fix(dashboard): stopped gateway no longer reports a dead process's platform error

gateway_state.json preserves per-platform entries across restarts, so a gateway
that once ran without TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN and then stopped kept reporting
'fatal / No bot token configured' on the Channels/Messaging pages even after the
user saved a token — the Desktop showed 'Saved' on both fields next to the error.
Only a live gateway's verdict describes current config; when no gateway is running
the platform reads gateway_stopped with no error.

hermes_cli/web_routers/messaging.py

@@ -214,6 +214,12 @@ def _messaging_platform_payload(
         pid_probe=get_running_pid_cached, runtime_reader=read_runtime_status,
         runtime_pid_probe=get_runtime_status_running_pid,
     ).running
+    if not gateway_running:
+        # gateway_state.json outlives its writer and keeps per-platform entries across
+        # restarts, so a stopped gateway that once ran WITHOUT credentials still says
+        # "fatal / No bot token configured" after the user saved a token. Only a live
+        # process's verdict describes the current config; a dead one's is history.
+        runtime_platform = {}
 
     def env_value(key: str) -> str:
         # Profile-scoped: judge only the profile's own .env — the dashboard process's

tests/hermes_cli/test_web_server_messaging_stale_runtime.py

@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+"""A stopped gateway's per-platform verdict is history, not current state.
+
+``gateway_state.json`` preserves platform entries across restarts, so a gateway that once ran
+WITHOUT a Telegram token and then stopped leaves ``fatal / No bot token configured`` behind. The
+Channels payload must not repeat that after the user saved credentials: with no live gateway the
+platform reads ``gateway_stopped`` and carries no error (Desktop Messaging page report).
+"""
+import json
+
+import pytest
+
+
+_VALID_BOT_TOKEN = "123456789:ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ_1234"
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def client(monkeypatch, _isolate_hermes_home):
+    try:
+        from starlette.testclient import TestClient
+    except ImportError:
+        pytest.skip("fastapi/starlette not installed")
+
+    import hermes_state
+    from hermes_constants import get_hermes_home
+    from hermes_cli.web_server import app, _SESSION_HEADER_NAME, _SESSION_TOKEN
+
+    home = get_hermes_home()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(hermes_state, "DEFAULT_DB_PATH", home / "state.db")
+    monkeypatch.delenv("TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN", raising=False)
+    (home / ".env").write_text(f"TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN={_VALID_BOT_TOKEN}\nTELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS=42\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    (home / "config.yaml").write_text("platforms:\n  telegram:\n    enabled: true\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    (home / "gateway_state.json").write_text(json.dumps({
+        "kind": "gateway", "pid": 999_999_999, "start_time": 1.0, "gateway_state": "stopped",
+        "exit_reason": "shutdown", "updated_at": "2026-01-01T00:00:00+00:00",
+        "platforms": {"telegram": {
+            "state": "fatal", "error_code": "missing_credentials",
+            "error_message": "No bot token configured",
+            "writer_pid": 999_999_999, "writer_start_time": 1.0,
+        }},
+    }), encoding="utf-8")
+    c = TestClient(app)
+    c.headers[_SESSION_HEADER_NAME] = _SESSION_TOKEN
+    return c
+
+
+def test_stopped_gateway_does_not_report_stale_platform_error(client):
+    payload = client.get("/api/messaging/platforms").json()
+    telegram = next(p for p in payload["platforms"] if p["id"] == "telegram")
+
+    assert telegram["configured"] is True
+    assert telegram["gateway_running"] is False
+    # The saved token is current; the dead gateway's "no token" verdict is not.
+    assert telegram["state"] == "gateway_stopped"
+    assert telegram["error_code"] is None
+    assert telegram["error_message"] is None