[verified] feat(nous): drive model picker from Portal recommended-models endpoint

Replace the hardcoded _PROVIDER_MODELS["nous"] catalog (~29 entries that
had to be updated manually on every Portal model release) with a live
fetch from /api/nous/recommended-models, keyed off the user's free/paid
tier. The Portal is now the single source of truth — adding or removing
a Nous model no longer requires a Hermes release.

## What changes

hermes_cli/models.py
  - Remove the hardcoded "nous": [...] list from _PROVIDER_MODELS.
  - Add get_nous_recommended_catalog(): reuses the existing 10-minute
    TTL cache in fetch_nous_recommended_models() (no extra HTTP per
    call; shares the cache with the aux/vision model helper). Selects
    freeRecommendedModels vs paidRecommendedModels based on
    check_nous_free_tier(), preserves server-specified ordering
    (the endpoint already orders each array by "position"), and does
    case-insensitive dedup.
  - Add _nous_catalog(): exception-safe wrapper returning [] on any
    failure, so callers treat Portal unavailability as "no catalog"
    rather than a crash.
  - Rewire provider_model_ids("nous"): Portal recommended-models is
    now primary; the inference /models endpoint stays as a secondary
    live fallback for offline/misconfigured-portal resilience.
  - get_default_model_for_provider("nous") and detect_provider_for_model()
    now route through _nous_catalog() instead of the removed dict key.

hermes_cli/auth.py
  - _login_nous() swapped _PROVIDER_MODELS.get("nous", []) → _nous_catalog().

hermes_cli/main.py
  - /model command nous branch: same swap.

## Design notes

- Free-tier detection happens inside the helper, so single call sites
  don't have to plumb the tier bool around.
- On tier-detection exception, defaults to paid — matches the existing
  convention (never block paying users).
- The _AGGREGATORS gate in detect_provider_for_model()'s cross-provider
  match loop already skipped "nous" when it was in _PROVIDER_MODELS,
  so removing the key changes nothing in that loop.
- partition_nous_models_by_tier() is kept in the call sites; it becomes
  mostly a no-op on the server-tier-filtered list but preserves the
  "upgrade at {portal}" messaging for free-tier users with no free
  models available.

## Tests

tests/hermes_cli/test_nous_recommended_models.py (new, 22 tests):
  - Server-order preservation
  - Free vs paid routing, auto-detection + exception-defaults-to-paid
  - Empty / missing-field / malformed entries → []
  - Case-insensitive dedup preserving first-seen casing
  - provider_model_ids("nous") rewiring: Portal-first, inference fallback,
    force_refresh propagation, exception-falls-through
  - _PROVIDER_MODELS["nous"] is absent
  - get_default_model_for_provider("nous") Portal-driven,
    non-nous providers unaffected
  - detect_provider_for_model() bare-name + current-provider paths
  - _nous_catalog() swallows exceptions → []
  - curated_models_for_provider("nous") routes through Portal

tests/hermes_cli/test_auth_nous_provider.py:
  - Add get_nous_recommended_catalog stub to _patch_login_internals so
    the login flow has models to present without a live network call.

## Verification

scripts/run_tests.sh tests/hermes_cli/ tests/test_empty_model_fallback.py
  tests/acp/test_server.py tests/test_tui_gateway_server.py
  tests/agent/test_bedrock_integration.py
  → 2752 passed. The 4 remaining failures + 1 collection race are
    pre-existing on main (unrelated — skills filtering, tip length,
    Linux stdlib ssl quirk, xdist race), confirmed via git-stash diff.

tests/hermes_cli/test_auth_nous_provider.py

@@ -381,6 +381,16 @@ class TestLoginNousSkipKeepsCurrent:
             models_mod, "partition_nous_models_by_tier",
             lambda ids, p, free_tier=False: (ids, []),
         )
+        # The nous catalog is fetched live from the Portal — stub it so the
+        # login flow has models to present to the user without a network call.
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            models_mod, "get_nous_recommended_catalog",
+            lambda *a, **kw: [
+                "xiaomi/mimo-v2-pro",
+                "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6",
+                "openai/gpt-5.4",
+            ],
+        )
         monkeypatch.setattr(ns, "prompt_enable_tool_gateway", lambda cfg: None)
 
     def test_skip_keep_current_preserves_provider_and_model(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):

tests/hermes_cli/test_nous_recommended_models.py

@@ -0,0 +1,286 @@
+"""Focused smoke tests for get_nous_recommended_catalog + provider_model_ids('nous') rewiring."""
+from unittest.mock import patch
+
+
+def test_paid_catalog_preserves_server_order():
+    from hermes_cli.models import get_nous_recommended_catalog
+    payload = {
+        "paidRecommendedModels": [
+            {"modelName": "minimax/minimax-m2.7", "position": 0},
+            {"modelName": "google/gemini-3-flash-preview", "position": 1},
+            {"modelName": "openai/gpt-5.4", "position": 2},
+        ],
+        "freeRecommendedModels": [{"modelName": "free/one", "position": 0}],
+    }
+    with patch("hermes_cli.models.fetch_nous_recommended_models", return_value=payload):
+        result = get_nous_recommended_catalog(free_tier=False)
+    assert result == [
+        "minimax/minimax-m2.7",
+        "google/gemini-3-flash-preview",
+        "openai/gpt-5.4",
+    ]
+
+
+def test_free_catalog_returns_free_list():
+    from hermes_cli.models import get_nous_recommended_catalog
+    payload = {
+        "paidRecommendedModels": [{"modelName": "paid/one"}],
+        "freeRecommendedModels": [
+            {"modelName": "free/a"},
+            {"modelName": "free/b"},
+        ],
+    }
+    with patch("hermes_cli.models.fetch_nous_recommended_models", return_value=payload):
+        result = get_nous_recommended_catalog(free_tier=True)
+    assert result == ["free/a", "free/b"]
+
+
+def test_empty_payload_returns_empty_list():
+    from hermes_cli.models import get_nous_recommended_catalog
+    with patch("hermes_cli.models.fetch_nous_recommended_models", return_value={}):
+        assert get_nous_recommended_catalog(free_tier=False) == []
+        assert get_nous_recommended_catalog(free_tier=True) == []
+
+
+def test_missing_field_returns_empty_list():
+    from hermes_cli.models import get_nous_recommended_catalog
+    with patch(
+        "hermes_cli.models.fetch_nous_recommended_models",
+        return_value={"paidRecommendedModels": None},
+    ):
+        assert get_nous_recommended_catalog(free_tier=False) == []
+
+
+def test_malformed_entries_skipped():
+    from hermes_cli.models import get_nous_recommended_catalog
+    payload = {
+        "paidRecommendedModels": [
+            {"modelName": "keep/a"},
+            {},
+            "not-a-dict",
+            {"modelName": ""},
+            {"modelName": "   "},
+            {"modelName": "keep/b"},
+        ]
+    }
+    with patch("hermes_cli.models.fetch_nous_recommended_models", return_value=payload):
+        assert get_nous_recommended_catalog(free_tier=False) == ["keep/a", "keep/b"]
+
+
+def test_dedup_case_insensitive_preserves_first_casing():
+    from hermes_cli.models import get_nous_recommended_catalog
+    payload = {
+        "paidRecommendedModels": [
+            {"modelName": "Foo"},
+            {"modelName": "foo"},
+            {"modelName": "FOO"},
+            {"modelName": "Bar"},
+        ]
+    }
+    with patch("hermes_cli.models.fetch_nous_recommended_models", return_value=payload):
+        assert get_nous_recommended_catalog(free_tier=False) == ["Foo", "Bar"]
+
+
+def test_auto_detect_free_tier_calls_check():
+    from hermes_cli.models import get_nous_recommended_catalog
+    payload = {
+        "paidRecommendedModels": [{"modelName": "paid/x"}],
+        "freeRecommendedModels": [{"modelName": "free/y"}],
+    }
+    with (
+        patch("hermes_cli.models.fetch_nous_recommended_models", return_value=payload),
+        patch("hermes_cli.models.check_nous_free_tier", return_value=True),
+    ):
+        assert get_nous_recommended_catalog() == ["free/y"]
+    with (
+        patch("hermes_cli.models.fetch_nous_recommended_models", return_value=payload),
+        patch("hermes_cli.models.check_nous_free_tier", return_value=False),
+    ):
+        assert get_nous_recommended_catalog() == ["paid/x"]
+
+
+def test_tier_detection_exception_defaults_to_paid():
+    from hermes_cli.models import get_nous_recommended_catalog
+    payload = {
+        "paidRecommendedModels": [{"modelName": "paid/x"}],
+        "freeRecommendedModels": [{"modelName": "free/y"}],
+    }
+    with (
+        patch("hermes_cli.models.fetch_nous_recommended_models", return_value=payload),
+        patch("hermes_cli.models.check_nous_free_tier", side_effect=RuntimeError("boom")),
+    ):
+        assert get_nous_recommended_catalog() == ["paid/x"]
+
+
+def test_provider_model_ids_nous_uses_recommended_first():
+    from hermes_cli import models as m
+    with patch(
+        "hermes_cli.models.get_nous_recommended_catalog",
+        return_value=["portal/one", "portal/two"],
+    ) as mock_rec:
+        result = m.provider_model_ids("nous")
+    assert result == ["portal/one", "portal/two"]
+    mock_rec.assert_called_once()
+
+
+def test_provider_model_ids_nous_falls_back_when_recommended_empty():
+    """When Portal returns [] and inference API is unreachable, result is [].
+
+    The hardcoded ``_PROVIDER_MODELS["nous"]`` catalog has been removed;
+    Portal is now the sole source of truth (with the inference /models
+    endpoint as a live fallback). No static fallback exists anymore.
+    """
+    from hermes_cli import models as m
+    with (
+        patch("hermes_cli.models.get_nous_recommended_catalog", return_value=[]),
+        patch("hermes_cli.auth.resolve_nous_runtime_credentials", return_value=None),
+    ):
+        result = m.provider_model_ids("nous")
+    assert result == []
+
+
+def test_provider_model_ids_nous_falls_back_to_inference_models_endpoint():
+    from hermes_cli import models as m
+    with (
+        patch("hermes_cli.models.get_nous_recommended_catalog", return_value=[]),
+        patch(
+            "hermes_cli.auth.resolve_nous_runtime_credentials",
+            return_value={"api_key": "k", "base_url": "https://x"},
+        ),
+        patch(
+            "hermes_cli.auth.fetch_nous_models",
+            return_value=["infer/a", "infer/b"],
+        ),
+    ):
+        result = m.provider_model_ids("nous")
+    assert result == ["infer/a", "infer/b"]
+
+
+def test_provider_model_ids_nous_recommended_exception_falls_through():
+    from hermes_cli import models as m
+    with (
+        patch(
+            "hermes_cli.models.get_nous_recommended_catalog",
+            side_effect=RuntimeError("portal down"),
+        ),
+        patch(
+            "hermes_cli.auth.resolve_nous_runtime_credentials",
+            return_value={"api_key": "k", "base_url": "https://x"},
+        ),
+        patch(
+            "hermes_cli.auth.fetch_nous_models",
+            return_value=["infer/a"],
+        ),
+    ):
+        result = m.provider_model_ids("nous")
+    assert result == ["infer/a"]
+
+
+def test_provider_model_ids_force_refresh_propagates():
+    from hermes_cli import models as m
+    with patch(
+        "hermes_cli.models.get_nous_recommended_catalog",
+        return_value=["x/y"],
+    ) as mock_rec:
+        m.provider_model_ids("nous", force_refresh=True)
+    assert mock_rec.call_args.kwargs.get("force_refresh") is True
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Hardcoded-list removal: everything that used to read _PROVIDER_MODELS["nous"]
+# now routes through _nous_catalog() → Portal.
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+def test_nous_key_not_in_static_provider_models():
+    """_PROVIDER_MODELS must not contain a hardcoded nous entry."""
+    from hermes_cli.models import _PROVIDER_MODELS
+    assert "nous" not in _PROVIDER_MODELS
+
+
+def test_get_default_model_for_provider_nous_uses_portal():
+    from hermes_cli import models as m
+    with patch(
+        "hermes_cli.models._nous_catalog",
+        return_value=["portal/first", "portal/second"],
+    ) as mock_cat:
+        assert m.get_default_model_for_provider("nous") == "portal/first"
+    mock_cat.assert_called_once()
+
+
+def test_get_default_model_for_provider_nous_empty_returns_empty_string():
+    from hermes_cli import models as m
+    with patch("hermes_cli.models._nous_catalog", return_value=[]):
+        assert m.get_default_model_for_provider("nous") == ""
+
+
+def test_get_default_model_for_provider_other_providers_unaffected():
+    """Non-nous providers must still read from _PROVIDER_MODELS."""
+    from hermes_cli import models as m
+    # gemini has a static catalog; first entry should be returned without
+    # touching the Portal helper.
+    with patch("hermes_cli.models._nous_catalog") as mock_cat:
+        result = m.get_default_model_for_provider("gemini")
+    assert result  # non-empty
+    mock_cat.assert_not_called()
+
+
+def test_detect_bare_provider_name_nous_uses_portal():
+    """`/model nous` typed as a model name → switch to nous + Portal's first model."""
+    from hermes_cli import models as m
+    with patch(
+        "hermes_cli.models._nous_catalog",
+        return_value=["portal/first", "portal/second"],
+    ):
+        result = m.detect_provider_for_model("nous", current_provider="anthropic")
+    assert result == ("nous", "portal/first")
+
+
+def test_detect_bare_provider_name_nous_empty_no_switch():
+    """When Portal returns [], bare `/model nous` should NOT claim a switch."""
+    from hermes_cli import models as m
+    with patch("hermes_cli.models._nous_catalog", return_value=[]):
+        # detect_provider_for_model should not return a spurious (nous, "")
+        result = m.detect_provider_for_model("nous", current_provider="anthropic")
+    # Either None or a non-nous match is acceptable; the forbidden outcome
+    # is (nous, "") or (nous, "nous").
+    if result is not None:
+        pid, model = result
+        assert not (pid == "nous" and model in ("", "nous"))
+
+
+def test_detect_current_nous_provider_uses_portal_catalog():
+    """Model already in nous's Portal catalog → no auto-switch when current=nous."""
+    from hermes_cli import models as m
+    with patch(
+        "hermes_cli.models._nous_catalog",
+        return_value=["anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6", "openai/gpt-5.4"],
+    ):
+        # User is on nous, types a model that IS in nous's Portal catalog.
+        # detect_provider_for_model should return None (no switch needed).
+        result = m.detect_provider_for_model(
+            "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6",
+            current_provider="nous",
+        )
+    assert result is None
+
+
+def test_nous_catalog_wraps_exception_to_empty_list():
+    """_nous_catalog swallows exceptions from get_nous_recommended_catalog."""
+    from hermes_cli import models as m
+    with patch(
+        "hermes_cli.models.get_nous_recommended_catalog",
+        side_effect=RuntimeError("portal down"),
+    ):
+        assert m._nous_catalog() == []
+
+
+def test_curated_models_for_provider_nous_routes_through_portal():
+    """curated_models_for_provider('nous') → Portal list via provider_model_ids."""
+    from hermes_cli import models as m
+    with patch(
+        "hermes_cli.models.get_nous_recommended_catalog",
+        return_value=["portal/a", "portal/b"],
+    ):
+        tuples = m.curated_models_for_provider("nous")
+    ids = [mid for mid, _ in tuples]
+    assert ids == ["portal/a", "portal/b"]