t1491: fix Bash 3.2 bad substitution in config_get indirect expansion

[alex-solovyev]

Summary

• Replace ${!env_var:-} with eval "env_val=\${$env_var:-}" at 3 locations in config-helper.sh (lines 333, 527, 732)
• The ${!var:-default} indirect expansion syntax causes "bad substitution" on macOS /bin/bash 3.2.57
• This caused config_get to fail silently during pulse-wrapper.sh startup, making MAX_WORKERS_CAP and QUALITY_DEBT_CAP_PCT fall back to hardcoded defaults instead of reading from settings.json

Verification

• ShellCheck clean (zero violations)
• Tested config_get with env var override set → returns override value
• Tested config_get with env var unset → falls through to JSONC config value
• No remaining ${!env_var:-} instances in the file

Closes #4929

Summary by CodeRabbit

Release Notes

• Bug Fixes
  • Improved compatibility with older Bash versions for environment variable configuration handling.
  • Fixed issues with environment override initialization to prevent errors when configuration variables are not set.

[gemini-code-assist]

Warning

You have reached your daily quota limit. Please wait up to 24 hours and I will start processing your requests again!

[coderabbitai]

Caution

Review failed

Pull request was closed or merged during review

Walkthrough

Fixed Bash 3.2 compatibility issue in config-helper.sh by replacing unsupported ${!VAR:-} indirect expansion syntax with eval-based approach at three locations. Explicitly initialized env_val variable and updated comments to document compatibility rationale.

Changes

Cohort / File(s)	Summary
Bash 3.2 Compatibility Fix .agents/scripts/config-helper.sh	Replaced ${!env_var:-} with eval-based indirect expansion at lines 333, 527, and 732 to support Bash 3.2. Added explicit env_val initialization and documentation comments explaining the Bash 4.0+ incompatibility workaround.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 2 (Simple) | ⏱️ ~10 minutes

Poem

🐚 Three lines of Bash once caused a fright,
${!VAR:-} broke on macOS night—
With eval and care, we've set it right,
Now Bash 3.2 runs clean and bright! ✨

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 4 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Docstring Coverage	⚠️ Warning	Docstring coverage is 66.67% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%.	Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.

✅ Passed checks (4 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title accurately reflects the main change: fixing Bash 3.2 compatibility by replacing incompatible indirect expansion syntax in config_get.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	All objectives from issue #4929 are met: three occurrences of ${!env_var:-} replaced with eval-based Bash 3.2-compatible syntax, ShellCheck verified clean, config_get behavior preserved for both set and unset env vars.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	All changes are directly scoped to fixing Bash 3.2 compatibility in config-helper.sh; no unrelated modifications or scope creep detected.

_{✏️ Tip: You can configure your own custom pre-merge checks in the settings.}

✨ Finishing Touches

• 📝 Generate docstrings (stacked PR)
• 📝 Generate docstrings (commit on current branch)

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Post copyable unit tests in a comment
• Commit unit tests in branch bugfix/t1491-bash32-config-helper

📝 Coding Plan

• Generate coding plan for human review comments

---

Thanks for using CodeRabbit! It's free for OSS, and your support helps us grow. If you like it, consider giving us a shout-out.

❤️ Share

• X
• Mastodon
• Reddit
• LinkedIn

_{Comment @coderabbitai help to get the list of available commands and usage tips.}

[marcusquinn]

Duplicate PR detected: PR #4930 (branch bugfix/issue-4929-bash32-config-get, author: marcusquinn) also targets issue #4929 and was opened 9 seconds earlier.

PR #4931 (this PR) is more comprehensive — fixes 3 locations in config-helper.sh vs PR #4930's 1 location. Recommend: close PR #4930 and merge this one once CI passes.

Supervisor will check CI results next cycle and close the smaller PR if this one passes.

[github-actions]

🔍 Code Quality Report

�[0;35m[MONITOR]�[0m Code Review Monitoring Report

�[0;34m[INFO]�[0m Latest Quality Status:
SonarCloud: 0 bugs, 0 vulnerabilities, 362 code smells

�[0;34m[INFO]�[0m Recent monitoring activity:
Sun Mar 15 05:25:07 UTC 2026: Code review monitoring started
Sun Mar 15 05:25:08 UTC 2026: SonarCloud - Bugs: 0, Vulnerabilities: 0, Code Smells: 362

📈 Current Quality Metrics

• BUGS: 0
• CODE SMELLS: 362
• VULNERABILITIES: 0

Generated on: Sun Mar 15 05:25:10 UTC 2026

---

Generated by AI DevOps Framework Code Review Monitoring

[sonarqubecloud]

Quality Gate passed

Issues
0 New issues
0 Accepted issues

Measures
0 Security Hotspots
0.0% Coverage on New Code
0.0% Duplication on New Code

See analysis details on SonarQube Cloud