diff --git a/cli.py b/cli.py
index 9b5a83cd47cd..c4d12a9f4ece 100644
--- a/cli.py
+++ b/cli.py
@@ -10061,10 +10061,16 @@ class HermesCLI(CLIAgentSetupMixin, CLICommandsMixin, CLIBillingMixin):
         # agent tool surface and INVALIDATES the provider prompt cache (the
         # next message re-sends the full input prefix, which is expensive on
         # long-context / high-reasoning models).
+        #
+        # The toggle lives under ``auxiliary.mcp.auto_reload_on_config_change``
+        # in DEFAULT_CONFIG (same section as the MCP aux-task provider
+        # settings), so resolve it through that path, not a top-level ``mcp``
+        # key that does not exist in the loaded config shape.
         try:
             from hermes_cli.config import load_config as _load_cfg
             _cfg = _load_cfg()
-            _mcp = _cfg.get("mcp") if isinstance(_cfg, dict) else None
+            _aux = _cfg.get("auxiliary") if isinstance(_cfg, dict) else None
+            _mcp = _aux.get("mcp") if isinstance(_aux, dict) else None
             _auto = _mcp.get("auto_reload_on_config_change", True) if isinstance(_mcp, dict) else True
         except Exception:
             _auto = True
diff --git a/tests/cli/test_cli_mcp_config_watch.py b/tests/cli/test_cli_mcp_config_watch.py
index e5a81669d082..fa1eb142b798 100644
--- a/tests/cli/test_cli_mcp_config_watch.py
+++ b/tests/cli/test_cli_mcp_config_watch.py
@@ -106,12 +106,17 @@ class TestMCPConfigWatch:
         obj._reload_mcp.assert_not_called()
 
     def test_optout_disables_auto_reload(self, tmp_path, capsys):
-        """When mcp.auto_reload_on_config_change is False, a changed
+        """When auxiliary.mcp.auto_reload_on_config_change is False, a changed
         mcp_servers section must NOT trigger an automatic reload — but the
         change is still detected and the user is told how to apply it.
 
         This protects the provider prompt cache: every automatic reload
         rebuilds the agent tool surface and invalidates cached prefixes.
+
+        The toggle lives under ``auxiliary.mcp`` in DEFAULT_CONFIG (alongside
+        the MCP aux-task provider settings), so the mocked config must mirror
+        that shape — a top-level ``mcp`` key does not exist in the loaded
+        config and the watcher resolves through ``auxiliary.mcp``.
         """
         import yaml
         obj, cfg_file = _make_cli(
@@ -124,8 +129,9 @@ class TestMCPConfigWatch:
         obj._config_mtime = 0.0  # force stale mtime
 
         # Opt out via the loaded config (the watcher reads load_config(),
-        # not obj.config, so we patch the loader).
-        mocked_cfg = {"mcp": {"auto_reload_on_config_change": False}}
+        # not obj.config, so we patch the loader).  Match the real shape:
+        # DEFAULT_CONFIG["auxiliary"]["mcp"]["auto_reload_on_config_change"].
+        mocked_cfg = {"auxiliary": {"mcp": {"auto_reload_on_config_change": False}}}
         with patch("hermes_cli.config.get_config_path", return_value=cfg_file), \
              patch("hermes_cli.config.load_config", return_value=mocked_cfg):
             obj._check_config_mcp_changes()
@@ -136,3 +142,33 @@ class TestMCPConfigWatch:
         assert "reload skipped" in out
         assert "/reload-mcp" in out
         assert "prompt cache" in out
+
+    def test_optout_path_is_auxiliary_mcp_not_top_level(self, tmp_path, capsys):
+        """Regression guard: the opt-out toggle lives under
+        ``auxiliary.mcp.auto_reload_on_config_change`` in DEFAULT_CONFIG,
+        NOT under a top-level ``mcp`` key.
+
+        A config that sets ONLY ``mcp.auto_reload_on_config_change: false``
+        (top-level, wrong path) must NOT disable the reload — otherwise the
+        watcher is reading the wrong key and the declared default never
+        takes effect at runtime.  This test pins the config-path contract
+        so a future regression to ``_cfg.get("mcp")`` is caught.
+        """
+        import yaml
+        obj, cfg_file = _make_cli(
+            tmp_path,
+            mcp_servers={},
+        )
+
+        cfg_file.write_text(yaml.dump({"mcp_servers": {"github": {"url": "https://mcp.github.com"}}}))
+        obj._config_mtime = 0.0
+
+        # Wrong shape: top-level "mcp" (not where DEFAULT_CONFIG puts the
+        # toggle).  The watcher must NOT honour this, so a reload is expected.
+        wrong_shape_cfg = {"mcp": {"auto_reload_on_config_change": False}}
+        with patch("hermes_cli.config.get_config_path", return_value=cfg_file), \
+             patch("hermes_cli.config.load_config", return_value=wrong_shape_cfg):
+            obj._check_config_mcp_changes()
+
+        # Reload happened because the wrong-path opt-out is ignored.
+        obj._reload_mcp.assert_called()