fix(xai): scan the primary model.default slot in the retirement migration/doctor check

[briandevans]

What does this PR do?

find_retired_xai_refs (hermes_cli/xai_retirement.py) powers both hermes migrate xai and the hermes doctor xAI-retirement check. It scanned principal, auxiliary.<slot>, delegation, tts.xai, and plugins.image_gen.xai — but never the top-level model block, which is the single most important slot: the primary active model.

runtime_provider._get_model_config is the schema source-of-truth here — it resolves the active model from model.default, accepting model.model as an alias only when default is absent. So a user with the canonical config:

model:
  provider: xai
  default: grok-3

got a false "No retired xAI models in config — nothing to migrate" from both commands after the May 15, 2026 grok retirement, even though their primary model was retired.

This PR adds a model-block scan (placed first, since it is the primary slot) that mirrors _get_model_config's precedence: model.default is canonical, model.model is consulted only when default is absent.

Mirrors runtime_provider._get_model_config precedence: model.default > model.model.

Related Issue

Code-originated; found by cross-checking the scanner against _get_model_config. No filed issue.

Type of Change

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

Changes Made

• hermes_cli/xai_retirement.py: scan the top-level model block in find_retired_xai_refs, emitting model.default / model.model issues per the resolver precedence. Docstring slot list updated.
• tests/hermes_cli/test_xai_retirement.py: add TestFindRetiredModelBlock (default slot, alias slot, default-precedence-over-alias, valid-not-flagged) and extend test_full_trap_config to include the model.default slot.

The apply side needs no change: _walk_to_parent already resolves the 2-segment model.default / model.model paths, so hermes migrate xai --apply rewrites them (and adds the reasoning_effort sibling) correctly — verified end-to-end against a sample config.yaml.

How to Test

uv run --with pytest python3 -m pytest tests/hermes_cli/test_xai_retirement.py tests/hermes_cli/test_migrate_xai.py -v

Before the fix, find_retired_xai_refs({"model": {"provider": "xai", "default": "grok-3"}}) returned []; after, it returns one issue at model.default → grok-4.3. The four new TestFindRetiredModelBlock tests fail before the production change and pass after.

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 the touched test suites (test_xai_retirement.py, test_migrate_xai.py, test_doctor.py) and they pass
• I've added tests for my changes (required for bug fixes, strongly encouraged for features)
• I've tested on my platform: macOS 15

Documentation & Housekeeping

• I've updated relevant documentation (README, docs/, docstrings) — updated the find_retired_xai_refs docstring slot list
• I've updated cli-config.yaml.example if I added/changed config keys — or N/A (no new keys)
• I've updated CONTRIBUTING.md or AGENTS.md if I changed architecture or workflows — or N/A
• I've considered cross-platform impact (Windows, macOS) — or N/A (pure dict-walking logic)
• I've updated tool descriptions/schemas if I changed tool behavior — or N/A

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Fixes a gap in the xAI retirement scanner (find_retired_xai_refs) used by both hermes migrate xai and the hermes doctor xAI-retirement check, ensuring it also detects retired models configured in the primary active-model slot (model.default, with model.model as fallback alias).

Changes:

• Extend find_retired_xai_refs to scan the top-level model block, mirroring runtime_provider._get_model_config precedence (model.default > model.model).
• Update the scanner docstring slot list to include the primary model.default slot.
• Add/extend unit tests to cover model.default, model.model alias behavior, and default-precedence over alias.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

File	Description
hermes_cli/xai_retirement.py	Adds scanning of the primary model.default slot (and model.model alias) to prevent false “nothing to migrate” results.
tests/hermes_cli/test_xai_retirement.py	Adds targeted coverage for the model-block scan and updates the full-config trap test accordingly.

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[briandevans]

@copilot Addressed in commit 9e166fb: test_full_trap_config now asserts the exact set of trapped config paths (auxiliary.vision.model, delegation.model, model.default, plugins.image_gen.xai.model, principal.model, tts.xai.model) instead of just the issue count, so it stays informative if slots change.

[alt-glitch]

This was generated by AI during triage.

Related: this overlaps with open #31614, which already adds the same model.default / model.model scan to find_retired_xai_refs in hermes_cli/xai_retirement.py and is broader (it also fixes apply-side provider-prefix preservation and root-level model: xai/grok-3 strings) and earlier. #31614 looks like the canonical superset here; this PR is a focused subset of the same gap. Both extend the merged retirement feature #29277 — flagging the cluster for a maintainer pick (not closing either).

[briandevans]

Thanks @alt-glitch — agreed, #31614 is the broader change here: it also adds apply-side provider-prefix preservation (x-ai//xai/) and the root-level model: xai/grok-3 string case, which this PR intentionally doesn't touch. This one is the focused detection subset — it extends find_retired_xai_refs to the primary model.default/model.model slot only, and is currently green (all required checks pass).

Worth flagging the asymmetry for the maintainer pick: #31614 is the superset but has been idle since 2026-05-24 (~39d, unmerged); this PR is fresh and CI-clean. Happy either way — if maintainers prefer #31614 as the canonical fix I'll close this in its favor, or if the apply-side widening stalls, this green subset closes the most common gap (the active model.default slot) in the meantime. No objection to #31614 landing first.

[teknium1]

Thanks for isolating the canonical model.default omission. Current main confirms the scanner skips the top-level model block (hermes_cli/xai_retirement.py:92-120) even though runtime resolution uses model.default (hermes_cli/runtime_provider.py:281-299).

Problems

• The new branch only handles mapping-shaped model values. Runtime still accepts a legacy scalar root model (model: xai/grok-3) at hermes_cli/runtime_provider.py:298-299; it would remain undetected and therefore unapplied. Open #31614 already covers that sibling shape and root-path application.

Suggested changes

• Either add scalar-root detection, root-path application, and regression coverage, or keep this as the narrower canonical-dict fix for a maintainer choice alongside #31614.

Automated hermes-sweeper review.

[teknium1]

Completeness: runtime still treats scalar model: xai/grok-3 as the active model (hermes_cli/runtime_provider.py:298-299), but this dict-only branch leaves it undetected. Please either scan/apply that root path too or explicitly leave it to the broader #31614 implementation.

[briandevans]

Closing to keep my open queue focused and reviewable. This has sat ~2 weeks without any human review interest, and I would rather maintain a small set of actively-reviewed PRs than a large standing backlog. The analysis and branch remain available if anyone wants to pick this up — happy to reopen if it is useful.