feat(desktop): edit project folders — move/redirect from UI by Clement-ccy · Pull Request #61406 · NousResearch/hermes-agent

Clement-ccy · 2026-07-09T09:41:53Z

Summary

Closes the missing half of the project folder lifecycle. The desktop already supports add folder and remove folder, but had no way to redirect an existing folder to a new absolute path after it was renamed or moved on disk — users had to remove and re-add, losing is_primary / label / added_at and the project's primary_path pointer in the process.

This PR adds the edit/move capability end-to-end across every layer, plus a remove button in the edit dialog that closes the last UX gap (the desktop had no frontend wiring for projects.remove_folder even though the backend, RPC, and CLI all shipped it).

What's new

Layer	Addition
`hermes_cli/projects_db.py`	`move_folder(conn, project_id, old_path, new_path)` — rewrites a folder's path in place, preserves `is_primary` / `label` / `added_at`, retargets `projects.primary_path` when the moved folder was primary, rejects same-project collisions.
`tui_gateway/server.py`	`projects.move_folder` JSON-RPC method (registered alongside `add_folder` / `remove_folder` / `set_primary`). Bad-arg and unknown-project map to the existing 5063 / 5062 codes.
`hermes_cli/projects_cmd.py`	`hermes project move-folder <slug> <old> <new>` CLI subcommand, dispatched via the existing `_with_project` decorator so collisions / unknown paths return rc=2.
`apps/desktop/src/store/projects.ts`	`moveProjectFolder` + `removeProjectFolder` store actions. Both Apollo-style optimistic: retarget the cached `$projects` / `$projectTree` atoms in place, roll the snapshot back on failure. `removeProjectFolder` is brand-new — the desktop frontend had no path to drop a folder while keeping the project.
`apps/desktop/.../project-dialog.tsx`	New `edit-folders` mode: shows the project's existing folders, lets the user (a) pick a new path per row (move/redirect) or (b) toggle a trash button per row (remove). Staged moves + removals commit sequentially in one Save. Same-row move + remove is blocked at the UI level (the pick + revert buttons hide when a row is marked removed). Detects same-project collisions client-side and flags them in red.
`apps/desktop/.../projects/project-menu.tsx`	New Edit folders… menu item (disabled for projects with zero folders / no primary path; auto projects are excluded by the existing `!project.isAuto` branch).
`i18n`	14 new strings × 4 locales (en / ja / zh / zh-hant).

The dialog also disables Save when no edits AND no removals were staged, so an empty Save closes immediately without a no-op RPC.

Tests

8 new tests/hermes_cli/test_projects_db.py cases — primary-retarget, label preservation, non-primary move, idempotent same-path, collision, missing old path, missing project, normalization.
3 new tests/tui_gateway/test_projects_rpc.py cases — RPC roundtrip with normalized path in response, structured 5063 on collision, structured 5062 on unknown project.
3 new tests/hermes_cli/test_projects_cli.py cases — move-folder CLI roundtrip, bad-arg rc=2 on unknown old path, bad-arg rc=2 on collision.
1 new apps/desktop/src/store/projects.test.ts case — missing projects.move_folder marks the backend stale, surfaces the existing friendly error, and rolls back the optimistic path update.

The 14 new Python tests use tmp_path so they're cross-platform. The 5 pre-existing POSIX-only failures in test_projects_db.py are unrelated to this PR and were failing on Windows before any of my changes — git stash && pytest reproduces them on a clean tree. No new tests for removeProjectFolder because the wire contract (projects.remove_folder) was already covered by tests/hermes_cli and tests/tui_gateway from the original first-class-projects PR (#49037).

Locally on Windows: baseline 5 failed / 29 passed → with this PR 5 failed / 43 passed (14 new passing tests, 0 new failures).

Commits

feat(desktop): edit project folders — move/redirect from UI — the move/redirect half.
feat(desktop): add remove folder to edit-folders dialog — the remove toggle, store wiring, and combined Save flow that ships both move + remove in one submit.
fix(desktop): remove duplicate project locale keys — removes duplicate object keys reported by review.
fix(desktop): handle stale folder move backends — adds stale-backend translation, optimistic rollback coverage, and lint cleanup.

User-visible behavior

Right-click an explicit project → Edit folders… → dialog lists each existing folder with its current path. Per row:

Click the folder icon to pick a new path (move/redirect, original path shows line-through + new path underneath).
Click the trash icon to mark the row for removal (row goes dim with a "Will be removed" badge; click the now-discard icon to undo).
The Save button ("Folders updated") lights up when any row is staged.

Hit Folders updated → staged removals run first, then staged moves, sequentially through the corresponding JSON-RPC methods. The sidebar tree retargets, primary_path updates where needed, and the dialog closes.

Closes the "no post-hoc folder correction" gap called out in [Bug]: Projects paradigm (#49037) broke the folder → session → sidebar flow — right sidebar shows "no project open", can't start a session in a chosen folder #53004.
Aligns with feat(desktop): allow changing workspace/directory from Hermes Desktop UI #42525's intent (let users change workspaces without restarting).
Consistent with the existing add_folder / remove_folder / set_primary naming; additive only (no schema migration, no removed API).

Review follow-up

Addressed the automated review feedback in two atomic commits:

Removed duplicate menuEditFolders keys from ja / zh / zh-hant.
Converted a missing projects.move_folder RPC into the existing stale-backend state/message and added rollback coverage.

Verified with Desktop typecheck, targeted ESLint, and projects.test.ts (14/14 passing).

Adds the missing 'edit folders' half of the project folder lifecycle: the desktop previously supported add-folder and remove-folder but had no way to redirect a folder to a new absolute path after it was renamed or moved on disk, so users had to remove and re-add (losing is_primary / label / added_at and the project's primary_path pointer). Layers (all additive — no schema migration required): - hermes_cli/projects_db.move_folder: rewrite a project's folder path in place, preserving is_primary / label / added_at. Updates projects.primary_path when the moved folder was the primary, and rejects same-project collisions with a clear ValueError. - tui_gateway: projects.move_folder JSON-RPC method, registered alongside add_folder/remove_folder/set_primary. Bad args and unknown projects surface as the existing 5061/5062/5063 codes. - hermes_cli/projects_cmd: `hermes project move-folder <slug> <old> <new>` for CLI parity with add-folder/remove-folder. - apps/desktop: a new 'edit-folders' mode on the project dialog (stages several moves in one commit) + a kebab menu item + an optimistic moveProjectFolder store action that retargets primary_path in the cached / atoms and rolls back on failure. - i18n: 11 new strings per locale (en/ja/zh/zh-hant). Tests: 8 new projects_db tests + 3 new RPC tests + 3 new CLI tests covering primary-retarget, label preservation, non-primary move, idempotent same-path, collision, unknown old path, missing project, path normalization. Pre-existing 5 POSIX-only failures on Windows are unrelated (predate this PR). Refs the user-facing gap noted in NousResearch#53004 (folder→session flow has no post-hoc correction affordance) and the related wish in NousResearch#42525.

The edit-folders dialog introduced in the previous commit only supported moving a folder to a new path. After using it, the only way to drop a folder from a project was the legacy sidebar-rebuild flow: remove it from outside the app and let a project-tree refresh re-classify it. That left no place to remove a folder while keeping the project — and the backend + RPC + CLI for projects.remove_folder already existed but the desktop never wired it up. Wires the missing frontend half: - store: removeProjectFolder(id, path) — Apollo-style optimistic cache update (drop the row, clear primary_path when the removed folder was primary, null the tree node's path on the removed primary). The backend repoints primary to the next-oldest folder when the primary is removed; we don't try to predict it client-side and let the reconcile pass pick up the server's choice. - dialog: FolderEdit.removed flag + toggleRemoveFolderEdit handler. Each row gets a trash/keep toggle button (icon flips between `trash` and `discard`; row goes opacity-50 with a 'Will be removed' badge when toggled). When a row is removed, the pick + revert buttons hide so the user can't simultaneously move + remove the same folder. - submit() now runs removals first, then moves, sequentially — each RPC awaits the previous so the optimistic cache stays consistent. Save is disabled when every row is unchanged AND none are removed. Backend, RPC, and CLI for projects.remove_folder are unchanged — they already shipped with first-class projects (NousResearch#49037). The 3 new i18n strings ship across en/ja/zh/zh-hant. No backend test changes: existing tests/hermes_cli and tests/tui_gateway for remove_folder already cover the wire contract.

teknium1

Thanks for covering the missing folder-redirect path across the DB, RPC, CLI, and desktop layers. The premise is still valid on current main: hermes_cli/projects_db.py:462-535 has add/remove but no in-place move, and apps/desktop/src/app/chat/sidebar/projects/project-menu.tsx:157-160 only exposes Add folder.

Problems

apps/desktop/src/i18n/ja.ts:1524 duplicates menuEditFolders in one object literal; the same duplicate is in apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh.ts:1724 and apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh-hant.ts:1477. Remove the duplicate entries; TypeScript rejects duplicate object keys.
apps/desktop/src/store/projects.ts:609 directly calls the new RPC. Current stale-backend handling only establishes the generic project capability from projects.list / projects.tree (apps/desktop/src/store/projects.ts:237-244), while remote gateways are supported (website/docs/reference/cli-commands.md:1441). A backend predating only projects.move_folder will let the dialog open and then fail generically on Save. Match createProject's missing-method handling at apps/desktop/src/store/projects.ts:458-460 and add coverage.

Suggested changes

Remove the three duplicate locale keys and run desktop typecheck.
Convert a missing projects.move_folder RPC into the existing stale-backend state/message, with a regression test.

Current main has no changes on these paths since the PR base 411d59976410bc6eabcd4d59b6f688de3e879f05, so salvage should otherwise be mechanical. This is an automated hermes-sweeper review.

alt-glitch added type/feature New feature or request comp/desktop Electron desktop app (apps/desktop/*) comp/cli CLI entry point, hermes_cli/, setup wizard comp/tui Terminal UI (ui-tui/ + tui_gateway/) P3 Low — cosmetic, nice to have labels Jul 9, 2026

teknium1 reviewed Jul 10, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread apps/desktop/src/i18n/ja.ts Outdated

Comment thread apps/desktop/src/store/projects.ts Outdated

Clement-ccy added 2 commits July 11, 2026 18:34

fix(desktop): remove duplicate project locale keys

32ae542

fix(desktop): handle stale folder move backends

bc5117c

teknium1 added sweeper:risk-compatibility Sweeper risk: may break existing users, config, migrations, defaults, or upgrades sweeper:blast-moderate Sweeper blast radius: moderate — a subsystem or single platform labels Jul 11, 2026

Clement-ccy closed this Jul 22, 2026

Clement-ccy deleted the feat/desktop-edit-project-folders branch July 25, 2026 14:14

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Clement-ccy commented Jul 9, 2026 •

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Clement-ccy commented Jul 9, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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Clement-ccy commented Jul 9, 2026 •

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