fix: harden WhatsApp target alias salvage

Add a parser-only routing regression that proves raw WhatsApp group JIDs bypass channel-directory resolution and home-channel fallback, include channel_aliases.json in quick state snapshots, harden malformed alias handling, and map Keiron McCammon for release attribution.

gateway/channel_directory.py

@@ -49,12 +49,16 @@ def _apply_channel_aliases(platforms: Dict[str, Any]) -> None:
         if not isinstance(id_map, dict):
             continue
         entries = platforms.setdefault(plat_name, [])
+        if not isinstance(entries, list):
+            continue
         for chat_id, friendly in id_map.items():
-            if not friendly:
+            if not isinstance(friendly, str) or not friendly.strip():
                 continue
+            chat_id = str(chat_id)
+            friendly = friendly.strip()
             matched = False
             for e in entries:
-                if e.get("id") == chat_id:
+                if isinstance(e, dict) and e.get("id") == chat_id:
                     e["name"] = friendly
                     matched = True
             if not matched:

hermes_cli/backup.py

@@ -510,6 +510,7 @@ _QUICK_STATE_FILES = (
     "cron/jobs.json",
     "gateway_state.json",
     "channel_directory.json",
+    "channel_aliases.json",
     "processes.json",
     # Pairing stores (generic + per-platform JSONs outside state.db)
     "pairing",                          # legacy location (gateway/pairing.py)

scripts/release.py

@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ AUTHOR_MAP = {
     "dirtyren@users.noreply.github.com": "dirtyren",
     "tharushkadinujaya05@gmail.com": "0xneobyte",
     "138671361+Veritas-7@users.noreply.github.com": "Veritas-7",
+    "keiron@onehanded.com": "kmccammon",
     "895252509@qq.com": "895252509",
     "35259607+zxcasongs@users.noreply.github.com": "zxcasongs",
     "alfred@my-cloud.me": "alfred-smith-0",

tests/gateway/test_channel_directory.py

@@ -566,9 +566,13 @@ class TestChannelAliases:
         assert names == ["general"]
 
     def test_apply_aliases_handles_malformed_map(self):
-        """Non-dict alias entries must not raise."""
+        """Non-dict alias maps and non-string aliases must not raise."""
         platforms = {"whatsapp": [{"id": "1@g.us", "name": "1", "type": "group"}]}
         with patch("gateway.channel_directory._load_channel_aliases",
-                   return_value={"whatsapp": "not-a-dict", "telegram": None}):
+                   return_value={
+                       "whatsapp": "not-a-dict",
+                       "telegram": None,
+                       "signal": {"+15551234567": 123},
+                   }):
             _apply_channel_aliases(platforms)  # should not raise
         assert platforms["whatsapp"][0]["name"] == "1"

tests/hermes_cli/test_backup.py

@@ -1199,6 +1199,9 @@ class TestQuickSnapshot:
         (home / "config.yaml").write_text("model:\n  provider: openrouter\n")
         (home / ".env").write_text("OPENROUTER_API_KEY=test-key-123\n")
         (home / "auth.json").write_text('{"providers": {}}\n')
+        (home / "channel_aliases.json").write_text(
+            '{"whatsapp": {"120363408391911677@g.us": "general"}}\n'
+        )
         (home / "cron").mkdir()
         (home / "cron" / "jobs.json").write_text('{"jobs": []}\n')
 
@@ -1241,6 +1244,13 @@ class TestQuickSnapshot:
         snap_id = create_quick_snapshot(hermes_home=hermes_home)
         assert (hermes_home / "state-snapshots" / snap_id / "cron" / "jobs.json").exists()
 
+    def test_copies_channel_aliases(self, hermes_home):
+        from hermes_cli.backup import create_quick_snapshot
+        snap_id = create_quick_snapshot(hermes_home=hermes_home)
+        copied = hermes_home / "state-snapshots" / snap_id / "channel_aliases.json"
+        assert copied.exists()
+        assert "120363408391911677@g.us" in copied.read_text()
+
     def test_missing_files_skipped(self, hermes_home):
         from hermes_cli.backup import create_quick_snapshot
         snap_id = create_quick_snapshot(hermes_home=hermes_home)

tests/tools/test_send_message_target_parse.py

@@ -1,10 +1,20 @@
-"""Parser-only tests for send_message targets.
+"""Parser-only and lightweight routing tests for send_message targets.
 
 These stay separate from ``test_send_message_tool.py`` because that module
 skips wholesale when optional Telegram dependencies are not installed.
 """
 
-from tools.send_message_tool import _parse_target_ref
+import asyncio
+import json
+from types import SimpleNamespace
+from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, patch
+
+from gateway.config import Platform
+from tools.send_message_tool import _parse_target_ref, send_message_tool
+
+
+def _run_async_immediately(coro):
+    return asyncio.run(coro)
 
 
 def test_photon_e164_target_is_explicit() -> None:
@@ -18,3 +28,65 @@ def test_photon_e164_target_is_explicit() -> None:
 def test_e164_target_still_requires_phone_platform() -> None:
     assert _parse_target_ref("matrix", "+15551234567")[2] is False
 
+
+def test_whatsapp_group_jid_target_is_explicit() -> None:
+    chat_id, thread_id, is_explicit = _parse_target_ref(
+        "whatsapp", "120363408391911677@g.us"
+    )
+
+    assert chat_id == "120363408391911677@g.us"
+    assert thread_id is None
+    assert is_explicit is True
+
+
+def test_whatsapp_native_jids_are_explicit() -> None:
+    assert _parse_target_ref("whatsapp", "19255551234@s.whatsapp.net")[2] is True
+    assert _parse_target_ref("whatsapp", "149606612619433@lid")[2] is True
+    assert _parse_target_ref("whatsapp", "status@broadcast")[2] is True
+    assert _parse_target_ref("whatsapp", "120363000000000000@newsletter")[2] is True
+
+
+def test_whatsapp_jid_suffix_only_matches_whatsapp() -> None:
+    assert _parse_target_ref("telegram", "120363408391911677@g.us")[2] is False
+    assert _parse_target_ref("signal", "149606612619433@lid")[2] is False
+
+
+def test_whatsapp_friendly_name_still_uses_directory_resolution() -> None:
+    assert _parse_target_ref("whatsapp", "general")[2] is False
+
+
+def test_send_message_routes_whatsapp_group_jid_without_home_fallback() -> None:
+    whatsapp_cfg = SimpleNamespace(enabled=True, token=None, extra={"api_url": "http://bridge"})
+    config = SimpleNamespace(
+        platforms={Platform.WHATSAPP: whatsapp_cfg},
+        get_home_channel=lambda _platform: SimpleNamespace(chat_id="15551234567@s.whatsapp.net"),
+    )
+
+    with patch("gateway.config.load_gateway_config", return_value=config), \
+         patch("tools.interrupt.is_interrupted", return_value=False), \
+         patch("gateway.channel_directory.resolve_channel_name", side_effect=AssertionError("raw JID should not resolve via directory")), \
+         patch("model_tools._run_async", side_effect=_run_async_immediately), \
+         patch("tools.send_message_tool._send_to_platform", new=AsyncMock(return_value={"success": True})) as send_mock, \
+         patch("gateway.mirror.mirror_to_session", return_value=True):
+        result = json.loads(
+            send_message_tool(
+                {
+                    "action": "send",
+                    "target": "whatsapp:120363408391911677@g.us",
+                    "message": "hello group",
+                }
+            )
+        )
+
+    assert result["success"] is True
+    assert "note" not in result
+    send_mock.assert_awaited_once_with(
+        Platform.WHATSAPP,
+        whatsapp_cfg,
+        "120363408391911677@g.us",
+        "hello group",
+        thread_id=None,
+        media_files=[],
+        force_document=False,
+    )
+