[Hermes Desktop][YOLO Default][1/n] Default YOLO mode on for new desktop sessions

[OmarB97]

Why

Hermes Desktop had a visible YOLO toggle, but new desktop sessions still initialized approval bypass off unless the user toggled it per session. Omar asked for the official macOS desktop app to default YOLO on and persist that preference across restarts.

What Changed

• Add a desktop-specific desktop.yolo_default config preference that defaults to true.
• Initialize desktop draft/new-session YOLO state from that persisted preference.
• Make the lightning toggle and /yolo command persist the desktop default while still applying the current session setting immediately.
• Keep CLI/TUI/cron approval behavior on the existing approvals.mode path.
• Group the new desktop config field into the existing security config category so the dashboard schema does not create a singleton tab.

How To Review

• Start with apps/desktop/src/lib/yolo-session.ts for the config read/write and current-session application flow.
• Check apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-hermes-config.ts and use-session-actions.ts for initial state and new-session behavior.
• Check use-statusbar-items.tsx and use-prompt-actions.ts for the two user-facing toggle paths.
• Confirm hermes_cli/config.py and hermes_cli/web_server.py keep the new setting desktop-specific and schema-safe.

Evidence

• Local macOS app build/install from the fork delivery commit verified the installed /Applications/Hermes.app stamp at cfaf438981f098a381b5c2d84e2ca28c7fc2d85a, clean and commit-pinned.
• Fork PR fix: improve tools list display - wider box and better truncation #93 delivered the app behavior; fork PR feat(cli): add /verbose slash command to toggle debug output at runtime #94 repaired the schema CI failure and passed all GitHub checks.
• This upstream branch cherry-picks only those scoped changes onto NousResearch/main.

Verification

• npm run type-check from apps/desktop
• npm run test:ui -- src/lib/yolo-session.test.ts from apps/desktop
• node /Users/obaradei/.hermes/hermes-agent/node_modules/eslint/bin/eslint.js src/lib/yolo-session.ts src/lib/yolo-session.test.ts src/store/session.ts src/app/session/hooks/use-hermes-config.ts src/app/session/hooks/use-prompt-actions.ts src/app/session/hooks/use-session-actions.ts src/app/shell/hooks/use-statusbar-items.tsx src/types/hermes.ts from apps/desktop
• python3 -m py_compile hermes_cli/config.py hermes_cli/web_server.py
• python3 -m pytest tests/hermes_cli/test_web_server.py::TestBuildSchemaFromConfig

Risks / Gaps

• Accepted risk: existing users who explicitly save desktop.yolo_default: false keep that preference, which is intentional backward-compatible behavior.
• Accepted scope: missing or older configs default desktop YOLO on by design because the requested product behavior is default-on for the desktop app.
• Accepted scope: global approvals.mode is intentionally unchanged so non-desktop surfaces retain their current approval defaults.

Collaborators

• Omar: operator/requester on ko-mac, asked for default-on persistent YOLO in the official macOS desktop app.
• Codex on ko-mac: implementation, local app build/install verification, fork PRs, and upstream contribution branch on 2026-06-04.

[OmarB97]

Code Review — YOLO Default-On for Desktop

Overall assessment: clean implementation that correctly achieves the goal. The design separates desktop-default ($desktopYoloDefault) from session-active ($yoloActive) state, persists to global config, and includes solid defensive coding and rollback logic.

Non-blocking observations

1. Redundant optimistic update in statusbar (apps/desktop/src/app/shell/hooks/use-statusbar-items.tsx:108)

setYoloActive(next) is called before setDesktopYoloMode(), but setDesktopYoloMode already handles its own optimistic atom updates internally. On error, setDesktopYoloMode rolls back both atoms via its catch block, and then the outer catch fires setYoloActive(!next) on top of the already-rolled-back state. No behavioral bug (the net result is correct), but the outer setYoloActive(next) and setYoloActive(!next) are redundant.

2. $yoloActive initial-state/load-order flicker (apps/desktop/src/store/session.ts)

$yoloActive now initializes to DEFAULT_DESKTOP_YOLO_ACTIVE (true) instead of false. If a user has explicitly saved desktop.yolo_default: false, there is a brief window between store initialization and config load where the atom reads true. This follows the existing pattern for reasoning_effort/service_tier so it is consistent, but worth being aware of for future config-load ordering improvements.

3. Test coverage scope (apps/desktop/src/lib/yolo-session.test.ts)

The existing tests cover config parsing and persistence merging well. The setDesktopYoloMode function itself (the gateway + desktop-default combined path) is not directly tested, and the new-session-inheritance path in useSessionActions is also untested. For a focused feature change the coverage level is reasonable; integration or component-level coverage would strengthen confidence in the composite path.

Verdict

No blocking concerns. Correctness, security, and readability are solid. Rollback logic, defensive isRecord() guard, and proper config merging make this robust.

[OmarB97]

Resolved the branch drift against current upstream main.

Updated head: cda1752c21996dce181df3fd7a140e3e2f5c4b29
Base used: c94e93a6480f3cfdabe0624aac46f06670ffae36

Verification run locally after resolving conflicts:

• npm --prefix apps/desktop run test:ui -- src/lib/yolo-session.test.ts src/app/session/hooks/use-prompt-actions.test.tsx src/app/session/hooks/use-model-controls.test.tsx (31 passed)
• npm --prefix apps/desktop run typecheck
• python3 -m pytest tests/hermes_cli/test_config.py tests/hermes_cli/test_web_server.py -q (362 passed, 1 existing discord/audioop deprecation warning)
• git diff --check

GitHub now reports the PR as open/blocked rather than dirty; no checks are currently reported on the branch.

[OmarB97]

Maintainer-ready after refresh.

I merged current upstream/main into this desktop YOLO default persistence PR and pushed head 42e3c9d22256e459bd70d9a7c259f2bfffd03490. I also added the required scripts/release.py AUTHOR_MAP entry for omar@kostudios.io so check-attribution passes.

Verification:

• python3 -m py_compile hermes_cli/config.py hermes_cli/web_server.py scripts/release.py
• npm --prefix apps/desktop run test:ui -- src/lib/yolo-session.test.ts src/store/session.test.ts (23 passed)
• npm --prefix apps/desktop run typecheck
• npm exec eslint -- on the changed desktop files
• git diff --check upstream/main...HEAD

MeshBoard merge dry-run passes with green checks and a fresh base. I attempted the actual merge through meshctl pr merge, but GitHub denied MergePullRequest for my account, so this is ready for a maintainer to merge.

[teknium1]

Closing because default-on Desktop YOLO now conflicts directly with the project safety posture and merged #62661: Smart Approvals are the default, while approval bypasses must remain explicit opt-ins. Persisting desktop.yolo_default: true would silently disable that protection for new Desktop sessions. The runtime status/control UX can be pursued separately without changing the safe default.