fix(config): parse list literals in config set; tolerate string-typed scan roots

hermes_cli/config.py

@@ -4926,7 +4926,21 @@ def set_config_value(key: str, value: str, force: bool = False):
     # retain the historical best-effort coercion behavior.
     coerced_value: Any = value
     if not isinstance(_default_value_for_key(key), str):
-        if value.lower() in {'true', 'yes', 'on'}:
+        stripped = value.strip()
+        if stripped[:1] in ("[", "{"):
+            # A JSON/YAML collection literal (e.g. `hermes config set
+            # desktop.repo_scan_roots '["~/src"]'`). Before this parse, the
+            # literal was stored as a quoted STRING, which list-typed readers
+            # (isinstance(..., list) guards) silently rejected — falling back
+            # to defaults with no warning (#desktop repo_scan_roots scanning
+            # all of $HOME despite a configured root).
+            try:
+                parsed = fast_safe_load(stripped)
+            except Exception:
+                parsed = None
+            if isinstance(parsed, (list, dict)):
+                coerced_value = parsed
+        elif value.lower() in {'true', 'yes', 'on'}:
             coerced_value = True
         elif value.lower() in {'false', 'no', 'off'}:
             coerced_value = False

tests/hermes_cli/test_set_config_value.py

@@ -723,3 +723,42 @@ def test_unset_config_value_refuses_broken_yaml(self, _isolated_hermes_home, cap
         assert "Cannot parse" in captured.out or "Cannot parse" in captured.err
         raw = _read_config(_isolated_hermes_home)
         assert raw == self.BROKEN_CONFIG
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Collection literals (issue: repo_scan_roots stored as a quoted string)
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+class TestCollectionLiteralCoercion:
+    """`config set` of a JSON/YAML list literal must store a real list.
+
+    Regression: `hermes config set desktop.repo_scan_roots '["~/src"]'` stored
+    the literal as a STRING; the desktop policy loader's isinstance-list guard
+    silently fell back to roots=[] ("scan all of $HOME") and stale repos kept
+    resurfacing in the Projects sidebar.
+    """
+
+    def test_list_literal_becomes_yaml_list(self, _isolated_hermes_home):
+        import yaml
+        set_config_value("desktop.repo_scan_roots", '["/tmp/a", "/tmp/b"]')
+        cfg = yaml.safe_load(_read_config(_isolated_hermes_home))
+        assert cfg["desktop"]["repo_scan_roots"] == ["/tmp/a", "/tmp/b"]
+
+    def test_empty_list_literal(self, _isolated_hermes_home):
+        import yaml
+        set_config_value("desktop.repo_scan_exclude_paths", "[]")
+        cfg = yaml.safe_load(_read_config(_isolated_hermes_home))
+        assert cfg["desktop"]["repo_scan_exclude_paths"] == []
+
+    def test_string_typed_default_is_not_parsed(self, _isolated_hermes_home):
+        """String-typed settings keep literal text (existing contract)."""
+        import yaml
+        set_config_value("display.skin", "[weird-but-literal]")
+        cfg = yaml.safe_load(_read_config(_isolated_hermes_home))
+        assert cfg["display"]["skin"] == "[weird-but-literal]"
+
+    def test_malformed_literal_stays_string(self, _isolated_hermes_home):
+        import yaml
+        set_config_value("desktop.repo_scan_roots", "[not: valid: yaml: [")
+        cfg = yaml.safe_load(_read_config(_isolated_hermes_home))
+        assert cfg["desktop"]["repo_scan_roots"] == "[not: valid: yaml: ["

tests/tui_gateway/test_projects_rpc.py

@@ -379,3 +379,45 @@ def test_nondefault_policy_rejects_stale_or_legacy_results(monkeypatch, tmp_path
     assert any(item["root"] == str(root) for item in accepted["repos"])
 
 
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# _repo_discovery_policy tolerance for string-typed list settings
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+class TestScanPathCoercion:
+    """The policy loader must not silently discard a configured root.
+
+    Regression: a string-typed `repo_scan_roots: '["~/src"]'` (written by older
+    `hermes config set`) failed the isinstance-list guard and fell back to
+    roots=[] — scanning all of $HOME and refilling the discovered-repos cache
+    with stale entries.
+    """
+
+    def test_string_list_literal_is_parsed(self):
+        from tui_gateway.server import _repo_discovery_policy
+        policy = _repo_discovery_policy({"repo_scan_roots": '["/tmp/x"]'})
+        assert policy["roots"] == ["/tmp/x"]
+
+    def test_bare_string_path_becomes_single_root(self):
+        from tui_gateway.server import _repo_discovery_policy
+        policy = _repo_discovery_policy({"repo_scan_roots": "/tmp/x"})
+        assert policy["roots"] == ["/tmp/x"]
+
+    def test_real_list_unchanged(self):
+        from tui_gateway.server import _repo_discovery_policy
+        policy = _repo_discovery_policy({"repo_scan_roots": ["/tmp/a", " /tmp/b "]})
+        assert policy["roots"] == ["/tmp/a", "/tmp/b"]
+
+    def test_garbage_falls_back_to_default(self):
+        from hermes_cli.config import DEFAULT_CONFIG
+        from tui_gateway.server import _repo_discovery_policy
+        policy = _repo_discovery_policy({"repo_scan_roots": 42})
+        assert policy["roots"] == list(DEFAULT_CONFIG["desktop"]["repo_scan_roots"])
+
+    def test_string_excludes_also_parsed(self):
+        from tui_gateway.server import _repo_discovery_policy
+        policy = _repo_discovery_policy(
+            {"repo_scan_exclude_paths": '["/tmp/skip"]'}
+        )
+        assert policy["exclude_paths"] == ["/tmp/skip"]

tui_gateway/server.py

@@ -11556,6 +11556,39 @@ def _is_session_cwd_junk(cwd: str) -> bool:
     return real == home or real == hermes_home
 
 
+def _coerce_scan_path_list(value: Any, default: list) -> list[str]:
+    """Normalize a scan-path setting to a clean list of strings.
+
+    Tolerates a string-typed collection literal (``'["~/src"]'``) left behind
+    by older ``hermes config set`` versions, which stored list values as quoted
+    strings. Silently falling back to the default here meant an empty-roots
+    policy — i.e. "scan all of $HOME" — despite the user having configured a
+    root, and the stale-repo cache kept refilling with no hint why.
+    """
+    if isinstance(value, str):
+        stripped = value.strip()
+        if stripped[:1] == "[":
+            try:
+                from utils import fast_safe_load
+
+                parsed = fast_safe_load(stripped)
+            except Exception:
+                parsed = None
+            if isinstance(parsed, list):
+                logger.warning(
+                    "desktop scan path setting is a string-typed list literal "
+                    "(%r) — parsed it, but re-save it as a real YAML list",
+                    stripped,
+                )
+                value = parsed
+        elif stripped:
+            # A bare single path — accept it as a one-element list.
+            value = [stripped]
+    if not isinstance(value, list):
+        return list(default)
+    return [v.strip() for v in value if isinstance(v, str) and v.strip()]
+
+
 def _repo_discovery_policy(raw: dict | None = None) -> dict:
     """Return the effective, profile-local Desktop repository scan policy."""
     from hermes_cli.config import DEFAULT_CONFIG
@@ -11574,16 +11607,10 @@ def _repo_discovery_policy(raw: dict | None = None) -> dict:
 
     return {
         "enabled": enabled if isinstance(enabled, bool) else defaults["repo_scan_enabled"],
-        "roots": [value.strip() for value in roots if isinstance(value, str) and value.strip()]
-        if isinstance(roots, list)
-        else list(defaults["repo_scan_roots"]),
-        "exclude_paths": [
-            value.strip()
-            for value in excludes
-            if isinstance(value, str) and value.strip()
-        ]
-        if isinstance(excludes, list)
-        else list(defaults["repo_scan_exclude_paths"]),
+        "roots": _coerce_scan_path_list(roots, defaults["repo_scan_roots"]),
+        "exclude_paths": _coerce_scan_path_list(
+            excludes, defaults["repo_scan_exclude_paths"]
+        ),
     }