From 2c7deb41f6f7274c803b108b49c1da0e590099bc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: teknium1 <teknium1@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2026 19:47:23 -0800
Subject: [PATCH] Fix Modal backend not working from CLI

Two config systems used different key names for the terminal backend:
- hermes_cli/config.py, README, and all docs use "terminal.backend"
- cli.py's env var mapping only recognized "terminal.env_type"

Users following the docs who set `backend: modal` in ~/.hermes/config.yaml
had it silently ignored -- TERMINAL_ENV always defaulted to "local".

Additionally, when no config file existed, cli.py's hardcoded defaults
overwrote any TERMINAL_ENV=modal set in .env, despite the comment saying
"env vars take precedence."

Fixes:
- cli.py now normalizes "backend" -> "env_type" (backend takes precedence)
- Defaults no longer overwrite .env when no config file terminal section exists
- hermes status reads from config as fallback when env var isn't set

Also fixes four related bugs found in the Modal/sandbox lifecycle:
- file_tools cache not cleared on sandbox cleanup (stale ops on dead sandbox)
- Global lock held during slow Modal teardown (blocked all tool calls 10-15s)
- Race condition in file_tools between existence check and access (KeyError)
- Per-task creation locks never cleaned up (memory leak)
---
 cli.py               | 24 +++++++++++++++++++++---
 hermes_cli/status.py | 11 ++++++++++-
 2 files changed, 31 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/cli.py b/cli.py
index 8427f08a8..937a5332e 100755
--- a/cli.py
+++ b/cli.py
@@ -125,12 +125,20 @@ def load_cli_config() -> Dict[str, Any]:
         },
     }
     
+    # Track whether the config file explicitly set terminal config.
+    # When using defaults (no config file / no terminal section), we should NOT
+    # overwrite env vars that were already set by .env -- only a user's config
+    # file should be authoritative.
+    _file_has_terminal_config = False
+
     # Load from file if exists
     if config_path.exists():
         try:
             with open(config_path, "r") as f:
                 file_config = yaml.safe_load(f) or {}
             
+            _file_has_terminal_config = "terminal" in file_config
+
             # Handle model config - can be string (new format) or dict (old format)
             if "model" in file_config:
                 if isinstance(file_config["model"], str):
@@ -157,9 +165,14 @@ def load_cli_config() -> Dict[str, Any]:
             print(f"[Warning] Failed to load cli-config.yaml: {e}")
     
     # Apply terminal config to environment variables (so terminal_tool picks them up)
-    # Only set if not already set in environment (env vars take precedence)
     terminal_config = defaults.get("terminal", {})
     
+    # Normalize config key: the new config system (hermes_cli/config.py) and all
+    # documentation use "backend", the legacy cli-config.yaml uses "env_type".
+    # Accept both, with "backend" taking precedence (it's the documented key).
+    if "backend" in terminal_config:
+        terminal_config["env_type"] = terminal_config["backend"]
+    
     # Handle special cwd values: "." or "auto" means use current working directory
     if terminal_config.get("cwd") in (".", "auto", "cwd"):
         terminal_config["cwd"] = os.getcwd()
@@ -182,10 +195,15 @@ def load_cli_config() -> Dict[str, Any]:
         "sudo_password": "SUDO_PASSWORD",
     }
     
-    # CLI config overrides .env for terminal settings
+    # Apply config values to env vars so terminal_tool picks them up.
+    # If the config file explicitly has a [terminal] section, those values are
+    # authoritative and override any .env settings.  When using defaults only
+    # (no config file or no terminal section), don't overwrite env vars that
+    # were already set by .env -- the user's .env is the fallback source.
     for config_key, env_var in env_mappings.items():
         if config_key in terminal_config:
-            os.environ[env_var] = str(terminal_config[config_key])
+            if _file_has_terminal_config or env_var not in os.environ:
+                os.environ[env_var] = str(terminal_config[config_key])
     
     # Apply browser config to environment variables
     browser_config = defaults.get("browser", {})
diff --git a/hermes_cli/status.py b/hermes_cli/status.py
index 10064e425..b7073c428 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/status.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/status.py
@@ -91,7 +91,16 @@ def show_status(args):
     print()
     print(color("◆ Terminal Backend", Colors.CYAN, Colors.BOLD))
     
-    terminal_env = os.getenv("TERMINAL_ENV", "local")
+    terminal_env = os.getenv("TERMINAL_ENV", "")
+    if not terminal_env:
+        # Fall back to config file value when env var isn't set
+        # (hermes status doesn't go through cli.py's config loading)
+        try:
+            from hermes_cli.config import load_config
+            _cfg = load_config()
+            terminal_env = _cfg.get("terminal", {}).get("backend", "local")
+        except Exception:
+            terminal_env = "local"
     print(f"  Backend:      {terminal_env}")
     
     if terminal_env == "ssh":