fix(cli): clarify memory status label to avoid built-in store confusion

[liuhao1024]

What does this PR do?

Change the misleading hermes memory status label from "Built-in: always active" to "Memory subsystem: active" to distinguish the memory framework/injection pipeline from the built-in storage backend.

Root Cause

hermes_cli/memory_setup.py:cmd_status() unconditionally printed Built-in: always active, which users interpreted as the built-in storage backend still running alongside their configured external provider (e.g. mnemosyne, honcho). This caused confusion when troubleshooting memory duplication — users thought hermes tools disable memory didn't take effect.

The "built-in" label actually refers to the memory subsystem framework (the pipeline that loads providers and injects context into prompts), not the storage backend. When a non-built-in provider is configured, memories go to that provider, not the built-in store.

Related Issue

N/A

Type of Change

• 🐛 Bug fix (non-breaking change that fixes an issue)

Changes Made

• See commit messages for detailed changes

How to Test

1. Run pytest tests/ -q — all tests should pass
2. Verify the specific scenario described above is resolved

Checklist

Code

• I've read the Contributing Guide
• My commit messages follow Conventional Commits (fix(scope):, feat(scope):, etc.)
• I searched for existing PRs to make sure this isn't a duplicate
• My PR contains only changes related to this fix/feature (no unrelated commits)
• I've run pytest tests/ -q and all tests pass
• I've added tests for my changes (required for bug fixes, strongly encouraged for features)
• I've tested on my platform: macOS 26.4.1

Documentation & Housekeeping

• I've updated relevant documentation (README, docs/, docstrings) — or N/A
• I've updated cli-config.yaml.example if I added/changed config keys — or N/A
• I've updated CONTRIBUTING.md or AGENTS.md if I changed architecture and workflows — or N/A
• I've considered cross-platform impact (Windows, macOS) per the compatibility guide — or N/A

[Tranquil-Flow]

Hi @liuhao1024 — small thing on the new test in tests/hermes_cli/test_memory_status.py. The assertion assert "active" in out.lower() would still pass against the old output ("Built-in: always active") because that string also contains "active" — so a regression that reverted the label change would slip past silently.

Suggest tightening to something like:

assert "Memory subsystem: active" in out
assert "Built-in" not in out

That way the test actually guards the new label rather than just checking for any substring containing "active".

[liuhao1024]

@Tranquil-Flow Good catch — the old assert "active" in out.lower() would pass against "Built-in: always active" too, so a regression that reverted the label change would slip past silently.

Fixed: replaced with assert "Memory subsystem: active" in out which locks in the exact label+status combination. The negative guard (assert "Built-in" not in out) was already there.

Pushed: 6327687c3.

[teknium1]

Thanks for addressing a real source of confusion. The current status line is indeed unconditional, but the proposed replacement does not report the state that matters to the issue.

Problems

• The changed Memory subsystem: active line remains unconditional (hermes_cli/memory_setup.py:396 in this PR). Current runtime loads MEMORY.md/USER.md only when memory.memory_enabled or memory.user_profile_enabled is true (agent/agent_init.py:1333-1345), including the disabled-built-in setup described by issue #18404.
• The new tests require that Built-in never appear, although the documented enabled configuration keeps built-in MEMORY.md/USER.md active alongside an external provider (website/docs/user-guide/features/memory-providers.md:9).

Suggested changes

• Derive the displayed built-in-store state from the two memory configuration flags, and test both enabled and disabled states with an external provider.
• Preserve a built-in-store label when it is enabled; avoid an unconditional replacement label.

Automated hermes-sweeper review.

[teknium1]

agent/agent_init.py:1333-1345 only loads the built-in MEMORY.md/USER.md store when memory_enabled or user_profile_enabled is true. This unconditional active label remains wrong for the disabled-built-in configuration in #18404; please derive and report the built-in state from those flags instead.

[kshitijk4poor]

Merged via #70065 which uses a more thorough approach from #23630 by @thirstycrow. Your PR was submitted first and your test approach was adapted. Both contributors credited. Thanks!