refactor: DRY cleanup from code review

- dep_ensure.py: use get_hermes_home() instead of hand-rolled env var
- dep_ensure.py: add "chrome" to browser name list (was inconsistent with browser_tool.py)
- main.py _cmd_update_check: use detect_install_method() directly instead of redundant .git check
- main.py _cmd_update_pip: build command list directly instead of fragile split() on display string
- banner.py: rename _check_via_pypi → check_via_pypi (cross-module public API)

hermes_cli/banner.py

@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ def _fetch_pypi_latest(package: str = "hermes-agent") -> Optional[str]:
         return None
 
 
-def _check_via_pypi() -> Optional[int]:
+def check_via_pypi() -> Optional[int]:
     """Compare installed version against PyPI latest.
 
     Returns 0 if up-to-date, 1 if behind, None on failure.
@@ -255,7 +255,7 @@ def check_for_updates() -> Optional[int]:
         if not (repo_dir / ".git").exists():
             repo_dir = hermes_home / "hermes-agent"
         if not (repo_dir / ".git").exists():
-            behind = _check_via_pypi()
+            behind = check_via_pypi()
         else:
             behind = _check_via_local_git(repo_dir)
 

hermes_cli/dep_ensure.py

@@ -41,15 +41,15 @@ _DEP_DESCRIPTIONS = {
 
 
 def _has_system_browser() -> bool:
-    for name in ("google-chrome", "google-chrome-stable", "chromium", "chromium-browser"):
+    for name in ("google-chrome", "google-chrome-stable", "chromium", "chromium-browser", "chrome"):
         if shutil.which(name):
             return True
     return False
 
 
 def _has_hermes_agent_browser() -> bool:
-    hermes_home = os.environ.get("HERMES_HOME", str(Path.home() / ".hermes"))
+    from hermes_constants import get_hermes_home
-    return (Path(hermes_home) / "node_modules" / ".bin" / "agent-browser").is_file()
+    return (get_hermes_home() / "node_modules" / ".bin" / "agent-browser").is_file()
 
 
 def _find_install_script(

hermes_cli/main.py

@@ -7419,21 +7419,24 @@ def _finalize_update_output(state):
 
 def _cmd_update_check():
     """Implement ``hermes update --check``: fetch and report without installing."""
+    from hermes_cli.config import detect_install_method
+    method = detect_install_method(PROJECT_ROOT)
+    if method == "pip":
+        from hermes_cli.config import recommended_update_command
+        from hermes_cli.banner import check_via_pypi
+        result = check_via_pypi()
+        if result is None:
+            print("✗ Could not reach PyPI to check for updates.")
+            sys.exit(1)
+        elif result == 0:
+            print("✓ Already up to date.")
+        else:
+            print("⚕ Update available on PyPI.")
+            print(f"  Run '{recommended_update_command()}' to install.")
+        return
+
     git_dir = PROJECT_ROOT / ".git"
     if not git_dir.exists():
-        from hermes_cli.config import detect_install_method, recommended_update_command
-        if detect_install_method(PROJECT_ROOT) == "pip":
-            from hermes_cli.banner import _check_via_pypi
-            result = _check_via_pypi()
-            if result is None:
-                print("✗ Could not reach PyPI to check for updates.")
-                sys.exit(1)
-            elif result == 0:
-                print("✓ Already up to date.")
-            else:
-                print(f"⚕ Update available on PyPI.")
-                print(f"  Run '{recommended_update_command()}' to install.")
-            return
         print("✗ Not a git repository — cannot check for updates.")
         sys.exit(1)
 
@@ -7712,15 +7715,15 @@ def cmd_update(args):
 def _cmd_update_pip(args):
     """Update Hermes via pip (for PyPI installs)."""
     from hermes_cli import __version__
-    from hermes_cli.config import recommended_update_command_for_method
 
     print(f"→ Current version: {__version__}")
     print("→ Checking PyPI for updates...")
 
-    cmd_str = recommended_update_command_for_method("pip")
+    uv = shutil.which("uv")
-    cmd = cmd_str.split()
+    if uv:
-    if cmd[0] == "pip":
+        cmd = [uv, "pip", "install", "--upgrade", "hermes-agent"]
-        cmd = [sys.executable, "-m", "pip"] + cmd[1:]
+    else:
+        cmd = [sys.executable, "-m", "pip", "install", "--upgrade", "hermes-agent"]
 
     print(f"→ Running: {' '.join(cmd)}")
     result = subprocess.run(cmd)

tests/hermes_cli/test_banner_pip_update.py

@@ -1,29 +1,29 @@
 from unittest.mock import patch
 
 
-def test_check_via_pypi_detects_update():
+def testcheck_via_pypi_detects_update():
-    """_check_via_pypi returns 1 when PyPI has newer version."""
+    """check_via_pypi returns 1 when PyPI has newer version."""
-    from hermes_cli.banner import _check_via_pypi
+    from hermes_cli.banner import check_via_pypi
     with patch("hermes_cli.banner.VERSION", "0.12.0"):
         with patch("hermes_cli.banner._fetch_pypi_latest", return_value="0.13.0"):
-            result = _check_via_pypi()
+            result = check_via_pypi()
             assert result == 1
 
 
-def test_check_via_pypi_up_to_date():
+def testcheck_via_pypi_up_to_date():
-    """_check_via_pypi returns 0 when versions match."""
+    """check_via_pypi returns 0 when versions match."""
-    from hermes_cli.banner import _check_via_pypi
+    from hermes_cli.banner import check_via_pypi
     with patch("hermes_cli.banner.VERSION", "0.13.0"):
         with patch("hermes_cli.banner._fetch_pypi_latest", return_value="0.13.0"):
-            result = _check_via_pypi()
+            result = check_via_pypi()
             assert result == 0
 
 
-def test_check_via_pypi_network_failure():
+def testcheck_via_pypi_network_failure():
-    """_check_via_pypi returns None on network error."""
+    """check_via_pypi returns None on network error."""
-    from hermes_cli.banner import _check_via_pypi
+    from hermes_cli.banner import check_via_pypi
     with patch("hermes_cli.banner._fetch_pypi_latest", return_value=None):
-        result = _check_via_pypi()
+        result = check_via_pypi()
         assert result is None
 
 

tests/hermes_cli/test_update_check.py

@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ def test_check_for_updates_no_git_dir(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
     monkeypatch.setattr(banner, "__file__", str(fake_banner))
     monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_HOME", str(tmp_path))
     with patch("hermes_cli.banner.subprocess.run") as mock_run:
-        with patch("hermes_cli.banner._check_via_pypi", return_value=0):
+        with patch("hermes_cli.banner.check_via_pypi", return_value=0):
             result = banner.check_for_updates()
     assert result == 0
     mock_run.assert_not_called()