- Keep (a) list/stats/pinned open SessionDB(read_only=True) — one parametrized test — and (b) a missing store prints empty results and is never created.
- Drop the insights read-only test (already covered on main), the status test, the mutating-action/live-writer/doctor-isolation tests, and the two doctor factory tests.
- Replace _EmptyObservationalStore + error-string sniffing with a plain '_default_db_path() does not exist' branch printing each action's empty output; the fake-store tests in test_sessions_pin keep working because the branch only runs when the open fails.
## What does this PR do?
Makes observational CLI commands open `state.db` in read-only mode, so they can inspect a live Hermes installation without participating in writable WAL lifecycle handling.
### Symptom
Running `hermes status`, `hermes doctor` without `--fix`, `hermes sessions list`, `hermes sessions stats`, or `hermes insights` while a gateway owns the store could open another writable session handle. The live turn could then lose its WAL generation and stop.
### Impact
Users inspecting status or session history during an active turn could lose that in-flight turn and leave the gateway halted until recovery.
### Bug Cause
**Trigger:** observational CLI helpers constructed `SessionDB()` with its writable default.
**Causal chain:**
1. A live gateway holds the `state.db` WAL generation.
2. A nested observational CLI command opens a second writable handle.
3. Writable-handle close behavior can participate in WAL lifecycle work and retire the generation used by the live writer.
**Why it is wrong:** these commands only query state and should not have writer privileges.
**Working sibling / contrast:** repair and mutating session commands still use writable access intentionally.
**Ruled out:** no state schema, migration, or WAL checkpoint implementation changes are included.
### Fix
Routes status, non-fixing doctor state inspection, sessions list/stats, and both insights entrypoints through `SessionDB(read_only=True)`. Repair and mutating paths remain writable, and regression tests cover WAL preservation with a live writer.
## Related Issue
Fixes#110173
## Type of Change
- ✅ Bug fix (non-breaking change that fixes an issue)
## Changes Made
- `hermes_cli/status.py`, `hermes_cli/doctor_state.py`, and insights helpers — open observational state readers read-only.
- `hermes_cli/sessions_cmd.py` — make only `list` and `stats` read-only; retain writable access for mutations.
- `tests/hermes_cli/test_observational_sessiondb_modes.py` — verify access modes and a live writer's WAL remains usable.
## How to Test
- ✅ `scripts/run_tests.sh tests/hermes_cli/test_observational_sessiondb_modes.py tests/hermes_cli/test_cli_insights_command.py` — 9 passed.
- ✅ `scripts/run_tests.sh tests/hermes_cli/test_doctor.py tests/hermes_cli/test_doctor_structural_corruption.py tests/hermes_cli/test_sessions_error_exit_codes.py` — 75 passed; two sandbox-only failures came from blocked host process/symlink operations.
- ✅ A live `SessionDB` writer remains able to create and retrieve a session after `sessions stats` reads the store.
## Checklist
### Code
- ✅ I've read the Contributing Guide
- ✅ My commit messages follow Conventional Commits
- ✅ I searched for existing PRs to make sure this isn't a duplicate
- ✅ My PR contains only changes related to this fix
- ✅ I've run relevant tests locally (see How to Test)
- ✅ I've added tests for my changes
- ✅ I've tested on my platform: macOS
### Documentation & Housekeeping
- ✅ Documentation update: N/A
- ✅ `cli-config.yaml.example`: N/A
- ✅ `CONTRIBUTING.md` or `AGENTS.md`: N/A
- ✅ Cross-platform impact considered
- ✅ Tool descriptions/schemas: N/A
SessionDB(read_only=True) cannot create a missing store, so a fresh install
running hermes insights / /insights errored instead of reporting no data
(reported by @ehz0ah on #110718; guard shape from @kshitijk4poor's #110026).
Co-authored-by: kshitijk4poor <kshitijk4poor@users.noreply.github.com>
hermes insights and /insights only read; taking the default writer runs
schema init and contends the write lock on a live store.
Salvaged from #109737.
`scripts/run_tests.sh tests/<dir>/` is how a change gets its regression
coverage run, so a test filed under the wrong directory is a test nobody
runs when that code changes. Two kinds of drift had accumulated.
Parallel directories for one source package, folded into the mirror:
tests/acp -> tests/acp_adapter (its __init__/conftest move with it)
tests/cli -> tests/hermes_cli (prompt_toolkit fixture merged into
hermes_cli/conftest.py)
tests/run_agent -> tests/agent (backoff fixture becomes
agent/conftest.py)
tests/relay -> tests/gateway/relay
tests/state -> tests/hermes_state
246 loose files at tests/ root, routed by the package they import/patch:
hermes_cli, hermes_state, agent, gateway, tools, plugins, tui_gateway, cron.
Installer and desktop-update script tests go to tests/scripts/{install,
desktop_update}/. 43 tests of root-level modules (batch_runner, utils,
hermes_constants, packaging) stay at the root.
Filenames drop their issue numbers (95 files: test_89315_x.py -> test_x.py);
the number stays in the module docstring where it has context.
Collisions: test_cli_skin_integration.py existed in both tests/ and tests/cli
with different subsets — merged into one (10 tests, all kept);
run_agent/test_pre_compress_memory_context.py -> agent/..._handoff.py;
tests/test_account_usage.py -> agent/test_account_usage_fetch.py;
tests/test_web_server.py -> hermes_cli/test_web_server_ws_ping.py.
Deleted: test_minisweagent_path.py (empty since PR #2804),
test_model_picker_scroll.py (tested a private copy of the logic, imported
nothing), test_process_loop_event_loop_warning.py (asserted asyncio behaviour,
imported nothing from Hermes).
Repo-root path arithmetic (Path(__file__).parents[N], dirname chains) is
bumped for the 202 files that changed depth and verified by evaluating every
such expression against the new location. classify_changes' desktop-updater
lane prefix, tests-os.yml's ignore glob and every in-tree path comment follow
the moves. tests/test_tests_tree_layout.py keeps the tree from drifting back.
