value is empty.
+function readWindowsUserEnvVar(
+  name,
+  { platform = process.platform, env = process.env, exec = execFileSync } = {}
+) {
+  if (platform !== 'win32' || !name) return null
+  let stdout
+  try {
+    stdout = exec('reg', ['query', 'HKCU\\Environment', '/v', name], {
+      encoding: 'utf8',
+      windowsHide: true,
+      timeout: 5000
+    })
+  } catch {
+    // `reg` missing, or value absent (reg exits 1) — caller falls back.
+    return null
+  }
+  const raw = parseRegQueryValue(stdout, name)
+  if (raw == null) return null
+  const expanded = expandWindowsEnvRefs(raw, env).trim()
+  return expanded || null
+}
+
+module.exports = {
+  expandWindowsEnvRefs,
+  parseRegQueryValue,
+  readWindowsUserEnvVar
+}

apps/desktop/electron/windows-user-env.test.cjs

@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+const assert = require('node:assert/strict')
+const { test } = require('node:test')
+
+const {
+  expandWindowsEnvRefs,
+  parseRegQueryValue,
+  readWindowsUserEnvVar
+} = require('./windows-user-env.cjs')
+
+// ── parseRegQueryValue ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+test('parseRegQueryValue extracts a REG_SZ value', () => {
+  const out = [
+    '',
+    'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Environment',
+    '    HERMES_HOME    REG_SZ    F:\\Hermes\\data',
+    ''
+  ].join('\r\n')
+  assert.equal(parseRegQueryValue(out, 'HERMES_HOME'), 'F:\\Hermes\\data')
+})
+
+test('parseRegQueryValue matches the name case-insensitively', () => {
+  const out = 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Environment\r\n    Hermes_Home    REG_EXPAND_SZ    %USERPROFILE%\\h\r\n'
+  assert.equal(parseRegQueryValue(out, 'HERMES_HOME'), '%USERPROFILE%\\h')
+})
+
+test('parseRegQueryValue preserves spaces inside the value', () => {
+  const out = '    HERMES_HOME    REG_SZ    C:\\Program Files\\Hermes\r\n'
+  assert.equal(parseRegQueryValue(out, 'HERMES_HOME'), 'C:\\Program Files\\Hermes')
+})
+
+test('parseRegQueryValue returns null when the value line is absent', () => {
+  const out = 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Environment\r\n    Path    REG_SZ    C:\\x\r\n'
+  assert.equal(parseRegQueryValue(out, 'HERMES_HOME'), null)
+  assert.equal(parseRegQueryValue('', 'HERMES_HOME'), null)
+  assert.equal(parseRegQueryValue('garbage', 'HERMES_HOME'), null)
+})
+
+// ── expandWindowsEnvRefs ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+test('expandWindowsEnvRefs expands %VAR% case-insensitively', () => {
+  assert.equal(
+    expandWindowsEnvRefs('%UserProfile%\\h', { USERPROFILE: 'C:\\Users\\jeff' }),
+    'C:\\Users\\jeff\\h'
+  )
+})
+
+test('expandWindowsEnvRefs leaves literal paths and unknown refs intact', () => {
+  assert.equal(expandWindowsEnvRefs('F:\\Hermes\\data', {}), 'F:\\Hermes\\data')
+  assert.equal(expandWindowsEnvRefs('%NOPE%\\x', {}), '%NOPE%\\x')
+})
+
+// ── readWindowsUserEnvVar ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+test('readWindowsUserEnvVar returns null off Windows without spawning', () => {
+  let spawned = false
+  const exec = () => {
+    spawned = true
+    return ''
+  }
+  assert.equal(readWindowsUserEnvVar('HERMES_HOME', { platform: 'linux', exec }), null)
+  assert.equal(spawned, false)
+})
+
+test('readWindowsUserEnvVar queries HKCU\\Environment and expands the value', () => {
+  const calls = []
+  const exec = (cmd, args) => {
+    calls.push([cmd, args])
+    return 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Environment\r\n    HERMES_HOME    REG_EXPAND_SZ    %DRIVE%\\Hermes\r\n'
+  }
+  const value = readWindowsUserEnvVar('HERMES_HOME', {
+    platform: 'win32',
+    env: { DRIVE: 'F:' },
+    exec
+  })
+  assert.equal(value, 'F:\\Hermes')
+  assert.deepEqual(calls, [['reg', ['query', 'HKCU\\Environment', '/v', 'HERMES_HOME']]])
+})
+
+test('readWindowsUserEnvVar returns null when reg exits non-zero (value missing)', () => {
+  const exec = () => {
+    throw new Error('reg exited 1')
+  }
+  assert.equal(readWindowsUserEnvVar('HERMES_HOME', { platform: 'win32', exec }), null)
+})
+
+test('readWindowsUserEnvVar returns null for an empty value', () => {
+  const exec = () => '    HERMES_HOME    REG_SZ    \r\n'
+  assert.equal(readWindowsUserEnvVar('HERMES_HOME', { platform: 'win32', exec }), null)
+})

apps/desktop/package.json

@@ -20,7 +20,8 @@
     "start": "npm run build && electron .",
     "build": "node scripts/assert-root-install.cjs && node scripts/write-build-stamp.cjs && node scripts/stage-native-deps.cjs && tsc -b && vite build && npm run postbuild",
     "postbuild": "node scripts/assert-dist-built.cjs",
-    "builder": "cross-env NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=16384 electron-builder",
+    "prebuilder": "node scripts/patch-electron-builder-mac-binary.cjs",
+    "builder": "cross-env NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=16384 node scripts/run-electron-builder.cjs",
     "pack": "npm run build && npm run builder -- --dir",
     "dist": "npm run build && npm run builder",
     "dist:mac": "npm run build && npm run builder -- --mac",
@@ -36,7 +37,7 @@
     "test:desktop:nsis": "node scripts/test-desktop.mjs nsis",
     "test:desktop:existing": "node scripts/test-desktop.mjs existing",
     "test:desktop:fresh": "node scripts/test-desktop.mjs fresh",
-    "test:desktop:platforms": "node --test electron/bootstrap-platform.test.cjs electron/hardening.test.cjs electron/backend-env.test.cjs electron/backend-probes.test.cjs electron/bootstrap-runner.test.cjs electron/connection-config.test.cjs electron/dashboard-token.test.cjs electron/gateway-ws-probe.test.cjs electron/oauth-net-request.test.cjs electron/desktop-uninstall.test.cjs electron/session-windows.test.cjs electron/workspace-cwd.test.cjs electron/fs-read-dir.test.cjs electron/git-root.test.cjs electron/windows-child-process.test.cjs electron/update-remote.test.cjs",
+    "test:desktop:platforms": "node --test electron/bootstrap-platform.test.cjs electron/hardening.test.cjs electron/backend-env.test.cjs electron/backend-probes.test.cjs electron/bootstrap-runner.test.cjs electron/connection-config.test.cjs electron/dashboard-token.test.cjs electron/gateway-ws-probe.test.cjs electron/oauth-net-request.test.cjs electron/desktop-uninstall.test.cjs electron/session-windows.test.cjs electron/workspace-cwd.test.cjs electron/fs-read-dir.test.cjs electron/git-root.test.cjs electron/windows-child-process.test.cjs electron/update-remote.test.cjs electron/update-rebuild.test.cjs electron/windows-user-env.test.cjs",
     "typecheck": "tsc -p . --noEmit",
     "lint": "eslint src/ electron/",
     "lint:fix": "eslint src/ electron/ --fix",
@@ -116,7 +117,7 @@
     "@vitejs/plugin-react": "^6.0.1",
     "concurrently": "^10.0.3",
     "cross-env": "^10.1.0",
-    "electron": "^40.9.3",
+    "electron": "40.10.2",
     "electron-builder": "^26.8.1",
     "eslint": "^9.39.4",
     "eslint-plugin-perfectionist": "^5.9.0",
@@ -133,7 +134,7 @@
     "wait-on": "^9.0.5"
   },
   "build": {
-    "electronVersion": "40.9.3",
+    "electronVersion": "40.10.2",
     "appId": "com.nousresearch.hermes",
     "productName": "Hermes",
     "executableName": "Hermes",

apps/desktop/scripts/patch-electron-builder-mac-binary.cjs

@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+const fs = require('node:fs')
+const path = require('node:path')
+
+if (process.platform !== 'darwin') {
+  process.exit(0)
+}
+
+const desktopRoot = path.resolve(__dirname, '..')
+const repoRoot = path.resolve(desktopRoot, '..', '..')
+const electronMacPath = path.join(repoRoot, 'node_modules', 'app-builder-lib', 'out', 'electron', 'electronMac.js')
+
+const marker = 'hermes-macos-electron-binary-fallback'
+const needle = `    await Promise.all([
+        doRename(path.join(contentsPath, "MacOS"), electronBranding.productName, appPlist.CFBundleExecutable),
+        (0, builder_util_1.unlinkIfExists)(path.join(appOutDir, "LICENSE")),
+        (0, builder_util_1.unlinkIfExists)(path.join(appOutDir, "LICENSES.chromium.html")),
+    ]);`
+const replacement = `    // ${marker}: electron-builder 26.8.x can sometimes copy
+    // Electron.app without its main MacOS/Electron binary before this rename.
+    // Restore it from the installed Electron runtime so local desktop installs
+    // do not fail with ENOENT during macOS arm64 packaging.
+    const macosDir = path.join(contentsPath, "MacOS");
+    const bundledElectronBinary = path.join(macosDir, electronBranding.productName);
+    if (!fs.existsSync(bundledElectronBinary)) {
+        const candidates = [
+            path.join(packager.info.framework.distMacOsAppName, "Contents", "MacOS", electronBranding.productName),
+            // npm may nest the workspace-only electron devDep under
+            // apps/desktop/node_modules (process.cwd() during pack), or hoist
+            // it to the repo root. Try the workspace-local install first, then
+            // the root hoist, so the fallback works under either layout.
+            path.join(process.cwd(), "node_modules", "electron", "dist", "Electron.app", "Contents", "MacOS", electronBranding.productName),
+            path.join(process.cwd(), "..", "..", "node_modules", "electron", "dist", "Electron.app", "Contents", "MacOS", electronBranding.productName),
+        ];
+        const sourceBinary = candidates.find(candidate => fs.existsSync(candidate));
+        if (sourceBinary == null) {
+            throw new Error("Electron binary missing from packaged app and Electron runtime: " + bundledElectronBinary);
+        }
+        await (0, promises_1.copyFile)(sourceBinary, bundledElectronBinary);
+        await (0, promises_1.chmod)(bundledElectronBinary, 0o755);
+    }
+    await Promise.all([
+        doRename(macosDir, electronBranding.productName, appPlist.CFBundleExecutable),
+        (0, builder_util_1.unlinkIfExists)(path.join(appOutDir, "LICENSE")),
+        (0, builder_util_1.unlinkIfExists)(path.join(appOutDir, "LICENSES.chromium.html")),
+    ]);`
+
+if (!fs.existsSync(electronMacPath)) {
+  console.warn(`[patch-electron-builder] skipped: ${electronMacPath} not found`)
+  process.exit(0)
+}
+
+const source = fs.readFileSync(electronMacPath, 'utf8')
+if (source.includes(marker)) {
+  console.log('[patch-electron-builder] macOS Electron binary fallback already applied')
+  process.exit(0)
+}
+
+if (!source.includes(needle)) {
+  console.warn('[patch-electron-builder] skipped: expected electronMac.js shape not found')
+  process.exit(0)
+}
+
+fs.writeFileSync(electronMacPath, source.replace(needle, replacement))
+console.log('[patch-electron-builder] applied macOS Electron binary fallback')

apps/desktop/scripts/run-electron-builder.cjs

@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+"use strict"
+
+// Resolve electronDist at runtime (#38673, #47917): electron-builder 26.8.x can
+// re-unpack a broken Electron.app; reusing the installed dist dodges that.
+// npm workspace hoisting is non-deterministic — require.resolve finds electron
+// wherever it landed. Dist present → -c.electronDist=<abs>/dist; absent → let
+// electron-builder fetch via @electron/get (electronVersion + ELECTRON_MIRROR).
+
+const fs = require("node:fs")
+const path = require("node:path")
+const { spawnSync } = require("node:child_process")
+
+function electronDistDir() {
+  try {
+    return path.join(path.dirname(require.resolve("electron/package.json")), "dist")
+  } catch {
+    return null
+  }
+}
+
+function distBinary(dist) {
+  if (process.platform === "darwin") {
+    return path.join(dist, "Electron.app", "Contents", "MacOS", "Electron")
+  }
+  if (process.platform === "win32") {
+    return path.join(dist, "electron.exe")
+  }
+  return path.join(dist, "electron")
+}
+
+function electronBuilderCli() {
+  const pkgJson = require.resolve("electron-builder/package.json")
+  const bin = require(pkgJson).bin
+  const rel = typeof bin === "string" ? bin : bin["electron-builder"]
+  return path.join(path.dirname(pkgJson), rel)
+}
+
+const dist = electronDistDir()
+const args = []
+if (dist && fs.existsSync(distBinary(dist))) {
+  args.push(`-c.electronDist=${dist}`)
+} else {
+  console.warn(
+    "[run-electron-builder] no local electron dist; electron-builder will fetch " +
+      "via @electron/get (electronVersion + ELECTRON_MIRROR)."
+  )
+}
+args.push(...process.argv.slice(2))
+
+const result = spawnSync(process.execPath, [electronBuilderCli(), ...args], {
+  stdio: "inherit",
+})
+if (result.error) {
+  console.error(`[run-electron-builder] spawn failed: ${result.error.message}`)
+  process.exit(1)
+}
+process.exit(result.status == null ? 1 : result.status)

apps/desktop/src/app/artifacts/index.tsx

@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import { type Translations, useI18n } from '@/i18n'
 import { sessionTitle } from '@/lib/chat-runtime'
 import { ExternalLink, ExternalLinkIcon, hostPathLabel, urlSlugTitleLabel, useLinkTitle } from '@/lib/external-link'
 import { FileImage, FileText, FolderOpen, Link2 } from '@/lib/icons'
+import { mediaExternalUrl } from '@/lib/media'
 import { cn } from '@/lib/utils'
 import { notifyError } from '@/store/notifications'
 import type { SessionInfo, SessionMessage } from '@/types/hermes'
@@ -124,17 +125,12 @@ function artifactKind(value: string): ArtifactKind {
 }
 
 function artifactHref(value: string): string {
-  if (
-    value.startsWith('http://') ||
-    value.startsWith('https://') ||
-    value.startsWith('file://') ||
-    value.startsWith('data:')
-  ) {
+  if (value.startsWith('http://') || value.startsWith('https://') || value.startsWith('data:')) {
     return value
   }
 
-  if (value.startsWith('/')) {
-    return `file://${encodeURI(value)}`
+  if (value.startsWith('file://') || value.startsWith('/')) {
+    return mediaExternalUrl(value)
   }
 
   return value

apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/controls.tsx

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { formatCombo } from '@/lib/keybinds/combo'
 import { cn } from '@/lib/utils'
 
 import type { ConversationStatus } from './hooks/use-voice-conversation'
+import { ModelPill } from './model-pill'
 import type { ChatBarState, VoiceStatus } from './types'
 
 export const ICON_BTN = 'size-(--composer-control-size) shrink-0 rounded-md'
@@ -66,6 +67,7 @@ export function ComposerControls({
   const c = t.composer
   const steerCombo = formatCombo('mod+enter')
   const steerLabel = `${c.steer} (${steerCombo})`
+
   const steerTip = (
     <span className="inline-flex items-center gap-1.5">
       {c.steer}
@@ -81,8 +83,10 @@ export function ComposerControls({
 
   return (
     <div className="ml-auto flex shrink-0 items-center gap-(--composer-control-gap)">
-      <DictationButton disabled={disabled} onToggle={onDictate} state={state.voice} status={voiceStatus} />
-      {canSteer && (
+      <ModelPill disabled={disabled} model={state.model} />
+      {/* While the agent runs and the user is typing, steer takes over the mic's
+          slot rather than crowding the row with an extra button. */}
+      {canSteer ? (
         <Tip label={steerTip}>
           <Button
             aria-label={steerLabel}
@@ -96,6 +100,8 @@ export function ComposerControls({
             <SteeringWheel size={16} />
           </Button>
         </Tip>
+      ) : (
+        <DictationButton disabled={disabled} onToggle={onDictate} state={state.voice} status={voiceStatus} />
       )}
       {showVoicePrimary ? (
         <Tip label={c.startVoice}>

apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/index.tsx

@@ -85,6 +85,8 @@ import {
 import { QueuePanel } from './queue-panel'
 import {
   composerPlainText,
+  deleteSelectionInEditor,
+  insertPlainTextAtCaret,
   normalizeComposerEditorDom,
   placeCaretEnd,
   refChipElement,
@@ -135,6 +137,12 @@ function slashChipKindForItem(item: Unstable_TriggerItem): SlashChipKind {
   return 'command'
 }
 
+/** A `/` query is at its arg stage once it's past the command name. */
+const slashArgStage = (query: string) => query.includes(' ')
+
+/** The `/command` token of a slash query (`personality x` → `/personality`). */
+const slashCommandToken = (query: string) => `/${query.split(/\s+/, 1)[0]?.toLowerCase() ?? ''}`
+
 interface QueueEditState {
   attachments: ComposerAttachment[]
   draft: string
@@ -532,48 +540,6 @@ export function ChatBar({
     })
   }, [])
 
-  const handlePaste = (event: ClipboardEvent<HTMLDivElement>) => {
-    const imageBlobs = extractClipboardImageBlobs(event.clipboardData)
-
-    if (imageBlobs.length > 0) {
-      event.preventDefault()
-
-      if (onAttachImageBlob) {
-        triggerHaptic('selection')
-
-        for (const blob of imageBlobs) {
-          void onAttachImageBlob(blob)
-        }
-      }
-
-      return
-    }
-
-    // Trim surrounding whitespace so a copy that dragged along leading/trailing
-    // blank lines (common when selecting from terminals, code blocks, web pages)
-    // doesn't dump multiline padding into the composer. Internal newlines are
-    // preserved — only the edges are cleaned up.
-    const pastedText = event.clipboardData.getData('text').trim()
-
-    if (!pastedText) {
-      event.preventDefault()
-
-      return
-    }
-
-    if (DATA_IMAGE_URL_RE.test(pastedText)) {
-      event.preventDefault()
-
-      return
-    }
-
-    event.preventDefault()
-    document.execCommand('insertText', false, pastedText)
-    const nextDraft = composerPlainText(event.currentTarget)
-    draftRef.current = nextDraft
-    aui.composer().setText(nextDraft)
-  }
-
   const [trigger, setTrigger] = useState<TriggerState | null>(null)
   const [triggerActive, setTriggerActive] = useState(0)
   const [triggerItems, setTriggerItems] = useState<readonly Unstable_TriggerItem[]>([])
@@ -610,7 +576,15 @@ export function ChatBar({
     }
 
     const before = textBeforeCaret(editor)
-    const detected = detectTrigger(before ?? composerPlainText(editor))
+    const found = detectTrigger(before ?? composerPlainText(editor))
+
+    // The arg-stage popover is only useful for commands with an options screen.
+    // For a no-arg command it would dead-end on "No matches", so drop it — the
+    // directive is already complete.
+    const detected =
+      found?.kind === '/' && slashArgStage(found.query) && !desktopSlashCommandTakesArgs(slashCommandToken(found.query))
+        ? null
+        : found
 
     setTrigger(detected)
 
@@ -650,6 +624,46 @@ export function ChatBar({
     flushEditorToDraft(event.currentTarget)
   }
 
+  const handlePaste = (event: ClipboardEvent<HTMLDivElement>) => {
+    const imageBlobs = extractClipboardImageBlobs(event.clipboardData)
+
+    if (imageBlobs.length > 0) {
+      event.preventDefault()
+
+      if (onAttachImageBlob) {
+        triggerHaptic('selection')
+
+        for (const blob of imageBlobs) {
+          void onAttachImageBlob(blob)
+        }
+      }
+
+      return
+    }
+
+    // Trim surrounding whitespace so a copy that dragged along leading/trailing
+    // blank lines (common when selecting from terminals, code blocks, web pages)
+    // doesn't dump multiline padding into the composer. Internal newlines are
+    // preserved — only the edges are cleaned up.
+    const pastedText = event.clipboardData.getData('text').trim()
+
+    if (!pastedText) {
+      event.preventDefault()
+
+      return
+    }
+
+    if (DATA_IMAGE_URL_RE.test(pastedText)) {
+      event.preventDefault()
+
+      return
+    }
+
+    event.preventDefault()
+    insertPlainTextAtCaret(event.currentTarget, pastedText)
+    flushEditorToDraft(event.currentTarget)
+  }
+
   const triggerAdapter: Unstable_TriggerAdapter | null =
     trigger?.kind === '@' ? at.adapter : trigger?.kind === '/' ? slash.adapter : null
 
@@ -665,6 +679,12 @@ export function ChatBar({
 
   const triggerLoading = trigger?.kind === '@' ? at.loading : trigger?.kind === '/' ? slash.loading : false
 
+  // Suppress the "No matches" empty state once a slash command is past its name:
+  // a no-arg command has nothing to offer, and a fully-typed arg commits on
+  // Space/Tab — neither should dead-end on a popover.
+  const argStageEmpty =
+    trigger?.kind === '/' && slashArgStage(trigger.query) && !triggerLoading && !triggerItems.length
+
   const closeTrigger = () => {
     setTrigger(null)
     setTriggerItems([])
@@ -675,6 +695,25 @@ export function ChatBar({
     setTriggerActive(idx => Math.min(idx, Math.max(0, triggerItems.length - 1)))
   }, [triggerItems.length])
 
+  // Commit the literally-typed `/command arg` as a directive chip — used when
+  // the completion list is empty because the arg is already fully typed (the
+  // backend completer drops exact matches). Reuses the chip path via a
+  // synthetic item whose serialized form is the verbatim text.
+  const commitTypedSlashDirective = () => {
+    if (trigger?.kind !== '/') {
+      return
+    }
+
+    const text = `/${trigger.query.trimEnd()}`
+
+    replaceTriggerWithChip({
+      id: text,
+      type: 'slash',
+      label: text.slice(1),
+      metadata: { command: slashCommandToken(trigger.query), display: text, meta: '', group: '', action: '', rawText: text }
+    })
+  }
+
   const replaceTriggerWithChip = (item: Unstable_TriggerItem) => {
     const editor = editorRef.current
 
@@ -793,6 +832,18 @@ export function ChatBar({
       return
     }
 
+    // Non-collapsed Backspace/Delete: native selection-delete is ~O(n²) on large
+    // drafts (Ctrl+A → Delete froze ~1.3s). Collapsed carets fall through.
+    if (
+      (event.key === 'Backspace' || event.key === 'Delete') &&
+      deleteSelectionInEditor(event.currentTarget)
+    ) {
+      event.preventDefault()
+      flushEditorToDraft(event.currentTarget)
+
+      return
+    }
+
     // Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+K drains the next queued message. Plain Cmd/Ctrl+K is
     // reserved for the global command palette.
     if ((event.metaKey || event.ctrlKey) && !event.altKey && event.shiftKey && event.key.toLowerCase() === 'k') {
@@ -822,7 +873,15 @@ export function ChatBar({
         return
       }
 
-      if (event.key === 'Enter' || event.key === 'Tab') {
+      // Enter / Tab / Space all accept the highlighted item: a no-arg command
+      // commits its directive chip, an arg-taking command expands to its
+      // options step, and an arg option commits the full `/cmd arg` chip. Space
+      // is slash-only (an `@` mention takes a literal space) and gated to a
+      // non-empty query so a bare `/ ` still types a space.
+      const acceptOnSpace = event.key === ' ' && trigger.kind === '/' && Boolean(trigger.query.trim())
+      const accept = event.key === 'Enter' || event.key === 'Tab' || acceptOnSpace
+
+      if (accept) {
         event.preventDefault()
         triggerKeyConsumedRef.current = true
         const item = triggerItems[triggerActive]
@@ -843,6 +902,24 @@ export function ChatBar({
       }
     }
 
+    // Arg stage with nothing left to suggest — a fully-typed arg the backend
+    // completer no longer echoes (it drops the exact match), e.g.
+    // `/personality creative`. Space/Tab still commit what's typed as a single
+    // directive chip; Enter falls through to submit (send it as-is).
+    if (
+      trigger?.kind === '/' &&
+      !triggerItems.length &&
+      (event.key === ' ' || event.key === 'Tab') &&
+      slashArgStage(trigger.query) &&
+      trigger.query.trim()
+    ) {
+      event.preventDefault()
+      triggerKeyConsumedRef.current = true
+      commitTypedSlashDirective()
+
+      return
+    }
+
     // ArrowUp/ArrowDown navigate, in priority order: the queue (edit entries in
     // place) then sent-message history. The history ring is derived from live
     // session messages each press — single source of truth, no mirror.
@@ -1765,7 +1842,7 @@ export function ChatBar({
           ref={composerRef}
         >
           {showHelpHint && <HelpHint />}
-          {trigger && (
+          {trigger && !argStageEmpty && (
             <ComposerTriggerPopover
               activeIndex={triggerActive}
               items={triggerItems}

apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/model-pill.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+import { useStore } from '@nanostores/react'
+import { useState } from 'react'
+
+import { ModelMenuCloseContext } from '@/app/shell/model-menu-panel'
+import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button'
+import { DropdownMenu, DropdownMenuContent, DropdownMenuTrigger } from '@/components/ui/dropdown-menu'
+import { GlyphSpinner } from '@/components/ui/glyph-spinner'
+import { useI18n } from '@/i18n'
+import { ChevronDown } from '@/lib/icons'
+import { formatModelStatusLabel } from '@/lib/model-status-label'
+import { cn } from '@/lib/utils'
+import {
+  $currentFastMode,
+  $currentModel,
+  $currentProvider,
+  $currentReasoningEffort,
+  setModelPickerOpen
+} from '@/store/session'
+
+import type { ChatBarState } from './types'
+
+const PILL = cn(
+  'h-(--composer-control-size) max-w-40 shrink-0 gap-1 rounded-md px-2 text-xs font-normal',
+  'text-(--ui-text-tertiary) hover:bg-(--chrome-action-hover) hover:text-foreground'
+)
+
+/**
+ * Composer model selector — the relocated status-bar pill. Reuses the live
+ * `model.options` dropdown (`modelMenuContent`) verbatim; falls back to the
+ * full picker when the gateway is closed and no live menu exists.
+ */
+export function ModelPill({ disabled, model }: { disabled: boolean; model: ChatBarState['model'] }) {
+  const copy = useI18n().t.shell.statusbar
+  const currentModel = useStore($currentModel)
+  const currentProvider = useStore($currentProvider)
+  const fastMode = useStore($currentFastMode)
+  const reasoningEffort = useStore($currentReasoningEffort)
+  const [open, setOpen] = useState(false)
+
+  // The model resolves a beat after the gateway/session comes up. Rather than
+  // flash a literal "No model", show a quiet loader (inherits the pill text
+  // color at half opacity) until a model lands.
+  const label = (
+    <>
+      {currentModel.trim() ? (
+        <span className="truncate">{formatModelStatusLabel(currentModel, { fastMode, reasoningEffort })}</span>
+      ) : (
+        <GlyphSpinner className="opacity-50" spinner="braille" />
+      )}
+      <ChevronDown className="size-2.5 shrink-0 opacity-50" />
+    </>
+  )
+
+  const title = currentProvider ? copy.modelTitle(currentProvider, currentModel || copy.modelNone) : copy.switchModel
+
+  if (!model.modelMenuContent) {
+    return (
+      <Button
+        aria-label={copy.openModelPicker}
+        className={PILL}
+        disabled={disabled}
+        onClick={() => setModelPickerOpen(true)}
+        title={copy.openModelPicker}
+        type="button"
+        variant="ghost"
+      >
+        {label}
+      </Button>
+    )
+  }
+
+  return (
+    <DropdownMenu onOpenChange={setOpen} open={open}>
+      <DropdownMenuTrigger asChild>
+        <Button aria-label={title} className={PILL} disabled={disabled} title={title} type="button" variant="ghost">
+          {label}
+        </Button>
+      </DropdownMenuTrigger>
+      <DropdownMenuContent align="end" className="w-64 p-0" side="top" sideOffset={8}>
+        <ModelMenuCloseContext.Provider value={() => setOpen(false)}>
+          {model.modelMenuContent}
+        </ModelMenuCloseContext.Provider>
+      </DropdownMenuContent>
+    </DropdownMenu>
+  )
+}

apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/rich-editor.test.ts

@@ -3,12 +3,24 @@ import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 import { insertInlineRefsIntoEditor } from './inline-refs'
 import {
   composerPlainText,
+  deleteSelectionInEditor,
+  insertPlainTextAtCaret,
   normalizeComposerEditorDom,
   refChipElement,
   renderComposerContents,
   RICH_INPUT_SLOT
 } from './rich-editor'
 
+const caretIn = (editor: HTMLElement) => {
+  const range = document.createRange()
+  const selection = window.getSelection()!
+
+  range.selectNodeContents(editor)
+  range.collapse(false)
+  selection.removeAllRanges()
+  selection.addRange(range)
+}
+
 describe('renderComposerContents', () => {
   it('renders refs and raw text without interpreting user text as HTML', () => {
     const editor = document.createElement('div')
@@ -59,3 +71,64 @@ describe('insertInlineRefsIntoEditor', () => {
     expect(composerPlainText(editor)).toBe('@file:`src/foo.ts` ')
   })
 })
+
+describe('insertPlainTextAtCaret', () => {
+  it('inserts multiline text as text nodes + br', () => {
+    const editor = document.createElement('div')
+    editor.dataset.slot = RICH_INPUT_SLOT
+    document.body.append(editor)
+    caretIn(editor)
+
+    insertPlainTextAtCaret(editor, 'one\ntwo\nthree')
+
+    expect(editor.querySelectorAll('br').length).toBe(2)
+    expect(composerPlainText(editor)).toBe('one\ntwo\nthree')
+
+    editor.remove()
+  })
+
+  it('replaces the selected span', () => {
+    const editor = document.createElement('div')
+    editor.dataset.slot = RICH_INPUT_SLOT
+    editor.textContent = 'abXYef'
+    document.body.append(editor)
+
+    const text = editor.firstChild!
+    const selection = window.getSelection()!
+    const range = document.createRange()
+
+    range.setStart(text, 2)
+    range.setEnd(text, 4)
+    selection.removeAllRanges()
+    selection.addRange(range)
+
+    insertPlainTextAtCaret(editor, 'cd')
+
+    expect(composerPlainText(editor)).toBe('abcdef')
+
+    editor.remove()
+  })
+})
+
+describe('deleteSelectionInEditor', () => {
+  it('clears a non-collapsed range and leaves a collapsed caret', () => {
+    const editor = document.createElement('div')
+    editor.dataset.slot = RICH_INPUT_SLOT
+    editor.textContent = 'hello world'
+    document.body.append(editor)
+
+    const selection = window.getSelection()!
+    const range = document.createRange()
+
+    range.selectNodeContents(editor)
+    selection.removeAllRanges()
+    selection.addRange(range)
+
+    expect(deleteSelectionInEditor(editor)).toBe(true)
+    expect(composerPlainText(editor)).toBe('')
+    expect(selection.getRangeAt(0).collapsed).toBe(true)
+    expect(deleteSelectionInEditor(editor)).toBe(false)
+
+    editor.remove()
+  })
+})

apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/rich-editor.ts

@@ -132,6 +132,63 @@ export function renderComposerContents(target: HTMLElement, text: string) {
   appendComposerContents(target, text)
 }
 
+/** Caret range when the selection lives inside `editor`; else null. */
+function composerSelectionRange(editor: HTMLElement) {
+  const selection = window.getSelection()
+  const range = selection?.rangeCount ? selection.getRangeAt(0) : null
+
+  if (!selection || !range || !editor.contains(range.commonAncestorContainer)) {
+    return null
+  }
+
+  return { range, selection }
+}
+
+/** Insert plain text at the caret (replacing any selection). Pastes use this
+ *  instead of `execCommand('insertText')` — Chromium's editing pipeline is
+ *  ~O(n²) on large multiline blobs. */
+export function insertPlainTextAtCaret(editor: HTMLElement, text: string) {
+  const hit = composerSelectionRange(editor)
+  const fragment = document.createDocumentFragment()
+
+  appendTextWithBreaks(fragment, text)
+
+  const tail = fragment.lastChild
+
+  if (hit) {
+    hit.range.deleteContents()
+    hit.range.insertNode(fragment)
+  } else {
+    editor.append(fragment)
+  }
+
+  if (tail) {
+    const caret = document.createRange()
+    caret.setStartAfter(tail)
+    caret.collapse(true)
+    const selection = hit?.selection ?? window.getSelection()
+    selection?.removeAllRanges()
+    selection?.addRange(caret)
+  }
+}
+
+/** Remove a non-collapsed selection in-editor. Skips collapsed carets so word/
+ *  line delete (Opt/Cmd+Backspace) stays native. Returns whether anything ran. */
+export function deleteSelectionInEditor(editor: HTMLElement) {
+  const hit = composerSelectionRange(editor)
+
+  if (!hit || hit.range.collapsed) {
+    return false
+  }
+
+  hit.range.deleteContents()
+  hit.range.collapse(true)
+  hit.selection.removeAllRanges()
+  hit.selection.addRange(hit.range)
+
+  return true
+}
+
 /** Serialize a draft string into chip-HTML for the contenteditable surface. */
 export function composerHtml(text: string) {
   let cursor = 0

apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/types.ts

@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import type { ReactNode } from 'react'
+
 import type { HermesGateway } from '@/hermes'
 import type { ComposerAttachment } from '@/store/composer'
 
@@ -22,6 +24,8 @@ export interface ChatBarState {
     canSwitch: boolean
     loading?: boolean
     quickModels?: QuickModelOption[]
+    /** Reused status-bar dropdown (built with gateway + selectModel upstream). */
+    modelMenuContent?: ReactNode
   }
   tools: { enabled: boolean; label: string; suggestions?: ContextSuggestion[] }
   voice: { enabled: boolean; active: boolean }

apps/desktop/src/app/chat/index.tsx

@@ -15,7 +15,9 @@ import { Backdrop } from '@/components/Backdrop'
 import { PromptOverlays } from '@/components/prompt-overlays'
 import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button'
 import { Codicon } from '@/components/ui/codicon'
+import { ErrorState } from '@/components/ui/error-state'
 import { getGlobalModelOptions, type HermesGateway } from '@/hermes'
+import { useI18n } from '@/i18n'
 import type { ChatMessage } from '@/lib/chat-messages'
 import { quickModelOptions, sessionTitle, toRuntimeMessage } from '@/lib/chat-runtime'
 import { useIncrementalExternalStoreRuntime } from '@/lib/incremental-external-store-runtime'
@@ -38,10 +40,12 @@ import {
   $lastVisibleMessageIsUser,
   $messages,
   $messagesEmpty,
+  $resumeExhaustedSessionId,
   $selectedStoredSessionId,
   $sessions,
   sessionPinId
 } from '@/store/session'
+import { isSecondaryWindow } from '@/store/windows'
 import type { ModelOptionsResponse } from '@/types/hermes'
 
 import { routeSessionId } from '../routes'
@@ -61,6 +65,7 @@ import { threadLoadingState } from './thread-loading'
 
 interface ChatViewProps extends Omit<React.ComponentProps<'div'>, 'onSubmit'> {
   gateway: HermesGateway | null
+  modelMenuContent?: React.ReactNode
   onToggleSelectedPin: () => void
   onDeleteSelectedSession: () => void
   onCancel: () => Promise<void> | void
@@ -84,7 +89,9 @@ interface ChatViewProps extends Omit<React.ComponentProps<'div'>, 'onSubmit'> {
   onEdit: (message: AppendMessage) => Promise<void>
   onReload: (parentId: string | null) => Promise<void>
   onRestoreToMessage?: (messageId: string) => Promise<void>
+  onRetryResume: (sessionId: string) => void
   onTranscribeAudio?: (audio: Blob) => Promise<string>
+  onDismissError?: (messageId: string) => void
 }
 
 interface ChatHeaderProps {
@@ -119,10 +126,10 @@ function ChatHeader({
       ? pinnedSessionIds.includes(selectedSessionId)
       : false
 
-  // A brand-new session has no session to pin/delete/rename, so the header is
-  // just a dead "New session" label + chevron. Drop it (and its border)
-  // entirely until there's a real session to act on.
-  if (!selectedSessionId && !activeSessionId && !isRoutedSessionView) {
+  // Secondary windows (new-session scratch, subagent watch, cmd-click pop-out)
+  // are compact side panels — they drop the session-actions header + border
+  // entirely. A brand-new draft has nothing to pin/delete/rename either.
+  if (isSecondaryWindow() || (!selectedSessionId && !activeSessionId && !isRoutedSessionView)) {
     return null
   }
 
@@ -249,6 +256,7 @@ function ChatRuntimeBoundary({
 export function ChatView({
   className,
   gateway,
+  modelMenuContent,
   onToggleSelectedPin,
   onDeleteSelectedSession,
   onCancel,
@@ -269,9 +277,12 @@ export function ChatView({
   onEdit,
   onReload,
   onRestoreToMessage,
-  onTranscribeAudio
+  onRetryResume,
+  onTranscribeAudio,
+  onDismissError
 }: ChatViewProps) {
   const location = useLocation()
+  const { t } = useI18n()
   const activeSessionId = useStore($activeSessionId)
   const awaitingResponse = useStore($awaitingResponse)
   const busy = useStore($busy)
@@ -293,6 +304,7 @@ export function ChatView({
   const messagesEmpty = useStore($messagesEmpty)
   const lastVisibleIsUser = useStore($lastVisibleMessageIsUser)
   const selectedSessionId = useStore($selectedStoredSessionId)
+  const resumeExhaustedSessionId = useStore($resumeExhaustedSessionId)
   const routedSessionId = routeSessionId(location.pathname)
   const isRoutedSessionView = Boolean(routedSessionId)
 
@@ -302,16 +314,31 @@ export function ChatView({
   // waiting for the resume effect (which paints a frame later) to clear them.
   const routeSessionMismatch = isRoutedSessionView && routedSessionId !== selectedSessionId
 
-  const showIntro = freshDraftReady && !isRoutedSessionView && !selectedSessionId && !activeSessionId && messagesEmpty
+  // The compact new-session pop-out skips the wordmark/tagline intro — it's a
+  // scratch window, not the full-height empty state.
+  const showIntro =
+    !isSecondaryWindow() && freshDraftReady && !isRoutedSessionView && !selectedSessionId && !activeSessionId && messagesEmpty
 
   // Session is still loading if the route references a session we haven't
   // resumed yet. Once `activeSessionId` is set (runtime has resumed), the
   // session exists — even if it has zero messages (a brand-new routed
   // session). The flicker where `busy` flips true briefly during hydrate
   // is handled by `threadLoadingState`'s last-visible-user gate.
-  const loadingSession = isRoutedSessionView && (routeSessionMismatch || (messagesEmpty && !activeSessionId))
+  //
+  // resumeExhausted: the bounded auto-retry in use-route-resume gave up on this
+  // routed session (gateway RPC + REST fallback failed through every attempt).
+  // Suppress the loader and show an explicit error + manual Retry instead of
+  // spinning forever. Gated on the route matching so a stale latch from another
+  // session can't blank the current one.
+  const resumeExhausted = isRoutedSessionView && resumeExhaustedSessionId === routedSessionId
+
+  const loadingSession =
+    !resumeExhausted && isRoutedSessionView && (routeSessionMismatch || (messagesEmpty && !activeSessionId))
+
   const threadLoading = threadLoadingState(loadingSession, busy, awaitingResponse, lastVisibleIsUser)
-  const showChatBar = !loadingSession
+  // Hide the composer in the exhausted error state too: there's no live runtime
+  // to send to until a retry rebinds one.
+  const showChatBar = !loadingSession && !resumeExhausted
   const threadKey = selectedSessionId || activeSessionId || (isRoutedSessionView ? location.pathname : 'new')
 
   const modelOptionsQuery = useQuery<ModelOptionsResponse>({
@@ -342,6 +369,7 @@ export function ChatView({
         provider: currentProvider,
         canSwitch: gatewayOpen,
         loading: !gatewayOpen || (!currentModel && !currentProvider),
+        modelMenuContent,
         quickModels
       },
       tools: {
@@ -354,7 +382,7 @@ export function ChatView({
         active: false
       }
     }),
-    [contextSuggestions, currentModel, currentProvider, gatewayOpen, quickModels]
+    [contextSuggestions, currentModel, currentProvider, gatewayOpen, modelMenuContent, quickModels]
   )
 
   // Drop files anywhere in the conversation area, not just on the composer
@@ -425,6 +453,7 @@ export function ChatView({
             loading={threadLoading}
             onBranchInNewChat={onBranchInNewChat}
             onCancel={onCancel}
+            onDismissError={onDismissError}
             onRestoreToMessage={onRestoreToMessage}
             sessionId={activeSessionId}
             sessionKey={threadKey}
@@ -458,6 +487,21 @@ export function ChatView({
             </Suspense>
           )}
         </ChatRuntimeBoundary>
+        {resumeExhausted && routedSessionId && (
+          <div className="absolute inset-0 z-10 grid place-items-center bg-(--ui-chat-surface-background) px-8 py-10">
+            <ErrorState
+              className="max-w-sm"
+              description={t.desktop.resumeStrandedBody}
+              title={t.desktop.resumeStrandedTitle}
+            >
+              <div className="grid justify-items-center">
+                <Button onClick={() => onRetryResume(routedSessionId)} size="sm" variant="outline">
+                  {t.desktop.resumeRetry}
+                </Button>
+              </div>
+            </ErrorState>
+          </div>
+        )}
         {showChatBar && <ScrollToBottomButton />}
         <ChatDropOverlay kind={dragKind} />
         <ChatSwapOverlay profile={gatewaySwapTarget} />

apps/desktop/src/app/chat/scroll-to-bottom-button.test.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+import { cleanup, fireEvent, render, screen } from '@testing-library/react'
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+
+import { clearAllPrompts, setApprovalRequest } from '@/store/prompts'
+import { $activeSessionId } from '@/store/session'
+import { onScrollToBottomRequest, resetThreadScroll, setThreadAtBottom } from '@/store/thread-scroll'
+
+import { ScrollToBottomButton } from './scroll-to-bottom-button'
+
+function pendingApproval() {
+  $activeSessionId.set('sess-1')
+  setApprovalRequest({ command: 'rm -rf /tmp/x', description: 'dangerous command', sessionId: 'sess-1' })
+}
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  cleanup()
+  clearAllPrompts()
+  resetThreadScroll()
+  $activeSessionId.set(null)
+})
+
+// `getByRole('button')` excludes aria-hidden nodes, so "queryByRole null" is the
+// control's hidden (parked-at-bottom) state.
+describe('ScrollToBottomButton', () => {
+  it('stays hidden while parked at the bottom', () => {
+    render(<ScrollToBottomButton />)
+
+    expect(screen.queryByRole('button')).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('is a plain jump-to-bottom control when scrolled up with no approval', () => {
+    setThreadAtBottom(false)
+    render(<ScrollToBottomButton />)
+
+    expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Scroll to bottom' })).toBeTruthy()
+    expect(screen.queryByText('Approval needed')).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('morphs into the approval pill when scrolled up with a pending approval', () => {
+    pendingApproval()
+    setThreadAtBottom(false)
+    render(<ScrollToBottomButton />)
+
+    expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Approval needed' })).toBeTruthy()
+    expect(screen.getByText('Approval needed')).toBeTruthy()
+  })
+
+  it('does not morph while a pending approval is still in view (at bottom)', () => {
+    pendingApproval()
+    render(<ScrollToBottomButton />)
+
+    // Parked at bottom → control hidden, so it can't claim "approval needed".
+    expect(screen.queryByRole('button')).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('re-arms sticky-bottom on click', () => {
+    const handler = vi.fn()
+    const stop = onScrollToBottomRequest(handler)
+    setThreadAtBottom(false)
+    render(<ScrollToBottomButton />)
+
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button'))
+
+    expect(handler).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+    stop()
+  })
+})

apps/desktop/src/app/chat/scroll-to-bottom-button.tsx

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { Codicon } from '@/components/ui/codicon'
 import { useI18n } from '@/i18n'
 import { triggerHaptic } from '@/lib/haptics'
 import { cn } from '@/lib/utils'
+import { $approvalRequest } from '@/store/prompts'
 import { $threadJumpButtonVisible, requestScrollToBottom } from '@/store/thread-scroll'
 
 /**
@@ -15,6 +16,13 @@ import { $threadJumpButtonVisible, requestScrollToBottom } from '@/store/thread-
  * / background cards. Visible only while the user has scrolled meaningfully
  * away from the bottom; clicking re-arms sticky-bottom and pins the viewport.
  *
+ * When the turn is BLOCKED on an approval, this same control morphs into an
+ * "Approval needed" pill — the only response surface is the inline Run/Reject
+ * bar on the parked tool row, which is always the bottom-most content, so the
+ * existing scroll-to-bottom action lands the user right on it. One control, no
+ * collision, no second scroll path (native scrollIntoView would scroll
+ * overflow:hidden ancestors that can't scroll back and wreck the layout).
+ *
  * Enter/exit motion lives in styles.css under `.thread-jump-button` — a
  * directional scale (contract in from 1.1, contract out to 0.9) keyed off
  * `data-state`. `idle` (never-shown) stays silent so it can't flash on mount;
@@ -23,6 +31,11 @@ import { $threadJumpButtonVisible, requestScrollToBottom } from '@/store/thread-
 export function ScrollToBottomButton() {
   const { t } = useI18n()
   const visible = useStore($threadJumpButtonVisible)
+  const request = useStore($approvalRequest)
+  // Scrolled away while an approval is pending → the inline Run/Reject bar is
+  // below the fold. Relabel so the user knows the session needs them, not just
+  // that there's more to read.
+  const approval = visible && Boolean(request)
   const hasShownRef = useRef(false)
 
   if (visible) {
@@ -30,15 +43,17 @@ export function ScrollToBottomButton() {
   }
 
   const state = visible ? 'in' : hasShownRef.current ? 'out' : 'idle'
+  const label = approval ? t.assistant.approval.jumpToApproval : t.assistant.thread.scrollToBottom
 
   return (
     <button
       aria-hidden={!visible}
-      aria-label={t.assistant.thread.scrollToBottom}
+      aria-label={label}
       className={cn(
-        'thread-jump-button absolute left-1/2 z-20 grid size-8 place-items-center rounded-full',
-        'border border-border/65 bg-(--composer-fill) text-muted-foreground hover:text-foreground',
-        'backdrop-blur-[0.75rem] [-webkit-backdrop-filter:blur(0.75rem)]',
+        'thread-jump-button absolute left-1/2 z-20 grid place-items-center backdrop-blur-[0.75rem] [-webkit-backdrop-filter:blur(0.75rem)]',
+        approval
+          ? 'h-8 grid-flow-col gap-1.5 rounded-full border border-primary/40 bg-(--composer-fill) px-3 text-primary hover:bg-primary/10'
+          : 'size-8 rounded-full border border-border/65 bg-(--composer-fill) text-muted-foreground hover:text-foreground',
         !visible && 'pointer-events-none'
       )}
       data-state={state}
@@ -52,7 +67,8 @@ export function ScrollToBottomButton() {
       tabIndex={visible ? 0 : -1}
       type="button"
     >
-      <Codicon name="arrow-down" size="1rem" />
+      <Codicon name="arrow-down" size={approval ? '0.875rem' : '1rem'} />
+      {approval && <span className="text-xs font-medium">{label}</span>}
     </button>
   )
 }

apps/desktop/src/app/chat/sidebar/profile-switcher.tsx

@@ -284,6 +284,7 @@ export function ProfileRail() {
           selectProfile(name)
         }}
         open={createOpen}
+        profiles={profiles}
       />
 
       <RenameProfileDialog

apps/desktop/src/app/chat/sidebar/session-actions-menu.tsx

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react'
 import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button'
 import { Codicon } from '@/components/ui/codicon'
 import { ContextMenu, ContextMenuContent, ContextMenuItem, ContextMenuTrigger } from '@/components/ui/context-menu'
-import { writeClipboardText } from '@/components/ui/copy-button'
+import { CopyButton } from '@/components/ui/copy-button'
 import {
   Dialog,
   DialogContent,
@@ -49,26 +49,17 @@ function useSessionActions({ sessionId, title, pinned = false, profile, onPin, o
   const r = t.sidebar.row
   const [renameOpen, setRenameOpen] = useState(false)
 
+  const pinItem: ItemSpec = {
+    disabled: !onPin,
+    icon: 'pin',
+    label: pinned ? r.unpin : r.pin,
+    onSelect: () => {
+      triggerHaptic('selection')
+      onPin?.()
+    }
+  }
+
   const items: ItemSpec[] = [
-    {
-      disabled: !onPin,
-      icon: 'pin',
-      label: pinned ? r.unpin : r.pin,
-      onSelect: () => {
-        triggerHaptic('selection')
-        onPin?.()
-      }
-    },
-    {
-      disabled: !sessionId,
-      icon: 'copy',
-      label: r.copyId,
-      onSelect: event => {
-        event.preventDefault()
-        triggerHaptic('selection')
-        void writeClipboardText(sessionId).catch(err => notifyError(err, r.copyIdFailed))
-      }
-    },
     ...(canOpenSessionWindow()
       ? [
           {
@@ -122,13 +113,28 @@ function useSessionActions({ sessionId, title, pinned = false, profile, onPin, o
     }
   ]
 
-  const renderItems = (Item: MenuItem) =>
-    items.map(({ className, disabled, icon, label, onSelect, variant }) => (
-      <Item className={className} disabled={disabled} key={label} onSelect={onSelect} variant={variant}>
-        <Codicon name={icon} size="0.875rem" />
-        <span>{label}</span>
-      </Item>
-    ))
+  const renderMenuItem = (Item: MenuItem, { className, disabled, icon, label, onSelect, variant }: ItemSpec) => (
+    <Item className={className} disabled={disabled} key={label} onSelect={onSelect} variant={variant}>
+      <Codicon name={icon} size="0.875rem" />
+      <span>{label}</span>
+    </Item>
+  )
+
+  const renderItems = (Item: MenuItem) => (
+    <>
+      {renderMenuItem(Item, pinItem)}
+      <CopyButton
+        appearance={Item === DropdownMenuItem ? 'menu-item' : 'context-menu-item'}
+        disabled={!sessionId}
+        errorMessage={r.copyIdFailed}
+        key={r.copyId}
+        label={r.copyId}
+        onCopyError={err => notifyError(err, r.copyIdFailed)}
+        text={sessionId}
+      />
+      {items.map(spec => renderMenuItem(Item, spec))}
+    </>
+  )
 
   const renameDialog = (
     <RenameSessionDialog

apps/desktop/src/app/desktop-controller.tsx

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import { useSkinCommand } from '@/themes/use-skin-command'
 
 import { formatRefValue } from '../components/assistant-ui/directive-text'
 import { getCronJobs, getSessionMessages, listAllProfileSessions, type SessionInfo, triggerCronJob } from '../hermes'
-import { preserveLocalAssistantErrors, toChatMessages } from '../lib/chat-messages'
+import { type ChatMessage, chatMessageText, preserveLocalAssistantErrors, toChatMessages } from '../lib/chat-messages'
 import {
   isMessagingSource,
   LOCAL_SESSION_SOURCE_IDS,
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ import {
   SIDEBAR_SESSIONS_PAGE_SIZE,
   unpinSession
 } from '../store/layout'
+import { respondToApprovalAction } from '../store/native-notifications'
 import { $filePreviewTarget, $previewTarget, closeActiveRightRailTab } from '../store/preview'
 import {
   $activeGatewayProfile,
@@ -51,7 +52,10 @@ import {
   $currentCwd,
   $freshDraftReady,
   $gatewayState,
+  $messages,
   $messagingSessions,
+  $resumeFailedSessionId,
+  $resumeExhaustedSessionId,
   $selectedStoredSessionId,
   $sessions,
   $workingSessionIds,
@@ -76,6 +80,7 @@ import {
   setSessionsLoading,
   setSessionsTotal
 } from '../store/session'
+import { onSessionsChanged } from '../store/session-sync'
 import { clearSessionTodos, setSessionTodos, todoListActive } from '../store/todos'
 import { openUpdatesWindow, startUpdatePoller, stopUpdatePoller } from '../store/updates'
 import { isSecondaryWindow } from '../store/windows'
@@ -197,6 +202,8 @@ export function DesktopController() {
   const activeSessionId = useStore($activeSessionId)
   const currentCwd = useStore($currentCwd)
   const freshDraftReady = useStore($freshDraftReady)
+  const resumeFailedSessionId = useStore($resumeFailedSessionId)
+  const resumeExhaustedSessionId = useStore($resumeExhaustedSessionId)
   const filePreviewTarget = useStore($filePreviewTarget)
   const previewTarget = useStore($previewTarget)
   const selectedStoredSessionId = useStore($selectedStoredSessionId)
@@ -269,6 +276,26 @@ export function DesktopController() {
     }
   }, [])
 
+  // Notification click: the main process already focused the window; jump to its session.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const unsubscribe = window.hermesDesktop?.onFocusSession?.(sessionId => {
+      if (sessionId) {
+        navigate(sessionRoute(sessionId))
+      }
+    })
+
+    return () => unsubscribe?.()
+  }, [navigate])
+
+  // Notification action button (Approve/Reject) — resolve in place, no navigation.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const unsubscribe = window.hermesDesktop?.onNotificationAction?.(({ actionId, sessionId }) => {
+      void respondToApprovalAction(sessionId ?? null, actionId)
+    })
+
+    return () => unsubscribe?.()
+  }, [])
+
   // hermes:// deep links (e.g. a docs "Send to App" button for an automation blueprint).
   // Build the equivalent /blueprint slash command from the payload and drop
   // it into the composer — the user reviews/edits, then sends; the agent (or
@@ -443,6 +470,17 @@ export function DesktopController() {
     void refreshSessions()
   }, [refreshSessions])
 
+  // Another window mutated the shared session list (e.g. a chat started in the
+  // pop-out). Re-pull so the sidebar reflects it. Pop-outs have no sidebar, so
+  // only real windows bother.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (isSecondaryWindow()) {
+      return
+    }
+
+    return onSessionsChanged(() => void refreshSessions().catch(() => undefined))
+  }, [refreshSessions])
+
   // ALL-profiles view pages one profile at a time: fetch that profile's next
   // page and merge it in place, leaving every other profile's rows untouched.
   const loadMoreSessionsForProfile = useCallback(async (profile: string) => {
@@ -678,7 +716,9 @@ export function DesktopController() {
     }
 
     lastGatewayProfileRef.current = activeGatewayProfile
-    void refreshCurrentModel()
+    // Force: the new profile has its own default, so reseed even if the composer
+    // already shows the previous profile's model.
+    void refreshCurrentModel(true)
     void refreshActiveProfile()
   }, [activeGatewayProfile, refreshCurrentModel])
 
@@ -701,6 +741,49 @@ export function DesktopController() {
     [branchCurrentSession, refreshSessions]
   )
 
+  // Clear a failed turn's red error banner from the transcript. Errors are
+  // renderer-local state (never persisted), so dismissing is purely a view +
+  // session-cache edit. A message that errored before emitting any visible
+  // text is a bare error placeholder → drop it entirely; one that streamed
+  // partial output then failed keeps its content and just sheds the error.
+  // Both the per-runtime cache AND the live $messages view must be updated:
+  // `preserveLocalAssistantErrors` re-grafts any still-errored message it
+  // finds in the view onto the next session.info flush, so clearing only the
+  // cache would let the heartbeat resurrect the banner.
+  const dismissError = useCallback(
+    (messageId: string) => {
+      const runtimeSessionId = activeSessionIdRef.current
+
+      if (!runtimeSessionId) {
+        return
+      }
+
+      const clearErrorIn = (messages: ChatMessage[]): ChatMessage[] =>
+        messages.flatMap(message => {
+          if (message.id !== messageId || !message.error) {
+            return [message]
+          }
+
+          if (!chatMessageText(message).trim() && !message.parts.some(part => part.type !== 'text')) {
+            return []
+          }
+
+          return [{ ...message, error: undefined, pending: false }]
+        })
+
+      // View first: the flush below reads $messages as the "current" baseline
+      // for error preservation, so the banner must be gone from it before the
+      // cache update triggers a re-sync.
+      setMessages(clearErrorIn($messages.get()))
+
+      updateSessionState(runtimeSessionId, state => ({
+        ...state,
+        messages: clearErrorIn(state.messages)
+      }))
+    },
+    [activeSessionIdRef, updateSessionState]
+  )
+
   const startSessionInWorkspace = useCallback(
     (path: null | string) => {
       startFreshSessionDraft()
@@ -810,6 +893,8 @@ export function DesktopController() {
     gatewayState,
     locationPathname: location.pathname,
     resumeSession,
+    resumeFailedSessionId,
+    resumeExhaustedSessionId,
     routedSessionId,
     runtimeIdByStoredSessionIdRef,
     selectedStoredSessionId,
@@ -826,7 +911,6 @@ export function DesktopController() {
     gatewayLogLines,
     gatewayState,
     inferenceStatus,
-    modelMenuContent,
     openAgents,
     freshDraftReady,
     openCommandCenterSection,
@@ -948,6 +1032,7 @@ export function DesktopController() {
     <ChatView
       gateway={gatewayRef.current}
       maxVoiceRecordingSeconds={voiceMaxRecordingSeconds}
+      modelMenuContent={modelMenuContent}
       onAddContextRef={composer.addContextRefAttachment}
       onAddUrl={url => composer.addContextRefAttachment(`@url:${formatRefValue(url)}`, url)}
       onAttachDroppedItems={composer.attachDroppedItems}
@@ -959,6 +1044,7 @@ export function DesktopController() {
           void removeSession(selectedStoredSessionId)
         }
       }}
+      onDismissError={dismissError}
       onEdit={editMessage}
       onPasteClipboardImage={() => void composer.pasteClipboardImage()}
       onPickFiles={() => void composer.pickContextPaths('file')}
@@ -967,6 +1053,7 @@ export function DesktopController() {
       onReload={reloadFromMessage}
       onRemoveAttachment={id => void composer.removeAttachment(id)}
       onRestoreToMessage={restoreToMessage}
+      onRetryResume={sessionId => void resumeSession(sessionId, true)}
       onSteer={steerPrompt}
       onSubmit={submitText}
       onThreadMessagesChange={handleThreadMessagesChange}

apps/desktop/src/app/hooks/use-keybinds.ts

@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ import {
   switcherActive,
   switcherJustClosed
 } from '@/store/session-switcher'
+import { openNewSessionInNewWindow } from '@/store/windows'
 import { useTheme } from '@/themes/context'
 
 import { requestComposerFocus } from '../chat/composer/focus'
@@ -132,6 +133,7 @@ export function useKeybinds(deps: KeybindRuntimeDeps): void {
       deps.startFreshSession()
       window.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent('hermes:new-session-shortcut'))
     },
+    'session.newWindow': () => void openNewSessionInNewWindow(),
     'session.next': () => stepSession(1),
     'session.prev': () => stepSession(-1),
     ...sessionSlotHandlers,

apps/desktop/src/app/messaging/index.tsx

@@ -527,7 +527,7 @@ const PLATFORM_INTRO: Record<string, string> = {
   wecom_callback:
     'Set up a WeCom self-built app, expose its callback URL, and provide the corp ID, secret, agent ID, and AES key.',
   weixin:
-    'Sign in to the WeChat Official Account platform, copy the AppID and Token, and point the message callback URL at Hermes.',
+    'Run `hermes gateway setup`, select Weixin, then scan and confirm the QR code with a personal WeChat account. Hermes connects through Tencent\'s iLink Bot API and saves the credentials.',
   qqbot: 'Register an app on the QQ Open Platform (q.qq.com) and copy the App ID and Client Secret.',
   api_server:
     'Expose Hermes as an OpenAI-compatible API. Set an auth key, then point Open WebUI / LobeChat / etc. at the host:port.',

apps/desktop/src/app/profiles/create-profile-dialog.tsx

@@ -2,14 +2,15 @@ import { useEffect, useState } from 'react'
 
 import { ActionStatus } from '@/components/ui/action-status'
 import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button'
-import { Checkbox } from '@/components/ui/checkbox'
 import { Dialog, DialogContent, DialogDescription, DialogFooter, DialogHeader, DialogTitle } from '@/components/ui/dialog'
 import { Input } from '@/components/ui/input'
+import { Select, SelectContent, SelectItem, SelectTrigger, SelectValue } from '@/components/ui/select'
 import { Textarea } from '@/components/ui/textarea'
 import { createProfile, updateProfileSoul } from '@/hermes'
 import { useI18n } from '@/i18n'
 import { AlertTriangle } from '@/lib/icons'
 import { cn } from '@/lib/utils'
+import type { ProfileInfo } from '@/types/hermes'
 
 const PROFILE_NAME_RE = /^[a-z0-9][a-z0-9_-]{0,63}$/
 
@@ -23,16 +24,18 @@ export function isValidProfileName(name: string): boolean {
 export function CreateProfileDialog({
   onClose,
   onCreated,
-  open
+  open,
+  profiles = []
 }: {
   onClose: () => void
   onCreated?: (name: string) => Promise<void> | void
   open: boolean
+  profiles?: ProfileInfo[]
 }) {
   const { t } = useI18n()
   const p = t.profiles
   const [name, setName] = useState('')
-  const [cloneFromDefault, setCloneFromDefault] = useState(true)
+  const [cloneFrom, setCloneFrom] = useState<null | string>('default')
   const [soul, setSoul] = useState('')
   const [status, setStatus] = useState<'done' | 'idle' | 'saving'>('idle')
   const [error, setError] = useState<null | string>(null)
@@ -43,7 +46,7 @@ export function CreateProfileDialog({
     }
 
     setName('')
-    setCloneFromDefault(true)
+    setCloneFrom('default')
     setSoul('')
     setError(null)
     setStatus('idle')
@@ -66,7 +69,7 @@ export function CreateProfileDialog({
     setError(null)
 
     try {
-      await createProfile({ name: trimmed, clone_from_default: cloneFromDefault })
+      await createProfile({ name: trimmed, clone_from: cloneFrom })
 
       if (soul.trim()) {
         await updateProfileSoul(trimmed, soul)
@@ -107,17 +110,25 @@ export function CreateProfileDialog({
             </p>
           </div>
 
-          <label className="flex cursor-pointer select-none items-start gap-2.5 px-0.5 py-1">
-            <Checkbox
-              checked={cloneFromDefault}
-              className="mt-0.5 shrink-0"
-              onCheckedChange={checked => setCloneFromDefault(checked === true)}
-            />
-            <span className="grid gap-0.5 leading-snug">
-              <span className="text-sm font-medium">{p.cloneFromDefault}</span>
-              <span className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">{p.cloneFromDefaultDesc}</span>
-            </span>
-          </label>
+          <div className="grid gap-1.5">
+            <label className="text-xs font-medium" htmlFor="new-profile-clone-from">
+              {p.cloneFrom}
+            </label>
+            <Select onValueChange={value => setCloneFrom(value === '__none__' ? null : value)} value={cloneFrom ?? '__none__'}>
+              <SelectTrigger className="h-9 rounded-md" id="new-profile-clone-from">
+                <SelectValue />
+              </SelectTrigger>
+              <SelectContent>
+                <SelectItem value="__none__">{p.cloneFromNone}</SelectItem>
+                {profiles.map(profile => (
+                  <SelectItem key={profile.name} value={profile.name}>
+                    {profile.name}
+                  </SelectItem>
+                ))}
+              </SelectContent>
+            </Select>
+            <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">{p.cloneFromDesc}</p>
+          </div>
 
           <div className="grid gap-1.5">
             <label className="text-xs font-medium" htmlFor="new-profile-soul">
@@ -127,7 +138,7 @@ export function CreateProfileDialog({
               className="min-h-28 font-mono text-xs leading-5"
               id="new-profile-soul"
               onChange={event => setSoul(event.target.value)}
-              placeholder={p.soulPlaceholder(cloneFromDefault ? p.soulPlaceholderCloned : p.soulPlaceholderEmpty)}
+              placeholder={p.soulPlaceholder(cloneFrom ? p.soulPlaceholderCloned : p.soulPlaceholderEmpty)}
               value={soul}
             />
           </div>

apps/desktop/src/app/profiles/index.tsx

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import {
   DialogTitle
 } from '@/components/ui/dialog'
 import { Input } from '@/components/ui/input'
+import { Select, SelectContent, SelectItem, SelectTrigger, SelectValue } from '@/components/ui/select'
 import { Textarea } from '@/components/ui/textarea'
 import {
   createProfile,
@@ -82,14 +83,14 @@ export function ProfilesView({ onClose }: ProfilesViewProps) {
   }, [profiles, selectedName])
 
   const handleCreate = useCallback(
-    async (name: string, cloneFromDefault: boolean) => {
+    async (name: string, cloneFrom: null | string) => {
       const trimmed = name.trim()
 
       if (!isValidProfileName(trimmed)) {
         throw new Error(p.nameHint)
       }
 
-      await createProfile({ name: trimmed, clone_from_default: cloneFromDefault })
+      await createProfile({ name: trimmed, clone_from: cloneFrom })
       notify({ kind: 'success', title: p.created, message: trimmed })
       setSelectedName(trimmed)
       await refresh()
@@ -180,8 +181,9 @@ export function ProfilesView({ onClose }: ProfilesViewProps) {
 
       <CreateProfileDialog
           onClose={() => setCreateOpen(false)}
-          onCreate={async (name, cloneFromDefault) => handleCreate(name, cloneFromDefault)}
+          onCreate={async (name, cloneFrom) => handleCreate(name, cloneFrom)}
           open={createOpen}
+          profiles={profiles ?? []}
         />
 
         <Dialog onOpenChange={open => !open && !deleting && setPendingDelete(null)} open={pendingDelete !== null}>
@@ -453,16 +455,18 @@ function SoulEditor({ profileName }: { profileName: string }) {
 function CreateProfileDialog({
   onClose,
   onCreate,
-  open
+  open,
+  profiles
 }: {
   onClose: () => void
-  onCreate: (name: string, cloneFromDefault: boolean) => Promise<void>
+  onCreate: (name: string, cloneFrom: null | string) => Promise<void>
   open: boolean
+  profiles: ProfileInfo[]
 }) {
   const { t } = useI18n()
   const p = t.profiles
   const [name, setName] = useState('')
-  const [cloneFromDefault, setCloneFromDefault] = useState(true)
+  const [cloneFrom, setCloneFrom] = useState<null | string>('default')
   const [saving, setSaving] = useState(false)
   const [error, setError] = useState<null | string>(null)
 
@@ -472,7 +476,7 @@ function CreateProfileDialog({
     }
 
     setName('')
-    setCloneFromDefault(true)
+    setCloneFrom('default')
     setError(null)
     setSaving(false)
   }, [open])
@@ -493,7 +497,7 @@ function CreateProfileDialog({
     setError(null)
 
     try {
-      await onCreate(trimmed, cloneFromDefault)
+      await onCreate(trimmed, cloneFrom)
       onClose()
     } catch (err) {
       setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : p.failedCreate)
@@ -528,18 +532,25 @@ function CreateProfileDialog({
             </p>
           </div>
 
-          <label className="flex cursor-pointer items-center gap-2 rounded-md border border-border/40 bg-background/50 px-3 py-2 text-sm">
-            <input
-              checked={cloneFromDefault}
-              className="size-4 accent-primary"
-              onChange={event => setCloneFromDefault(event.target.checked)}
-              type="checkbox"
-            />
-            <span>
-              <span className="font-medium">{p.cloneFromDefault}</span>
-              <span className="ml-2 text-xs text-muted-foreground">{p.cloneFromDefaultDesc}</span>
-            </span>
-          </label>
+          <div className="grid gap-1.5">
+            <label className="text-xs font-medium" htmlFor="new-profile-clone-from">
+              {p.cloneFrom}
+            </label>
+            <Select onValueChange={value => setCloneFrom(value === '__none__' ? null : value)} value={cloneFrom ?? '__none__'}>
+              <SelectTrigger className="h-9 rounded-md" id="new-profile-clone-from">
+                <SelectValue />
+              </SelectTrigger>
+              <SelectContent>
+                <SelectItem value="__none__">{p.cloneFromNone}</SelectItem>
+                {profiles.map(profile => (
+                  <SelectItem key={profile.name} value={profile.name}>
+                    {profile.name}
+                  </SelectItem>
+                ))}
+              </SelectContent>
+            </Select>
+            <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">{p.cloneFromDesc}</p>
+          </div>
 
           {error && (
             <div className="flex items-start gap-2 rounded-md border border-destructive/30 bg-destructive/10 px-3 py-2 text-xs text-destructive">

apps/desktop/src/app/right-sidebar/index.test.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+import { cleanup, fireEvent, render, screen, waitFor } from '@testing-library/react'
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+
+import type { HermesReadDirResult } from '@/global'
+import { $connection, setCurrentCwd } from '@/store/session'
+
+import { resetProjectTreeState } from './files/use-project-tree'
+
+import { RightSidebarPane } from './index'
+
+const readDir = vi.fn<(path: string) => Promise<HermesReadDirResult>>()
+const selectPaths = vi.fn()
+
+function ok(entries: { name: string; path: string; isDirectory: boolean }[]): HermesReadDirResult {
+  return { entries }
+}
+
+function installBridge() {
+  ;(
+    window as unknown as {
+      hermesDesktop: {
+        readDir: typeof readDir
+        selectPaths: typeof selectPaths
+      }
+    }
+  ).hermesDesktop = { readDir, selectPaths }
+}
+
+describe('RightSidebarPane', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    $connection.set(null)
+    resetProjectTreeState()
+    setCurrentCwd('/repo')
+    readDir.mockReset()
+    selectPaths.mockReset()
+    readDir.mockResolvedValue(ok([{ name: 'README.md', path: '/repo/README.md', isDirectory: false }]))
+    selectPaths.mockResolvedValue(['/repo-next'])
+    installBridge()
+  })
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    cleanup()
+    $connection.set(null)
+    setCurrentCwd('')
+    resetProjectTreeState()
+    delete (window as unknown as { hermesDesktop?: unknown }).hermesDesktop
+  })
+
+  it('refreshes the current tree without opening the folder picker', async () => {
+    const onChangeCwd = vi.fn()
+
+    render(<RightSidebarPane onActivateFile={vi.fn()} onActivateFolder={vi.fn()} onChangeCwd={onChangeCwd} />)
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Refresh tree' }).hasAttribute('disabled')).toBe(false))
+
+    readDir.mockClear()
+
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Refresh tree' }))
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(readDir).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/repo'))
+    expect(selectPaths).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Open folder' }))
+
+    await waitFor(() =>
+      expect(selectPaths).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+        defaultPath: '/repo',
+        directories: true,
+        multiple: false,
+        title: 'Change working directory'
+      })
+    )
+    await waitFor(() => expect(onChangeCwd).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/repo-next'))
+  })
+})

apps/desktop/src/app/right-sidebar/index.tsx

@@ -126,12 +126,12 @@ interface FilesystemTabProps extends FileTreeBodyProps {
   onRefresh: () => void
 }
 
-// Sidebar palette + hover-reveal: refresh tracks label hover; collapse-all
-// stays visible while any folder is expanded.
+// Sidebar palette + hover-reveal: header actions stay reachable while moving
+// from the project label to the action buttons.
 const HEADER_ACTION_CLASS =
   'text-sidebar-foreground/70 hover:bg-sidebar-accent! hover:text-sidebar-accent-foreground! focus-visible:ring-sidebar-ring'
 
-const HEADER_ACTION_LABEL_REVEAL = `${HEADER_ACTION_CLASS} pointer-events-none opacity-0 transition-opacity focus-visible:pointer-events-auto focus-visible:opacity-100 peer-focus-visible/project-label:pointer-events-auto peer-focus-visible/project-label:opacity-100 peer-hover/project-label:pointer-events-auto peer-hover/project-label:opacity-100`
+const HEADER_ACTION_LABEL_REVEAL = `${HEADER_ACTION_CLASS} pointer-events-none opacity-0 transition-opacity focus-visible:pointer-events-auto focus-visible:opacity-100 group-focus-within/project-header:pointer-events-auto group-focus-within/project-header:opacity-100 group-hover/project-header:pointer-events-auto group-hover/project-header:opacity-100`
 
 function FilesystemTab({
   canCollapse,
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ function FilesystemTab({
   return (
     <div className="flex min-h-0 flex-1 flex-col">
       <RightSidebarSectionHeader>
-        <div className="peer/project-label flex min-w-0 flex-1">
+        <div className="flex min-w-0 flex-1">
           <button
             className="flex w-full min-w-0 items-center rounded-md text-left hover:text-(--ui-text-secondary)"
             onClick={() => void onChangeFolder()}
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ function FilesystemTab({
 }
 
 export function RightSidebarSectionHeader({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
-  return <div className="flex h-7 shrink-0 items-center px-2.5">{children}</div>
+  return <div className="group/project-header flex h-7 shrink-0 items-center px-2.5">{children}</div>
 }
 
 interface FileTreeBodyProps {

apps/desktop/src/app/right-sidebar/store.ts

@@ -9,3 +9,22 @@ export const $terminalTakeover = atom(storedBoolean(TAKEOVER_KEY, false))
 $terminalTakeover.subscribe(active => persistBoolean(TAKEOVER_KEY, active))
 
 export const setTerminalTakeover = (active: boolean) => $terminalTakeover.set(active)
+
+/** A command queued to run in the embedded terminal. The terminal pane flushes
+ *  (and clears) it once its session is live, so a value set before the pane
+ *  mounts still runs. Cleared after flush so a later remount can't replay it. */
+export const $terminalInjection = atom<null | string>(null)
+
+/** Open the terminal pane and run a command in it. Used to disconnect external
+ *  (CLI-managed) providers, which Hermes can't clear via the API — the user
+ *  sees exactly what runs instead of Hermes silently deleting their creds. */
+export const runInTerminal = (command: string) => {
+  const trimmed = command.trim()
+
+  if (!trimmed) {
+    return
+  }
+
+  setTerminalTakeover(true)
+  $terminalInjection.set(trimmed)
+}

apps/desktop/src/app/right-sidebar/terminal/use-terminal-session.ts

@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ import { triggerHaptic } from '@/lib/haptics'
 import { $filePreviewTarget, $previewTarget } from '@/store/preview'
 import { useTheme } from '@/themes/context'
 
+import { $terminalInjection } from '../store'
+
 import { makeTerminalReader, setActiveTerminalReader } from './buffer'
 import {
   isAddSelectionShortcut,
@@ -675,6 +677,28 @@ export function useTerminalSession({ cwd, onAddSelectionToChat }: UseTerminalSes
     return () => cancelAnimationFrame(raf)
   }, [activeTheme, themeName])
 
+  // Flush a queued command (e.g. a provider-disconnect) into the live session.
+  // Only active while open; the subscribe fires immediately, so a command set
+  // before this pane mounted runs as soon as the session is ready. Clearing the
+  // atom after writing stops a later remount from replaying a stale command.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (status !== 'open') {
+      return
+    }
+
+    return $terminalInjection.subscribe(command => {
+      const id = sessionIdRef.current
+
+      if (!command || !id) {
+        return
+      }
+
+      void window.hermesDesktop?.terminal?.write(id, `${command}\r`)
+      $terminalInjection.set(null)
+      termRef.current?.focus()
+    })
+  }, [status])
+
   return {
     addSelectionToChat,
     hostRef,

apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-message-stream.ts

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import type { QueryClient } from '@tanstack/react-query'
 import { type MutableRefObject, useCallback, useEffect, useRef } from 'react'
 
 import { readActiveTerminal } from '@/app/right-sidebar/terminal/buffer'
+import { translateNow } from '@/i18n'
 import {
   appendAssistantTextPart,
   appendReasoningPart,
@@ -15,6 +16,7 @@ import {
   upsertToolPart
 } from '@/lib/chat-messages'
 import { coerceGatewayText, coerceThinkingText, normalizePersonalityValue } from '@/lib/chat-runtime'
+import { playCompletionSound } from '@/lib/completion-sound'
 import { gatewayEventRequiresSessionId } from '@/lib/gateway-events'
 import {
   dedupeGeneratedImageEchoesInParts,
@@ -25,8 +27,10 @@ import { triggerHaptic } from '@/lib/haptics'
 import { isProviderSetupErrorMessage } from '@/lib/provider-setup-errors'
 import { parseTodos } from '@/lib/todos'
 import { setClarifyRequest } from '@/store/clarify'
+import { setSessionCompacting } from '@/store/compaction'
 import { refreshBackgroundProcesses } from '@/store/composer-status'
 import { $gateway } from '@/store/gateway'
+import { dispatchNativeNotification } from '@/store/native-notifications'
 import { notify } from '@/store/notifications'
 import { requestDesktopOnboarding } from '@/store/onboarding'
 import { clearAllPrompts, setApprovalRequest, setSecretRequest, setSudoRequest } from '@/store/prompts'
@@ -43,6 +47,7 @@ import {
   setTurnStartedAt,
   setYoloActive
 } from '@/store/session'
+import { broadcastSessionsChanged } from '@/store/session-sync'
 import { clearSessionSubagents, pruneDelegateFallbackSubagents, upsertSubagent } from '@/store/subagents'
 import { setSessionTodos } from '@/store/todos'
 import { recordToolDiff } from '@/store/tool-diffs'
@@ -330,6 +335,8 @@ export function useMessageStream({
   const flushHandleRef = useRef<number | null>(null)
   const lastFlushAtRef = useRef<number>(0)
   const nativeSubagentSessionsRef = useRef<Set<string>>(new Set())
+  // Turns that auto-compacted: skip post-turn hydrate so live scrollback survives.
+  const compactedTurnRef = useRef<Set<string>>(new Set())
 
   const flushQueuedDeltas = useCallback(
     (sessionId?: string) => {
@@ -635,19 +642,26 @@ export function useMessageStream({
       })
 
       void refreshSessions().catch(() => undefined)
+      // Sync the freshly-titled row to other windows (e.g. main, when the turn
+      // ran in the pop-out).
+      broadcastSessionsChanged()
+
+      if (compactedTurnRef.current.delete(sessionId)) {
+        shouldHydrate = false
+      }
 
       if (shouldHydrate) {
         void hydrateFromStoredSession(3, completedState.storedSessionId, sessionId)
       }
 
-      if (document.hidden && sessionId === activeSessionIdRef.current) {
-        void window.hermesDesktop?.notify({
-          title: 'Hermes finished',
-          body: text.slice(0, 140) || 'The response is ready.'
-        })
-      }
+      dispatchNativeNotification({
+        body: text.slice(0, 140) || translateNow('notifications.native.turnDoneBody'),
+        kind: 'turnDone',
+        sessionId,
+        title: translateNow('notifications.native.turnDoneTitle')
+      })
     },
-    [activeSessionIdRef, hydrateFromStoredSession, refreshSessions, updateSessionState]
+    [hydrateFromStoredSession, refreshSessions, updateSessionState]
   )
 
   const failAssistantMessage = useCallback(
@@ -822,6 +836,8 @@ export function useMessageStream({
 
         flushQueuedDeltas(sessionId)
         clearSessionSubagents(sessionId)
+        setSessionCompacting(sessionId, false)
+        compactedTurnRef.current.delete(sessionId)
         nativeSubagentSessionsRef.current.delete(sessionId)
 
         if (isActiveEvent) {
@@ -867,12 +883,11 @@ export function useMessageStream({
         // session so a background turn finishing can't wipe the active chat's
         // prompt, and vice versa.
         clearAllPrompts(sessionId)
+        setSessionCompacting(sessionId, false)
 
         flushQueuedDeltas(sessionId)
 
-        if (isActiveEvent) {
-          triggerHaptic('streamDone')
-        }
+        playCompletionSound()
 
         const finalText = coerceGatewayText(payload?.text) || coerceGatewayText(payload?.rendered)
         completeAssistantMessage(sessionId, finalText)
@@ -903,10 +918,7 @@ export function useMessageStream({
 
           // terminal/process tool calls are the only things that spawn or reap
           // background processes — sync the composer status stack right after.
-          if (
-            !sessionInterrupted(sessionId) &&
-            (payload?.name === 'terminal' || payload?.name === 'process')
-          ) {
+          if (!sessionInterrupted(sessionId) && (payload?.name === 'terminal' || payload?.name === 'process')) {
             void refreshBackgroundProcesses(sessionId)
           }
         }
@@ -958,6 +970,13 @@ export function useMessageStream({
           if (sessionId) {
             updateSessionState(sessionId, state => ({ ...state, needsInput: true }))
           }
+
+          dispatchNativeNotification({
+            body: question,
+            kind: 'input',
+            sessionId,
+            title: translateNow('notifications.native.inputTitle')
+          })
         }
       } else if (event.type === 'approval.request') {
         // Dangerous-command / execute_code approval. The Python side is blocked
@@ -966,17 +985,31 @@ export function useMessageStream({
         // Park it per-session (like clarify) so a *background* profile's turn can
         // raise it and wait — the sidebar flags "needs input" and the inline bar
         // surfaces once the user focuses that chat.
+        const command = typeof payload?.command === 'string' ? payload.command : ''
+        const description = typeof payload?.description === 'string' ? payload.description : 'dangerous command'
+
         setApprovalRequest({
           // false only when a tirith warning forbids it; backend omits the field otherwise.
           allowPermanent: payload?.allow_permanent !== false,
-          command: typeof payload?.command === 'string' ? payload.command : '',
-          description: typeof payload?.description === 'string' ? payload.description : 'dangerous command',
+          command,
+          description,
           sessionId: sessionId ?? null
         })
 
         if (sessionId) {
           updateSessionState(sessionId, state => ({ ...state, needsInput: true }))
         }
+
+        dispatchNativeNotification({
+          actions: [
+            { id: 'approve', text: translateNow('notifications.native.approveAction') },
+            { id: 'reject', text: translateNow('notifications.native.rejectAction') }
+          ],
+          body: command || description,
+          kind: 'approval',
+          sessionId,
+          title: translateNow('notifications.native.approvalTitle')
+        })
       } else if (event.type === 'sudo.request') {
         // Sudo password capture (tools/terminal_tool.py). Blocked on
         // sudo.respond {request_id, password}.
@@ -988,6 +1021,13 @@ export function useMessageStream({
           if (sessionId) {
             updateSessionState(sessionId, state => ({ ...state, needsInput: true }))
           }
+
+          dispatchNativeNotification({
+            body: translateNow('notifications.native.inputBody'),
+            kind: 'input',
+            sessionId,
+            title: translateNow('notifications.native.inputTitle')
+          })
         }
       } else if (event.type === 'secret.request') {
         // Skill credential capture (tools/skills_tool.py). Blocked on
@@ -995,16 +1035,26 @@ export function useMessageStream({
         const requestId = typeof payload?.request_id === 'string' ? payload.request_id : ''
 
         if (requestId) {
+          const envVar = typeof payload?.env_var === 'string' ? payload.env_var : ''
+          const promptText = typeof payload?.prompt === 'string' ? payload.prompt : ''
+
           setSecretRequest({
             requestId,
-            envVar: typeof payload?.env_var === 'string' ? payload.env_var : '',
-            prompt: typeof payload?.prompt === 'string' ? payload.prompt : '',
+            envVar,
+            prompt: promptText,
             sessionId: sessionId ?? null
           })
 
           if (sessionId) {
             updateSessionState(sessionId, state => ({ ...state, needsInput: true }))
           }
+
+          dispatchNativeNotification({
+            body: promptText || envVar || translateNow('notifications.native.inputBody'),
+            kind: 'input',
+            sessionId,
+            title: translateNow('notifications.native.inputTitle')
+          })
         }
       } else if (event.type === 'terminal.read.request') {
         // read_terminal tool: serialize the renderer's xterm buffer and answer
@@ -1022,9 +1072,12 @@ export function useMessageStream({
           })
         }
       } else if (event.type === 'status.update') {
-        // The gateway's notification poller announces background process
-        // completions / watch matches here — re-sync the status stack.
-        if (sessionId && payload?.kind === 'process') {
+        if (sessionId && payload?.kind === 'compacting') {
+          setSessionCompacting(sessionId, true)
+          compactedTurnRef.current.add(sessionId)
+        } else if (sessionId && payload?.kind === 'process') {
+          // The gateway's notification poller announces background process
+          // completions / watch matches here — re-sync the status stack.
           void refreshBackgroundProcesses(sessionId)
         }
       } else if (event.type === 'error') {
@@ -1036,12 +1089,26 @@ export function useMessageStream({
         // the failed turn (same intent as the message.complete clear).
         if (sessionId) {
           clearAllPrompts(sessionId)
+          setSessionCompacting(sessionId, false)
+          compactedTurnRef.current.delete(sessionId)
         }
 
+        dispatchNativeNotification({
+          body: errorMessage,
+          kind: 'turnError',
+          sessionId,
+          title: translateNow('notifications.native.turnErrorTitle')
+        })
+
         if (looksLikeProviderSetup) {
           requestDesktopOnboarding(errorMessage)
-        } else if (isActiveEvent) {
+        } else {
+          // Toast globally, not just when the failing thread is focused: a
+          // turn-ending error (e.g. out of funds) blocks every thread, so the
+          // inline error alone is too easy to miss. The stable id collapses the
+          // same error from multiple blocked threads into one toast.
           notify({
+            id: `gateway-error:${errorMessage}`,
             kind: 'error',
             title: 'Hermes error',
             message: errorMessage

apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-model-controls.test.tsx

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-import { renderHook } from '@testing-library/react'
 import { QueryClient } from '@tanstack/react-query'
+import { cleanup, render, renderHook } from '@testing-library/react'
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 
 import { getGlobalModelInfo } from '@/hermes'
@@ -13,12 +13,51 @@ import {
 
 import { useModelControls } from './use-model-controls'
 
+const setGlobalModel = vi.fn()
+const notifyError = vi.fn()
+
 vi.mock('@/hermes', () => ({
   getGlobalModelInfo: vi.fn(),
-  setGlobalModel: vi.fn()
+  setGlobalModel: (...args: Parameters<typeof setGlobalModel>) => setGlobalModel(...args)
 }))
 
-describe('useModelControls.refreshCurrentModel', () => {
+vi.mock('@/i18n', () => ({
+  useI18n: () => ({
+    t: {
+      desktop: {
+        modelSwitchFailed: 'Model switch failed'
+      }
+    }
+  })
+}))
+
+vi.mock('@/store/notifications', () => ({
+  notifyError: (...args: Parameters<typeof notifyError>) => notifyError(...args)
+}))
+
+type Controls = ReturnType<typeof useModelControls>
+
+function Harness({
+  activeSessionId,
+  onReady,
+  requestGateway
+}: {
+  activeSessionId: string | null
+  onReady: (controls: Controls) => void
+  requestGateway: <T = unknown>(method: string, params?: Record<string, unknown>) => Promise<T>
+}) {
+  const controls = useModelControls({
+    activeSessionId,
+    queryClient: new QueryClient(),
+    requestGateway
+  })
+
+  onReady(controls)
+
+  return null
+}
+
+describe('useModelControls', () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     $activeSessionId.set(null)
     setCurrentModel('')
@@ -26,6 +65,7 @@ describe('useModelControls.refreshCurrentModel', () => {
   })
 
   afterEach(() => {
+    cleanup()
     vi.restoreAllMocks()
     $activeSessionId.set(null)
     setCurrentModel('')
@@ -74,4 +114,85 @@ describe('useModelControls.refreshCurrentModel', () => {
     expect($currentModel.get()).toBe('deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro')
     expect($currentProvider.get()).toBe('deepseek')
   })
+
+  it('routes active-session picker changes through config.set with an explicit provider', async () => {
+    const requestGateway = vi.fn(async () => ({ key: 'model', value: 'claude-sonnet-4.6' }) as never)
+    let controls!: Controls
+
+    render(
+      <Harness
+        activeSessionId="session-1"
+        onReady={value => (controls = value)}
+        requestGateway={requestGateway}
+      />
+    )
+
+    await expect(
+      controls.selectModel({
+        model: 'claude-sonnet-4.6',
+        provider: 'anthropic'
+      })
+    ).resolves.toBe(true)
+
+    expect(requestGateway).toHaveBeenCalledWith('config.set', {
+      session_id: 'session-1',
+      key: 'model',
+      value: 'claude-sonnet-4.6 --provider anthropic'
+    })
+    expect(requestGateway).not.toHaveBeenCalledWith('slash.exec', expect.anything())
+  })
+
+  it('stores a no-session pick as UI state with no gateway or global write', async () => {
+    const requestGateway = vi.fn()
+    let controls!: Controls
+
+    render(
+      <Harness
+        activeSessionId={null}
+        onReady={value => (controls = value)}
+        requestGateway={requestGateway}
+      />
+    )
+
+    await expect(
+      controls.selectModel({
+        model: 'claude-sonnet-4.6',
+        provider: 'anthropic'
+      })
+    ).resolves.toBe(true)
+
+    // The pick is plain UI state; session.create ships it later. Nothing touches
+    // the gateway or the profile default here.
+    expect($currentModel.get()).toBe('claude-sonnet-4.6')
+    expect($currentProvider.get()).toBe('anthropic')
+    expect(requestGateway).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+    expect(setGlobalModel).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+  })
+
+  it('seeds an empty composer model from global but never clobbers a pick', async () => {
+    vi.mocked(getGlobalModelInfo).mockResolvedValue({ model: 'openai/gpt-5.5', provider: 'openai-codex' })
+
+    const { result } = renderHook(() =>
+      useModelControls({
+        activeSessionId: null,
+        queryClient: new QueryClient(),
+        requestGateway: vi.fn()
+      })
+    )
+
+    // Empty → seeds the default.
+    await result.current.refreshCurrentModel()
+    expect($currentModel.get()).toBe('openai/gpt-5.5')
+
+    // A user pick must survive the lifecycle refreshes that fire on boot / fresh
+    // draft / session events.
+    setCurrentModel('anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6')
+    setCurrentProvider('anthropic')
+    await result.current.refreshCurrentModel()
+    expect($currentModel.get()).toBe('anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6')
+
+    // A profile swap forces a reseed to the new profile's default.
+    await result.current.refreshCurrentModel(true)
+    expect($currentModel.get()).toBe('openai/gpt-5.5')
+  })
 })

apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-model-controls.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { type QueryClient } from '@tanstack/react-query'
 import { useCallback } from 'react'
 
-import { getGlobalModelInfo, setGlobalModel } from '@/hermes'
+import { getGlobalModelInfo } from '@/hermes'
 import { useI18n } from '@/i18n'
 import { notifyError } from '@/store/notifications'
 import {
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ import type { ModelOptionsResponse } from '@/types/hermes'
 
 interface ModelSelection {
   model: string
-  persistGlobal: boolean
   provider: string
 }
 
@@ -28,6 +27,7 @@ interface ModelControlsOptions {
 export function useModelControls({ activeSessionId, queryClient, requestGateway }: ModelControlsOptions) {
   const { t } = useI18n()
   const copy = t.desktop
+
   const updateModelOptionsCache = useCallback(
     (provider: string, model: string, includeGlobal: boolean) => {
       const patch = (prev: ModelOptionsResponse | undefined) => ({ ...(prev ?? {}), provider, model })
@@ -41,14 +41,24 @@ export function useModelControls({ activeSessionId, queryClient, requestGateway
     [activeSessionId, queryClient]
   )
 
-  const refreshCurrentModel = useCallback(async () => {
+  // Seed the composer's model state from the profile default. `force` reseeds
+  // for a profile swap (the new profile has its own default); otherwise this
+  // only fills an EMPTY selection so a user's pick (plain UI state in
+  // $currentModel) survives the lifecycle refreshes that fire on boot / fresh
+  // draft / session events. A live session owns the footer, so skip entirely.
+  const refreshCurrentModel = useCallback(async (force = false) => {
     try {
+      if ($activeSessionId.get()) {
+        return
+      }
+
+      if (!force && $currentModel.get()) {
+        return
+      }
+
       const result = await getGlobalModelInfo()
 
-      // A resumed/live session owns the footer model state. Global config
-      // refreshes (gateway boot, profile swap, settings save) must not clobber
-      // the active chat's runtime model/provider in the status bar.
-      if ($activeSessionId.get()) {
+      if ($activeSessionId.get() || (!force && $currentModel.get())) {
         return
       }
 
@@ -64,12 +74,14 @@ export function useModelControls({ activeSessionId, queryClient, requestGateway
     }
   }, [])
 
-  // Returns whether the switch succeeded so callers can await it before
-  // applying follow-up changes (e.g. editing a model's reasoning/fast must land
-  // on the right active model — bail rather than write to the previous one).
+  // Returns whether the switch succeeded so callers can await it before applying
+  // follow-up changes. The composer model is plain UI state: with no live
+  // session it's just stored (and shipped on the next session.create); with one
+  // it's scoped to that session via config.set. It NEVER writes the profile
+  // default — that lives in Settings → Model — so picking a model here can't
+  // silently mutate global config.
   const selectModel = useCallback(
     async (selection: ModelSelection): Promise<boolean> => {
-      const includeGlobal = selection.persistGlobal || !activeSessionId
       // Snapshot for rollback: the switch is applied optimistically, so a
       // failure must restore the prior model/provider (store + query cache)
       // rather than leave the UI showing a model the backend never selected.
@@ -78,41 +90,34 @@ export function useModelControls({ activeSessionId, queryClient, requestGateway
 
       setCurrentModel(selection.model)
       setCurrentProvider(selection.provider)
-      updateModelOptionsCache(selection.provider, selection.model, includeGlobal)
+      updateModelOptionsCache(selection.provider, selection.model, !activeSessionId)
+
+      // No live session yet: the pick is pure UI state. session.create reads
+      // $currentModel/$currentProvider and applies it as that session's override.
+      if (!activeSessionId) {
+        return true
+      }
 
       try {
-        if (activeSessionId) {
-          await requestGateway('slash.exec', {
-            session_id: activeSessionId,
-            command: `/model ${selection.model} --provider ${selection.provider}${selection.persistGlobal ? ' --global' : ''}`
-          })
+        await requestGateway('config.set', {
+          session_id: activeSessionId,
+          key: 'model',
+          value: `${selection.model} --provider ${selection.provider}`
+        })
 
-          if (selection.persistGlobal) {
-            void refreshCurrentModel()
-          }
-
-          void queryClient.invalidateQueries({
-            queryKey: selection.persistGlobal ? ['model-options'] : ['model-options', activeSessionId]
-          })
-
-          return true
-        }
-
-        await setGlobalModel(selection.provider, selection.model)
-        void refreshCurrentModel()
-        void queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ['model-options'] })
+        void queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ['model-options', activeSessionId] })
 
         return true
       } catch (err) {
         setCurrentModel(prevModel)
         setCurrentProvider(prevProvider)
-        updateModelOptionsCache(prevProvider, prevModel, includeGlobal)
+        updateModelOptionsCache(prevProvider, prevModel, !activeSessionId)
         notifyError(err, copy.modelSwitchFailed)
 
         return false
       }
     },
-    [activeSessionId, copy.modelSwitchFailed, queryClient, refreshCurrentModel, requestGateway, updateModelOptionsCache]
+    [activeSessionId, copy.modelSwitchFailed, queryClient, requestGateway, updateModelOptionsCache]
   )
 
   return { refreshCurrentModel, selectModel, updateModelOptionsCache }

apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-prompt-actions.ts

@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ import { clearSessionTodos } from '@/store/todos'
 
 import type {
   ClientSessionState,
+  BrowserManageResponse,
   FileAttachResponse,
   HandoffFailResponse,
   HandoffRequestResponse,
@@ -1141,6 +1142,81 @@ export function usePromptActions({
           } catch (err) {
             renderSlashOutput(`error: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}`)
           }
+        },
+        // /browser connect|disconnect|status manages the live CDP connection on
+        // the gateway host, mirroring the TUI's browser.manage RPC. It mutates
+        // BROWSER_CDP_URL (and may launch Chrome) in the gateway process — only
+        // meaningful when that process runs on this machine, so it's gated to
+        // local connections. A remote gateway would act on the wrong host.
+        browser: async ctx => {
+          const resolved = await withSlashOutput(ctx)
+
+          if (!resolved) {
+            return
+          }
+
+          const { render: renderSlashOutput, sessionId } = resolved
+
+          if ($connection.get()?.mode === 'remote') {
+            renderSlashOutput(
+              '/browser manages a Chromium-family browser on the gateway host — only available when connected to a local gateway.'
+            )
+
+            return
+          }
+
+          const [rawAction = 'status', ...rest] = ctx.arg.trim().split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean)
+          const cmdAction = rawAction.toLowerCase()
+
+          if (!['connect', 'disconnect', 'status'].includes(cmdAction)) {
+            renderSlashOutput(
+              'usage: /browser [connect|disconnect|status] [url] · persistent: set browser.cdp_url in config.yaml'
+            )
+
+            return
+          }
+
+          const url = cmdAction === 'connect' ? rest.join(' ').trim() || 'http://127.0.0.1:9222' : undefined
+
+          if (url) {
+            renderSlashOutput(`checking Chromium-family browser remote debugging at ${url}...`)
+          }
+
+          try {
+            const result = await requestGateway<BrowserManageResponse>('browser.manage', {
+              action: cmdAction,
+              session_id: sessionId,
+              ...(url && { url })
+            })
+
+            // Without a streamed session subscription, the gateway bundles its
+            // progress lines into `messages` — flush them inline.
+            result?.messages?.forEach(message => renderSlashOutput(message))
+
+            if (cmdAction === 'status') {
+              renderSlashOutput(
+                result?.connected
+                  ? `browser connected: ${result.url || '(url unavailable)'}`
+                  : 'browser not connected (try /browser connect <url> or set browser.cdp_url in config.yaml)'
+              )
+
+              return
+            }
+
+            if (cmdAction === 'disconnect') {
+              renderSlashOutput('browser disconnected')
+
+              return
+            }
+
+            if (result?.connected) {
+              renderSlashOutput('Browser connected to live Chromium-family browser via CDP')
+              renderSlashOutput(`Endpoint: ${result.url || '(url unavailable)'}`)
+              renderSlashOutput('next browser tool call will use this CDP endpoint')
+            }
+          } catch (err) {
+            renderSlashOutput(`error: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}`)
+          }
         }
       }
 

apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-route-resume.test.tsx

@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@ import { cleanup, render } from '@testing-library/react'
 import type { MutableRefObject } from 'react'
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 
+import { $resumeExhaustedSessionId, setResumeExhaustedSessionId } from '@/store/session'
+
 import { useRouteResume } from './use-route-resume'
 
 interface HarnessProps {
@@ -13,6 +15,8 @@ interface HarnessProps {
   gatewayState: string
   locationPathname: string
   resumeSession: (sessionId: string, focus: boolean) => Promise<unknown>
+  resumeFailedSessionId?: null | string
+  resumeExhaustedSessionId?: null | string
   routedSessionId: null | string
   runtimeIdByStoredSessionIdRef: MutableRefObject<Map<string, string>>
   selectedStoredSessionId: null | string
@@ -20,8 +24,12 @@ interface HarnessProps {
   startFreshSessionDraft: (focus: boolean) => unknown
 }
 
-function RouteResumeHarness(props: HarnessProps) {
-  useRouteResume(props)
+function RouteResumeHarness({
+  resumeFailedSessionId = null,
+  resumeExhaustedSessionId = null,
+  ...props
+}: HarnessProps) {
+  useRouteResume({ ...props, resumeExhaustedSessionId, resumeFailedSessionId })
 
   return null
 }
@@ -256,3 +264,212 @@ describe('useRouteResume', () => {
     expect(resumeSession).toHaveBeenCalledWith('session-1', true)
   })
 })
+
+describe('useRouteResume bounded auto-retry after a failed resume', () => {
+  afterEach(() => {
+    cleanup()
+    vi.useRealTimers()
+    vi.restoreAllMocks()
+    setResumeExhaustedSessionId(null)
+  })
+
+  // Common stranded-window props: gateway open, route on the session, no runtime
+  // yet, and the ref already synced to the route (resumeSession sets it at entry
+  // before failing) — the exact state that defeats the main effect's self-heal.
+  function strandedProps(resumeSession: (sid: string, focus: boolean) => Promise<unknown>) {
+    return {
+      activeSessionId: null,
+      activeSessionIdRef: { current: null } as MutableRefObject<null | string>,
+      creatingSessionRef: { current: false },
+      currentView: 'chat',
+      freshDraftReady: false,
+      gatewayState: 'open',
+      locationPathname: '/session-1',
+      resumeSession,
+      routedSessionId: 'session-1',
+      runtimeIdByStoredSessionIdRef: { current: new Map<string, string>() },
+      selectedStoredSessionId: 'session-1',
+      // Synced to the route by the failed resume's synchronous entry-write.
+      selectedStoredSessionIdRef: { current: 'session-1' } as MutableRefObject<null | string>,
+      startFreshSessionDraft: vi.fn()
+    }
+  }
+
+  it('retries the resume on backoff when the routed session is flagged as failed', () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    const resumeSession = vi.fn(async () => undefined)
+
+    render(<RouteResumeHarness {...strandedProps(resumeSession)} resumeFailedSessionId="session-1" />)
+
+    // The main effect fires one resume on mount (pathname-changed). Clear it so
+    // we assert purely the bounded-retry effect's scheduled retry below.
+    resumeSession.mockClear()
+
+    // No immediate fire — the retry is scheduled behind the backoff timer.
+    expect(resumeSession).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+
+    // First backoff window (1s) elapses → one retry.
+    vi.advanceTimersByTime(1_000)
+    expect(resumeSession).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+    expect(resumeSession).toHaveBeenCalledWith('session-1', true)
+  })
+
+  it('does NOT retry a failed session that is not the routed one', () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    const resumeSession = vi.fn(async () => undefined)
+
+    // The failure flag points at a different session than the route.
+    render(<RouteResumeHarness {...strandedProps(resumeSession)} resumeFailedSessionId="other-session" />)
+    resumeSession.mockClear() // drop the mount resume
+
+    vi.advanceTimersByTime(10_000)
+    expect(resumeSession).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+  })
+
+  it('skips the scheduled retry if the session already recovered when the timer fires', () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    const resumeSession = vi.fn(async () => undefined)
+    const props = strandedProps(resumeSession)
+
+    render(<RouteResumeHarness {...props} resumeFailedSessionId="session-1" />)
+    resumeSession.mockClear() // drop the mount resume
+
+    // A resume landed while we waited: runtime is now bound.
+    props.activeSessionIdRef.current = 'runtime-1'
+
+    vi.advanceTimersByTime(8_000)
+    expect(resumeSession).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+  })
+
+  it('stops retrying after MAX_RESUME_RETRIES consecutive failures', () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    const resumeSession = vi.fn(async () => undefined)
+    const props = strandedProps(resumeSession)
+
+    // Model the real re-arm loop: resumeSession clears $resumeFailedSessionId at
+    // entry (null) and a repeat failure re-sets it ('session-1'). That null->id
+    // toggle is what re-runs the effect and advances the bounded counter. The
+    // routed session never changes, so the counter is NOT reset between cycles.
+    const { rerender } = render(<RouteResumeHarness {...props} resumeFailedSessionId="session-1" />)
+    resumeSession.mockClear() // drop the mount resume; count only the retries
+
+    for (let i = 0; i < 8; i += 1) {
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(8_000) // fire the scheduled retry (if any)
+      rerender(<RouteResumeHarness {...props} resumeFailedSessionId={null} />) // cleared at entry
+      rerender(<RouteResumeHarness {...props} resumeFailedSessionId="session-1" />) // re-armed on failure
+    }
+
+    // Capped at MAX_RESUME_RETRIES (4): a persistently dead backend can't
+    // hot-loop the resume forever.
+    expect(resumeSession.mock.calls.length).toBe(4)
+
+    // Once auto-retry gives up, the exhausted latch is armed for the routed
+    // session so the chat view can swap the perpetual loader for an explicit
+    // error + manual Retry instead of spinning forever.
+    expect($resumeExhaustedSessionId.get()).toBe('session-1')
+  })
+
+  it('does not arm the exhausted latch while retries remain', () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    const resumeSession = vi.fn(async () => undefined)
+    const props = strandedProps(resumeSession)
+
+    const { rerender } = render(<RouteResumeHarness {...props} resumeFailedSessionId="session-1" />)
+    resumeSession.mockClear()
+
+    // Two failure cycles — still under the 4-retry cap, so the latch must stay
+    // clear and the loader keeps spinning (auto-recovery hasn't given up yet).
+    for (let i = 0; i < 2; i += 1) {
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(8_000)
+      rerender(<RouteResumeHarness {...props} resumeFailedSessionId={null} />)
+      rerender(<RouteResumeHarness {...props} resumeFailedSessionId="session-1" />)
+    }
+
+    expect($resumeExhaustedSessionId.get()).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('clears a stale exhausted latch when the route moves off the stranded session', () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    const resumeSession = vi.fn(async () => undefined)
+    const props = strandedProps(resumeSession)
+
+    // Pre-arm the latch as if this session had exhausted its retries.
+    setResumeExhaustedSessionId('session-1')
+
+    // Route is now on a different, healthy session that is not flagged as
+    // failed — the retry effect's "route moved off" branch clears the latch.
+    render(
+      <RouteResumeHarness
+        {...props}
+        activeSessionId="runtime-2"
+        activeSessionIdRef={{ current: 'runtime-2' }}
+        locationPathname="/session-2"
+        resumeFailedSessionId={null}
+        routedSessionId="session-2"
+        selectedStoredSessionId="session-2"
+        selectedStoredSessionIdRef={{ current: 'session-2' }}
+      />
+    )
+
+    expect($resumeExhaustedSessionId.get()).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('resets the retry counter for a fresh backoff cycle when the exhausted latch clears (manual retry, same session)', () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    const resumeSession = vi.fn(async () => undefined)
+    const props = strandedProps(resumeSession)
+
+    // Phase A — exhaust the bounded auto-retry (counter → MAX) like a dead
+    // backend. The resumeExhaustedSessionId prop stays null here: the hook sets
+    // the store, which doesn't feed back into the prop in this harness.
+    const { rerender } = render(<RouteResumeHarness {...props} resumeFailedSessionId="session-1" />)
+    resumeSession.mockClear()
+    for (let i = 0; i < 8; i += 1) {
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(8_000)
+      rerender(<RouteResumeHarness {...props} resumeFailedSessionId={null} />)
+      rerender(<RouteResumeHarness {...props} resumeFailedSessionId="session-1" />)
+    }
+    expect(resumeSession.mock.calls.length).toBe(4) // capped
+    expect($resumeExhaustedSessionId.get()).toBe('session-1')
+
+    // Phase B — user clicks Retry on the SAME stranded session. resumeSession
+    // clears both latches at entry; the exhausted latch's armed->cleared edge
+    // must reset the attempt counter so a fresh bounded cycle runs, not a single
+    // one-shot attempt that immediately re-arms the error. Model the prop
+    // transitions: reflect the armed latch, then clear it (retry), then re-arm
+    // the failure latch on the fresh failure.
+    resumeSession.mockClear()
+    rerender(<RouteResumeHarness {...props} resumeExhaustedSessionId="session-1" resumeFailedSessionId="session-1" />)
+    rerender(<RouteResumeHarness {...props} resumeExhaustedSessionId={null} resumeFailedSessionId={null} />)
+    rerender(<RouteResumeHarness {...props} resumeExhaustedSessionId={null} resumeFailedSessionId="session-1" />)
+
+    // A real retry fires again instead of staying pinned at MAX (which would
+    // dispatch nothing). Without the reset the counter stays >= MAX and this
+    // advance dispatches zero resumes.
+    vi.advanceTimersByTime(8_000)
+    expect(resumeSession.mock.calls.length).toBeGreaterThan(0)
+  })
+
+  it('does not burn retry attempts on unrelated re-renders during the backoff window', () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    const props = strandedProps(vi.fn())
+
+    // Mount schedules the first backoff timer. Then re-render repeatedly with a
+    // fresh resumeSession identity (referential instability — a real dep change
+    // for the retry effect) WITHOUT ever letting the timer fire. The old code
+    // incremented the attempt counter at schedule time, so >= MAX re-renders
+    // armed the exhausted error with zero resumes actually dispatched. The fix
+    // only advances the counter when a timer truly fires, so the latch stays
+    // clear no matter how many spurious re-renders happen mid-backoff.
+    const { rerender } = render(
+      <RouteResumeHarness {...props} resumeFailedSessionId="session-1" resumeSession={vi.fn(async () => undefined)} />
+    )
+    for (let j = 0; j < 8; j += 1) {
+      rerender(
+        <RouteResumeHarness {...props} resumeFailedSessionId="session-1" resumeSession={vi.fn(async () => undefined)} />
+      )
+    }
+
+    expect($resumeExhaustedSessionId.get()).toBeNull()
+  })
+})

apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-route-resume.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { type MutableRefObject, useEffect, useRef } from 'react'
 
 import { isNewChatRoute } from '@/app/routes'
+import { setResumeExhaustedSessionId } from '@/store/session'
 
 interface RouteResumeOptions {
   activeSessionId: string | null
@@ -11,6 +12,17 @@ interface RouteResumeOptions {
   gatewayState: string | undefined
   locationPathname: string
   resumeSession: (sessionId: string, focus: boolean) => Promise<unknown>
+  // Stored-session id whose most recent resume failed terminally (set by
+  // useSessionActions, mirrored from $resumeFailedSessionId). While this equals
+  // routedSessionId the window would otherwise latch on the loader forever, so
+  // the bounded-retry effect below re-attempts the resume.
+  resumeFailedSessionId: string | null
+  // Stored-session id whose bounded auto-retry has EXHAUSTED (mirrored from
+  // $resumeExhaustedSessionId). Only resumeSession clears this latch (manual
+  // Retry / reconnect / reselect) — the auto-retry loop never does — so its
+  // armed->cleared edge is an unambiguous "give me a fresh backoff cycle"
+  // signal the effect below uses to reset the attempt counter.
+  resumeExhaustedSessionId: string | null
   routedSessionId: string | null
   runtimeIdByStoredSessionIdRef: MutableRefObject<Map<string, string>>
   selectedStoredSessionId: string | null
@@ -18,6 +30,19 @@ interface RouteResumeOptions {
   startFreshSessionDraft: (focus: boolean) => unknown
 }
 
+// Bounded auto-retry for a stranded session window. A resume can fail terminally
+// (gateway RPC reject + REST fallback failure) on a transiently wedged backend —
+// dead provider key, a runaway turn hogging the dispatcher, flaky DNS. Without a
+// retry the loader latches forever. We retry with backoff, capped, so a
+// genuinely dead backend doesn't hot-loop the resume.
+const MAX_RESUME_RETRIES = 4
+const RESUME_RETRY_BASE_MS = 1_000
+const RESUME_RETRY_MAX_MS = 8_000
+
+function resumeRetryDelayMs(attempt: number): number {
+  return Math.min(RESUME_RETRY_MAX_MS, RESUME_RETRY_BASE_MS * 2 ** attempt)
+}
+
 // HashRouter boot edge case: pathname briefly reads `/` before the hash is
 // parsed. If the hash references a real session, defer; resume picks it up
 // next tick. Without this, ctrl+R on `#/:sessionId` flashes 5 loading states.
@@ -49,6 +74,8 @@ export function useRouteResume({
   gatewayState,
   locationPathname,
   resumeSession,
+  resumeFailedSessionId,
+  resumeExhaustedSessionId,
   routedSessionId,
   runtimeIdByStoredSessionIdRef,
   selectedStoredSessionId,
@@ -58,6 +85,16 @@ export function useRouteResume({
   const lastPathnameRef = useRef<string | null>(null)
   const seenGatewayStateRef = useRef(false)
   const wasGatewayOpenRef = useRef(false)
+  // Per-session retry bookkeeping for the bounded auto-retry effect below. Keyed
+  // by the session id we're retrying so switching chats resets the counter.
+  const retrySessionIdRef = useRef<string | null>(null)
+  const retryAttemptRef = useRef(0)
+  // Tracks the previous exhausted-latch value so we can detect its armed->cleared
+  // edge. resumeSession clears $resumeExhaustedSessionId on a manual Retry /
+  // reconnect / reselect; that transition is our cue to reset the attempt counter
+  // for a fresh backoff cycle on the SAME session (the auto-retry loop itself
+  // never touches this latch, so it can't spuriously trigger the reset).
+  const prevResumeExhaustedRef = useRef<string | null>(null)
 
   useEffect(() => {
     const gatewayOpen = gatewayState === 'open'
@@ -139,4 +176,111 @@ export function useRouteResume({
     selectedStoredSessionIdRef,
     startFreshSessionDraft
   ])
+
+  // Bounded auto-retry: when the routed session's resume failed terminally
+  // (resumeFailedSessionId matches the route), schedule a backoff retry so the
+  // window recovers on its own instead of latching the loader forever. This is
+  // the safety net the main effect above can't provide: after a failed resume,
+  // selectedStoredSessionIdRef.current already equals the route (resumeSession
+  // sets it synchronously at entry) and the pathname/gateway are unchanged, so
+  // none of stuckOnRoutedSession / pathnameChanged / gatewayBecameOpen fire
+  // again. resumeSession clears resumeFailedSessionId on its next attempt; a
+  // success keeps it clear (the effect's guard then no-ops), a repeat failure
+  // re-arms it and we back off further, capped at MAX_RESUME_RETRIES.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    // Detect the exhausted-latch armed->cleared edge for the current route. Only
+    // resumeSession clears $resumeExhaustedSessionId (manual Retry / reconnect /
+    // reselect) — the auto-retry loop never touches it — so this transition
+    // uniquely means "the user asked for another go." Reset the attempt counter
+    // for a fresh bounded backoff cycle on the SAME session. Without this,
+    // retryAttemptRef stays pinned at MAX after exhaustion (the !stranded reset
+    // below only fires on a route CHANGE to a different session), so a manual
+    // retry on the same stranded session would get exactly ONE attempt and then
+    // immediately re-arm the exhausted error — never the renewed backoff cycle
+    // the store/session.ts + use-session-actions.ts comments promise. (Point 2)
+    const wasExhausted = prevResumeExhaustedRef.current
+    prevResumeExhaustedRef.current = resumeExhaustedSessionId
+    if (wasExhausted && wasExhausted === routedSessionId && resumeExhaustedSessionId !== wasExhausted) {
+      retrySessionIdRef.current = routedSessionId
+      retryAttemptRef.current = 0
+    }
+
+    if (currentView !== 'chat' || gatewayState !== 'open') {
+      return
+    }
+
+    const stranded =
+      Boolean(routedSessionId) &&
+      resumeFailedSessionId === routedSessionId &&
+      !creatingSessionRef.current
+
+    if (!stranded) {
+      // Route moved off the stranded session (or it recovered) — reset the
+      // counter so a future failure on another session starts fresh, and clear
+      // any exhausted-latch armed for a session we're no longer viewing (never
+      // the current route: that's the error state we want to keep showing).
+      // resumeSession also clears it on a fresh attempt; this covers a plain
+      // route-change away from the stranded window.
+      if (retrySessionIdRef.current !== routedSessionId) {
+        retrySessionIdRef.current = null
+        retryAttemptRef.current = 0
+        setResumeExhaustedSessionId(current => (current && current !== routedSessionId ? null : current))
+      }
+
+      return
+    }
+
+    // New stranded session id → reset the attempt counter.
+    if (retrySessionIdRef.current !== routedSessionId) {
+      retrySessionIdRef.current = routedSessionId
+      retryAttemptRef.current = 0
+    }
+
+    if (retryAttemptRef.current >= MAX_RESUME_RETRIES) {
+      // Give up auto-retrying a persistently dead backend; the user can still
+      // reconnect / reselect (which resets the counter via the branch above).
+      // Surface an explicit error + manual Retry in the chat view instead of
+      // spinning the loader forever — resumeSession (manual Retry / reconnect /
+      // reselect) clears this latch and resets the counter for a fresh cycle.
+      setResumeExhaustedSessionId(routedSessionId)
+
+      return
+    }
+
+    const attempt = retryAttemptRef.current
+    const sessionId = routedSessionId as string
+
+    const timer = setTimeout(() => {
+      // Re-check liveness at fire time: a resume may have landed while we waited.
+      if (
+        creatingSessionRef.current ||
+        selectedStoredSessionIdRef.current !== sessionId ||
+        activeSessionIdRef.current !== null
+      ) {
+        return
+      }
+
+      // Consume an attempt ONLY now that a resume is actually dispatching.
+      // Incrementing at schedule time (the old behavior) let unrelated dep
+      // changes during the 1s–8s backoff window — a transient gatewayState
+      // flip, a non-referentially-stable resumeSession — clear the pending
+      // timer and re-run the effect, burning an attempt without any resume
+      // having fired. A flapping backend could then hit MAX in a couple of
+      // re-renders with far fewer than MAX real attempts. (Point 3)
+      retryAttemptRef.current += 1
+      void resumeSession(sessionId, true)
+    }, resumeRetryDelayMs(attempt))
+
+    return () => clearTimeout(timer)
+  }, [
+    activeSessionIdRef,
+    creatingSessionRef,
+    currentView,
+    gatewayState,
+    resumeSession,
+    resumeFailedSessionId,
+    resumeExhaustedSessionId,
+    routedSessionId,
+    selectedStoredSessionIdRef
+  ])
 }

apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-session-actions.test.tsx

@@ -3,8 +3,9 @@ import type { MutableRefObject } from 'react'
 import { useEffect } from 'react'
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 
+import { getSessionMessages } from '@/hermes'
 import { $activeGatewayProfile, $newChatProfile } from '@/store/profile'
-import { $currentCwd } from '@/store/session'
+import { $currentCwd, $messages, $resumeFailedSessionId, setMessages, setResumeFailedSessionId } from '@/store/session'
 
 import type { ClientSessionState } from '../../types'
 
@@ -117,3 +118,142 @@ describe('createBackendSessionForSend profile routing', () => {
     expect(params).toMatchObject({ profile: 'default' })
   })
 })
+
+// ── Resume failure recovery (the "stuck loading session window" bug) ──────────
+// When session.resume rejects AND the REST transcript fallback ALSO fails, the
+// hook must (a) not throw out of the fallback (which stranded the loader), and
+// (b) arm $resumeFailedSessionId so use-route-resume can retry. A resume that
+// succeeds must NOT leave the flag armed.
+function ResumeHarness({
+  onReady,
+  requestGateway
+}: {
+  onReady: (resume: (storedSessionId: string, replaceRoute?: boolean) => Promise<unknown>) => void
+  requestGateway: <T>(method: string, params?: Record<string, unknown>) => Promise<T>
+}) {
+  const ref = <T,>(value: T): MutableRefObject<T> => ({ current: value })
+
+  const actions = useSessionActions({
+    activeSessionId: null,
+    activeSessionIdRef: ref<string | null>(null),
+    busyRef: ref(false),
+    creatingSessionRef: ref(false),
+    ensureSessionState: () => ({}) as ClientSessionState,
+    getRouteToken: () => 'token',
+    navigate: vi.fn() as never,
+    requestGateway,
+    runtimeIdByStoredSessionIdRef: ref(new Map<string, string>()),
+    selectedStoredSessionId: null,
+    selectedStoredSessionIdRef: ref<string | null>(null),
+    sessionStateByRuntimeIdRef: ref(new Map<string, ClientSessionState>()),
+    syncSessionStateToView: vi.fn(),
+    updateSessionState: (_sessionId, updater) => updater({} as ClientSessionState)
+  })
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    onReady(actions.resumeSession)
+  }, [actions.resumeSession, onReady])
+
+  return null
+}
+
+describe('resumeSession failure recovery', () => {
+  afterEach(() => {
+    cleanup()
+    setResumeFailedSessionId(null)
+    setMessages([])
+    vi.restoreAllMocks()
+  })
+
+  async function runResume(
+    requestGateway: <T>(method: string, params?: Record<string, unknown>) => Promise<T>
+  ): Promise<void> {
+    let resume: ((storedSessionId: string, replaceRoute?: boolean) => Promise<unknown>) | null = null
+    render(<ResumeHarness onReady={r => (resume = r)} requestGateway={requestGateway} />)
+    await waitFor(() => expect(resume).not.toBeNull())
+    await resume!('stored-1', true)
+  }
+
+  it('arms $resumeFailedSessionId when resume RPC and REST fallback both fail', async () => {
+    // session.resume rejects (e.g. timeout against a wedged backend)...
+    const requestGateway = vi.fn(async (method: string) => {
+      if (method === 'session.resume') {
+        throw new Error('request timed out: session.resume')
+      }
+
+      return {} as never
+    })
+
+    // ...and the REST transcript fallback also rejects (backend unreachable).
+    vi.mocked(getSessionMessages).mockRejectedValue(new Error('network down'))
+
+    await runResume(requestGateway)
+
+    // The window is no longer silently stranded: the failure latch is armed for
+    // the stored session, which use-route-resume consumes to retry.
+    expect($resumeFailedSessionId.get()).toBe('stored-1')
+  })
+
+  it('does NOT arm the failure latch when the resume RPC fails but the REST fallback paints history', async () => {
+    // session.resume rejects, but the REST transcript fallback succeeds and
+    // hydrates a readable transcript — the window is NOT stranded.
+    const requestGateway = vi.fn(async (method: string) => {
+      if (method === 'session.resume') {
+        throw new Error('request timed out: session.resume')
+      }
+
+      return {} as never
+    })
+
+    vi.mocked(getSessionMessages).mockResolvedValue({
+      messages: [
+        { content: 'hello', role: 'user', timestamp: 1 },
+        { content: 'hi there', role: 'assistant', timestamp: 2 }
+      ],
+      session_id: 'stored-1'
+    } as never)
+
+    await runResume(requestGateway)
+
+    // Arming here would auto-retry a window that already shows history and,
+    // on exhaustion, blank that transcript behind the error overlay — a
+    // regression vs. plain fallback-success. The latch must stay clear.
+    expect($resumeFailedSessionId.get()).toBeNull()
+    // The fallback transcript is visible.
+    expect($messages.get().length).toBeGreaterThan(0)
+  })
+
+  it('does NOT throw out of the fallback when REST also fails (no unhandled rejection)', async () => {
+    const requestGateway = vi.fn(async (method: string) => {
+      if (method === 'session.resume') {
+        throw new Error('request timed out: session.resume')
+      }
+
+      return {} as never
+    })
+
+    vi.mocked(getSessionMessages).mockRejectedValue(new Error('network down'))
+
+    // resumeSession must resolve (swallow the fallback failure), not reject.
+    await expect(runResume(requestGateway)).resolves.toBeUndefined()
+  })
+
+  it('leaves the failure latch clear when resume succeeds', async () => {
+    // Pre-arm to prove a successful resume clears it (entry-clear path).
+    setResumeFailedSessionId('stored-1')
+
+    const requestGateway = vi.fn(async (method: string, params?: Record<string, unknown>) => {
+      if (method === 'session.resume') {
+        return { session_id: 'runtime-1', resumed: params?.session_id, messages: [], info: {} } as never
+      }
+
+      return {} as never
+    })
+
+    vi.mocked(getSessionMessages).mockResolvedValue({ messages: [] } as never)
+
+    await runResume(requestGateway)
+
+    expect($resumeFailedSessionId.get()).toBeNull()
+  })
+})

apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-session-actions.ts

@@ -15,6 +15,10 @@ import { requestDesktopOnboarding } from '@/store/onboarding'
 import { $activeGatewayProfile, $newChatProfile, $profiles, ensureGatewayProfile, normalizeProfileKey } from '@/store/profile'
 import {
   $currentCwd,
+  $currentFastMode,
+  $currentModel,
+  $currentProvider,
+  $currentReasoningEffort,
   $messages,
   $sessions,
   $yoloActive,
@@ -34,6 +38,8 @@ import {
   setFreshDraftReady,
   setIntroSeed,
   setMessages,
+  setResumeExhaustedSessionId,
+  setResumeFailedSessionId,
   setSelectedStoredSessionId,
   setSessions,
   setSessionStartedAt,
@@ -42,6 +48,7 @@ import {
   setYoloActive,
   workspaceCwdForNewSession
 } from '@/store/session'
+import { broadcastSessionsChanged } from '@/store/session-sync'
 import { reportBackendContract } from '@/store/updates'
 import { isWatchWindow } from '@/store/windows'
 import type { SessionCreateResponse, SessionInfo, SessionResumeResponse, SessionRuntimeInfo, UsageStats } from '@/types/hermes'
@@ -406,13 +413,13 @@ export function useSessionActions({
       })
       setSessionStartedAt(null)
       setTurnStartedAt(null)
-      // New chats start in the configured default project dir when set,
-      // otherwise the sticky last-used workspace (PR #37586).
-      setCurrentModel('')
-      setCurrentProvider('')
-      setCurrentReasoningEffort('')
+      // The composer's model/effort/fast is sticky UI state (persisted in
+      // localStorage) — a new chat FOLLOWS your last pick instead of snapping
+      // back to the profile default, so we deliberately don't reset it here. The
+      // profile default still owns first-run seeding and profile switches (see
+      // refreshCurrentModel). Only $currentServiceTier (a live-session mirror)
+      // is cleared.
       setCurrentServiceTier('')
-      setCurrentFastMode(false)
       setYoloActive(false)
       setCurrentCwd(workspaceCwdForNewSession())
       setCurrentBranch('')
@@ -442,11 +449,23 @@ export function useSessionActions({
         const newChatProfile = $newChatProfile.get() ?? normalizeProfileKey($activeGatewayProfile.get())
         await ensureGatewayProfile(newChatProfile)
         const cwd = $currentCwd.get().trim() || workspaceCwdForNewSession()
+        // The composer's model/effort/fast is sticky UI state ($currentModel,
+        // $currentProvider, $currentReasoningEffort, $currentFastMode). Ship it
+        // with every session.create so the new chat opens on whatever the picker
+        // shows — applied as per-session overrides, never written to the profile
+        // default (that lives in Settings → Model).
+        const uiModel = $currentModel.get().trim()
+        const uiProvider = $currentProvider.get().trim()
+        const uiEffort = $currentReasoningEffort.get().trim()
+        const uiFast = $currentFastMode.get()
 
         const created = await requestGateway<SessionCreateResponse>('session.create', {
           cols: 96,
           ...(cwd && { cwd }),
-          ...(newChatProfile ? { profile: newChatProfile } : {})
+          ...(newChatProfile ? { profile: newChatProfile } : {}),
+          ...(uiModel ? { model: uiModel, ...(uiProvider ? { provider: uiProvider } : {}) } : {}),
+          ...(uiEffort ? { reasoning_effort: uiEffort } : {}),
+          ...(uiFast ? { fast: true } : {})
         })
 
         const stored = created.stored_session_id ?? null
@@ -472,6 +491,9 @@ export function useSessionActions({
           // server later returns its own preview/title and supersedes this.
           upsertOptimisticSession(created, stored, null, preview?.trim() || null)
           navigate(sessionRoute(stored), { replace: true })
+          // Other windows (e.g. the main window when this is the pop-out) can't
+          // see this session until they re-pull the shared list.
+          broadcastSessionsChanged()
         }
 
         setFreshDraftReady(false)
@@ -559,6 +581,15 @@ export function useSessionActions({
       clearNotifications()
       setSelectedStoredSessionId(storedSessionId)
       selectedStoredSessionIdRef.current = storedSessionId
+      // Optimistically clear any prior resume-failure latch for this session:
+      // we're attempting a fresh resume, so the self-heal in use-route-resume
+      // must not keep treating it as stranded. It's re-armed below only if THIS
+      // attempt fails terminally (RPC reject + REST fallback failure).
+      setResumeFailedSessionId(current => (current === storedSessionId ? null : current))
+      // Also clear the exhausted-latch: a fresh attempt (manual Retry, reconnect,
+      // reselect) gives the bounded auto-retry counter a clean cycle, so the
+      // chat view drops the error state and shows the loader again.
+      setResumeExhaustedSessionId(current => (current === storedSessionId ? null : current))
 
       const warmRuntimeId = runtimeIdByStoredSessionIdRef.current.get(storedSessionId)
 
@@ -749,13 +780,41 @@ export function useSessionActions({
           return
         }
 
-        const fallback = await getSessionMessages(storedSessionId, sessionProfile)
+        // The gateway resume RPC failed. Try the REST transcript as a fallback
+        // so the window at least shows history. CRITICAL: this fallback must be
+        // wrapped in its own try — if it ALSO throws (wedged/unreachable backend,
+        // the common case when resume failed in the first place), an unguarded
+        // throw here skips setMessages AND leaves activeSessionId null with an
+        // empty transcript. That is the exact state the thread loader latches on
+        // forever (messagesEmpty && !activeSessionId) with no recovery path —
+        // the "open in new window stays stuck loading, even after a nap" bug.
+        try {
+          const fallback = await getSessionMessages(storedSessionId, sessionProfile)
 
-        if (!isCurrentResume()) {
-          return
+          if (!isCurrentResume()) {
+            return
+          }
+
+          setMessages(preserveLocalAssistantErrors(toChatMessages(fallback.messages), $messages.get()))
+        } catch {
+          // Fallback also failed: nothing to paint. Leave whatever messages are
+          // already shown and fall through to arm the resume-failure latch so
+          // use-route-resume re-attempts the resume on the next render / window
+          // focus / gateway reconnect instead of stranding the loader.
+        }
+
+        if (isCurrentResume() && $messages.get().length === 0) {
+          // Arm the self-heal ONLY when the window is still empty: the gateway
+          // resume rejected AND the REST fallback failed to paint a transcript.
+          // That is the exact stranded state the loader latches on
+          // (messagesEmpty && !activeSessionId), and matches $resumeFailedSessionId's
+          // documented contract. If the REST fallback DID paint history, the
+          // window is readable — arming here would needlessly auto-retry and,
+          // once retries exhaust, blank that visible transcript behind the
+          // exhausted-state error overlay (a regression vs. plain fallback success).
+          setResumeFailedSessionId(storedSessionId)
         }
 
-        setMessages(preserveLocalAssistantErrors(toChatMessages(fallback.messages), $messages.get()))
         notifyError(err, copy.resumeFailed)
       } finally {
         if (isCurrentResume()) {

apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-session-state-cache.test.tsx

@@ -2,12 +2,14 @@ import { act, cleanup, render } from '@testing-library/react'
 import type { MutableRefObject } from 'react'
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 
+import type { ChatMessage } from '@/lib/chat-messages'
 import {
   $currentFastMode,
   $currentModel,
   $currentProvider,
   $currentReasoningEffort,
   $currentServiceTier,
+  $messages,
   $turnStartedAt,
   setCurrentFastMode,
   setCurrentModel,
@@ -213,3 +215,113 @@ describe('useSessionStateCache — per-session turn timer', () => {
     expect($currentFastMode.get()).toBe(false)
   })
 })
+
+function userMessage(id: string, text: string): ChatMessage {
+  return { id, role: 'user', parts: [{ type: 'text', text }] }
+}
+
+function assistantText(id: string, text: string): ChatMessage {
+  return { id, role: 'assistant', parts: [{ type: 'text', text }] }
+}
+
+function assistantError(id: string, error: string): ChatMessage {
+  return { id, role: 'assistant', parts: [], error, pending: false }
+}
+
+interface ViewHarnessProps {
+  activeSessionId: string | null
+  onReady: (cache: Cache) => void
+}
+
+function ViewHarness({ activeSessionId, onReady }: ViewHarnessProps) {
+  const busyRef: MutableRefObject<boolean> = { current: false }
+  const cache = useSessionStateCache({
+    activeSessionId,
+    busyRef,
+    selectedStoredSessionId: null,
+    setAwaitingResponse: () => undefined,
+    setBusy: () => undefined,
+    // Wire the published view back into the real $messages atom the flush
+    // reads from, so the round-trip matches production.
+    setMessages: messages => $messages.set(messages)
+  })
+
+  onReady(cache)
+
+  return null
+}
+
+describe('useSessionStateCache — cross-thread error isolation', () => {
+  afterEach(() => {
+    cleanup()
+    $messages.set([])
+  })
+
+  it('does not leak a failed turn into another thread on switch', () => {
+    $messages.set([])
+    let cache!: Cache
+    const { rerender } = render(<ViewHarness activeSessionId="thread-A" onReady={c => (cache = c)} />)
+
+    // Thread A ends its turn with an out-of-funds error and is on screen.
+    act(() => {
+      cache.updateSessionState(
+        'thread-A',
+        state => ({
+          ...state,
+          busy: false,
+          messages: [userMessage('user-a', 'do the thing'), assistantError('assistant-a-error', 'Out of funds')]
+        }),
+        'stored-A'
+      )
+    })
+
+    expect($messages.get().some(message => message.error === 'Out of funds')).toBe(true)
+
+    // Switch to thread B (which completed cleanly). Its cached state syncs to
+    // the view while $messages still holds thread A's transcript.
+    rerender(<ViewHarness activeSessionId="thread-B" onReady={c => (cache = c)} />)
+    act(() => {
+      cache.updateSessionState(
+        'thread-B',
+        state => ({
+          ...state,
+          busy: false,
+          messages: [userMessage('user-b', 'hello'), assistantText('assistant-b', 'hi there')]
+        }),
+        'stored-B'
+      )
+    })
+
+    expect($messages.get().map(message => message.id)).toEqual(['user-b', 'assistant-b'])
+    expect($messages.get().some(message => message.error === 'Out of funds')).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('still preserves a same-session local error a heartbeat dropped', () => {
+    $messages.set([])
+    let cache!: Cache
+    render(<ViewHarness activeSessionId="thread-A" onReady={c => (cache = c)} />)
+
+    // First paint establishes thread A as the on-screen session.
+    act(() => {
+      cache.updateSessionState(
+        'thread-A',
+        state => ({ ...state, busy: false, messages: [userMessage('user-a', 'do the thing')] }),
+        'stored-A'
+      )
+    })
+
+    // A local error lands in the view (e.g. failAssistantMessage wrote it).
+    $messages.set([userMessage('user-a', 'do the thing'), assistantError('assistant-a-error', 'OpenRouter 403')])
+
+    // A later same-session heartbeat carries cached state that lost the error.
+    act(() => {
+      cache.updateSessionState('thread-A', state => ({
+        ...state,
+        busy: false,
+        messages: [userMessage('user-a', 'do the thing')]
+      }))
+    })
+
+    expect($messages.get().some(message => message.error === 'OpenRouter 403')).toBe(true)
+  })
+})

apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-session-state-cache.ts

@@ -79,6 +79,9 @@ export function useSessionStateCache({
   const runtimeIdByStoredSessionIdRef = useRef(new Map<string, string>())
   const pendingViewStateRef = useRef<{ sessionId: string; state: ClientSessionState } | null>(null)
   const viewSyncRafRef = useRef<number | null>(null)
+  // Runtime id whose transcript currently occupies `$messages` — lets the
+  // flush below tell a same-session refresh from a thread switch.
+  const viewSessionIdRef = useRef<string | null>(null)
 
   useEffect(() => {
     activeSessionIdRef.current = activeSessionId
@@ -142,12 +145,22 @@ export function useSessionStateCache({
     // jerks the scroll position while the user is reading. Skip the publish when
     // the merged result is content-identical to what's already on screen.
     const currentMessages = $messages.get()
-    const nextMessages = preserveLocalAssistantErrors(pending.state.messages, currentMessages)
+    // On a thread switch `$messages` still holds the *previous* thread, so
+    // preserving its local errors would graft that thread's failed turn (e.g.
+    // an out-of-funds error) onto this one — then cascade it everywhere as the
+    // polluted view becomes the next switch's baseline. Only carry errors
+    // across a same-session refresh; our cached state already keeps its own.
+    const nextMessages =
+      viewSessionIdRef.current === pending.sessionId
+        ? preserveLocalAssistantErrors(pending.state.messages, currentMessages)
+        : pending.state.messages
 
     if (!sameMessageList(nextMessages, currentMessages)) {
       setMessages(nextMessages)
     }
 
+    viewSessionIdRef.current = pending.sessionId
+
     syncRuntimeMetadataToView(pending.state)
     setBusy(pending.state.busy)
     setMutableRef(busyRef, pending.state.busy)

apps/desktop/src/app/settings/index.tsx

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import { Tip } from '@/components/ui/tooltip'
 import { getHermesConfigDefaults, getHermesConfigRecord, saveHermesConfig } from '@/hermes'
 import { useI18n } from '@/i18n'
 import { triggerHaptic } from '@/lib/haptics'
-import { Archive, Globe, Info, KeyRound, Settings2, Sparkles, Wrench, Zap } from '@/lib/icons'
+import { Archive, Bell, Globe, Info, KeyRound, Settings2, Sparkles, Wrench, Zap } from '@/lib/icons'
 import { notifyError } from '@/store/notifications'
 
 import { useRouteEnumParam } from '../hooks/use-route-enum-param'
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import { SECTIONS } from './constants'
 import { GatewaySettings } from './gateway-settings'
 import { KEYS_VIEWS, KeysSettings, type KeysView } from './keys-settings'
 import { McpSettings } from './mcp-settings'
+import { NotificationsSettings } from './notifications-settings'
 import { PROVIDER_VIEWS, ProvidersSettings, type ProviderView } from './providers-settings'
 import { SessionsSettings } from './sessions-settings'
 import type { SettingsPageProps, SettingsView as SettingsViewId } from './types'
@@ -30,6 +31,7 @@ const SETTINGS_VIEWS: readonly SettingsViewId[] = [
   'gateway',
   'keys',
   'mcp',
+  'notifications',
   'sessions',
   'about'
 ]
@@ -101,6 +103,12 @@ export function SettingsView({ gateway, onClose, onConfigSaved, onMainModelChang
               />
             )
           })}
+          <OverlayNavItem
+            active={activeView === 'notifications'}
+            icon={Bell}
+            label={t.settings.nav.notifications}
+            onClick={() => setActiveView('notifications')}
+          />
           <div className="my-2 h-px bg-border/30" />
           <OverlayNavItem
             active={activeView === 'providers'}
@@ -220,11 +228,13 @@ export function SettingsView({ gateway, onClose, onConfigSaved, onMainModelChang
               onMainModelChanged={onMainModelChanged}
             />
           ) : activeView === 'providers' ? (
-            <ProvidersSettings onViewChange={setProviderView} view={providerView} />
+            <ProvidersSettings onClose={onClose} onViewChange={setProviderView} view={providerView} />
           ) : activeView === 'keys' ? (
             <KeysSettings view={keysView} />
           ) : activeView === 'mcp' ? (
             <McpSettings gateway={gateway} onConfigSaved={onConfigSaved} />
+          ) : activeView === 'notifications' ? (
+            <NotificationsSettings />
           ) : (
             <SessionsSettings />
           )}

apps/desktop/src/app/settings/model-settings.test.tsx

@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ const getAuxiliaryModels = vi.fn()
 const setModelAssignment = vi.fn()
 const getRecommendedDefaultModel = vi.fn()
 const setEnvVar = vi.fn()
+const getHermesConfigRecord = vi.fn()
+const saveHermesConfig = vi.fn()
 const startManualProviderOAuth = vi.fn()
 
 vi.mock('@/hermes', () => ({
@@ -24,7 +26,9 @@ vi.mock('@/hermes', () => ({
   getAuxiliaryModels: () => getAuxiliaryModels(),
   setModelAssignment: (body: unknown) => setModelAssignment(body),
   getRecommendedDefaultModel: (slug: string) => getRecommendedDefaultModel(slug),
-  setEnvVar: (key: string, value: string) => setEnvVar(key, value)
+  setEnvVar: (key: string, value: string) => setEnvVar(key, value),
+  getHermesConfigRecord: () => getHermesConfigRecord(),
+  saveHermesConfig: (config: unknown) => saveHermesConfig(config)
 }))
 
 vi.mock('@/store/onboarding', () => ({
@@ -35,7 +39,13 @@ beforeEach(() => {
   getGlobalModelInfo.mockResolvedValue({ provider: 'nous', model: 'hermes-4' })
   getGlobalModelOptions.mockResolvedValue({
     providers: [
-      { name: 'Nous', slug: 'nous', models: ['hermes-4', 'hermes-4-mini'], authenticated: true },
+      {
+        name: 'Nous',
+        slug: 'nous',
+        models: ['hermes-4', 'hermes-4-mini'],
+        authenticated: true,
+        capabilities: { 'hermes-4': { reasoning: true, fast: true } }
+      },
       // An unconfigured api_key provider — surfaced by the full-universe payload.
       { name: 'DeepSeek', slug: 'deepseek', models: [], authenticated: false, auth_type: 'api_key', key_env: 'DEEPSEEK_API_KEY' }
     ]
@@ -47,6 +57,8 @@ beforeEach(() => {
   setModelAssignment.mockResolvedValue({ provider: 'nous', model: 'hermes-4', gateway_tools: [] })
   getRecommendedDefaultModel.mockResolvedValue({ provider: 'deepseek', model: 'deepseek-chat', free_tier: null })
   setEnvVar.mockResolvedValue({ ok: true })
+  getHermesConfigRecord.mockResolvedValue({ agent: { reasoning_effort: 'medium', service_tier: 'normal' } })
+  saveHermesConfig.mockResolvedValue({ ok: true })
 })
 
 afterEach(() => {
@@ -100,6 +112,31 @@ describe('ModelSettings', () => {
     await waitFor(() => expect(setEnvVar).toHaveBeenCalledWith('DEEPSEEK_API_KEY', 'sk-test-123'))
   })
 
+  it('writes the profile default speed (service_tier) when the fast switch is toggled', async () => {
+    await renderModelSettings()
+    await waitFor(() => expect(getHermesConfigRecord).toHaveBeenCalled())
+
+    const fastSwitch = await screen.findByRole('switch')
+    fireEvent.click(fastSwitch)
+
+    await waitFor(() =>
+      expect(saveHermesConfig).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        expect.objectContaining({ agent: expect.objectContaining({ service_tier: 'fast' }) })
+      )
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('hides the reasoning/speed defaults when the main model reports no capabilities', async () => {
+    getGlobalModelOptions.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+      providers: [{ name: 'Nous', slug: 'nous', models: ['hermes-4'], authenticated: true, capabilities: { 'hermes-4': { reasoning: false, fast: false } } }]
+    })
+
+    await renderModelSettings()
+    await waitFor(() => expect(getHermesConfigRecord).toHaveBeenCalled())
+
+    expect(screen.queryByRole('switch')).toBeNull()
+  })
+
   it('renders the auxiliary task rows', async () => {
     await renderModelSettings()