From 624ce11ee846b57b59ca2e031f34e25813137c4d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: alt-glitch <balyan.sid@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 15 May 2026 12:02:44 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] feat(config): detect pip install method and recommend correct
 update command

Adds detect_install_method() to identify nixos/homebrew/git/pip installs,
and recommended_update_command_for_method() to return the right upgrade command
for each method. Updates recommended_update_command() to use these for pip-installed
instances (no .git dir, not managed).
---
 hermes_cli/config.py                          | 33 ++++++++++++++++-
 .../hermes_cli/test_pip_install_detection.py  | 37 +++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 69 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
 create mode 100644 tests/hermes_cli/test_pip_install_detection.py

diff --git a/hermes_cli/config.py b/hermes_cli/config.py
index a560e1e6a1e..10dd7b46412 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/config.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/config.py
@@ -199,9 +199,40 @@ def get_managed_update_command() -> Optional[str]:
     return None
 
 
+def detect_install_method(project_root: Optional[Path] = None) -> str:
+    """Detect how Hermes was installed: 'nixos', 'homebrew', 'git', or 'pip'."""
+    managed = get_managed_system()
+    if managed:
+        return managed.lower().replace(" ", "-")
+    if project_root is None:
+        project_root = Path(__file__).parent.parent.resolve()
+    if (project_root / ".git").is_dir():
+        return "git"
+    return "pip"
+
+
+def recommended_update_command_for_method(method: str) -> str:
+    """Return the update command for a given install method."""
+    if method == "nixos":
+        return "sudo nixos-rebuild switch"
+    if method == "homebrew":
+        return "brew upgrade hermes-agent"
+    if method == "pip":
+        import shutil
+        uv = shutil.which("uv")
+        if uv:
+            return "uv pip install --upgrade hermes-agent"
+        return "pip install --upgrade hermes-agent"
+    return "hermes update"
+
+
 def recommended_update_command() -> str:
     """Return the best update command for the current installation."""
-    return get_managed_update_command() or "hermes update"
+    managed_cmd = get_managed_update_command()
+    if managed_cmd:
+        return managed_cmd
+    method = detect_install_method()
+    return recommended_update_command_for_method(method)
 
 
 def format_managed_message(action: str = "modify this Hermes installation") -> str:
diff --git a/tests/hermes_cli/test_pip_install_detection.py b/tests/hermes_cli/test_pip_install_detection.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b0f4cbd75ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/hermes_cli/test_pip_install_detection.py
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+from pathlib import Path
+from unittest.mock import patch
+
+
+def test_pip_install_detected_when_no_git_dir(tmp_path):
+    """When PROJECT_ROOT has no .git, detect as pip install."""
+    with patch("hermes_cli.config.get_managed_system", return_value=None):
+        from hermes_cli.config import detect_install_method
+        method = detect_install_method(project_root=tmp_path)
+        assert method == "pip"
+
+
+def test_git_install_detected_when_git_dir_exists(tmp_path):
+    """When PROJECT_ROOT has .git, detect as git install."""
+    (tmp_path / ".git").mkdir()
+    with patch("hermes_cli.config.get_managed_system", return_value=None):
+        from hermes_cli.config import detect_install_method
+        method = detect_install_method(project_root=tmp_path)
+        assert method == "git"
+
+
+def test_managed_install_takes_precedence(tmp_path):
+    """When HERMES_MANAGED is set, that takes precedence over git detection."""
+    (tmp_path / ".git").mkdir()
+    with patch("hermes_cli.config.get_managed_system", return_value="NixOS"):
+        from hermes_cli.config import detect_install_method
+        method = detect_install_method(project_root=tmp_path)
+        assert method == "nixos"
+
+
+def test_recommended_update_command_pip():
+    """Pip installs recommend pip install --upgrade."""
+    from hermes_cli.config import recommended_update_command_for_method
+    cmd = recommended_update_command_for_method("pip")
+    assert "pip install" in cmd or "uv pip install" in cmd
+    assert "--upgrade" in cmd
+    assert "hermes-agent" in cmd