fix(config): respect quoted false for session vacuum_after_prune

cli.py

@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ _COMMAND_SPINNER_FRAMES = ("⠋", "⠙", "⠹", "⠸", "⠼", "⠴", "⠦", "⠧
 # User-managed env files should override stale shell exports on restart.
 from hermes_constants import get_hermes_home, display_hermes_home
 from hermes_cli.env_loader import load_hermes_dotenv
-from utils import base_url_host_matches
+from utils import base_url_host_matches, coerce_bool
 
 _hermes_home = get_hermes_home()
 _project_env = Path(__file__).parent / '.env'
@@ -974,7 +974,7 @@ def _run_state_db_auto_maintenance(session_db) -> None:
         session_db.maybe_auto_prune_and_vacuum(
             retention_days=int(cfg.get("retention_days", 90)),
             min_interval_hours=int(cfg.get("min_interval_hours", 24)),
-            vacuum=bool(cfg.get("vacuum_after_prune", True)),
+            vacuum=coerce_bool(cfg.get("vacuum_after_prune", True), default=True),
         )
     except Exception as exc:
         logger.debug("state.db auto-maintenance skipped: %s", exc)

gateway/config.py

@@ -17,23 +17,14 @@ from typing import Dict, List, Optional, Any
 from enum import Enum
 
 from hermes_cli.config import get_hermes_home
-from utils import is_truthy_value
+from utils import coerce_bool
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
 def _coerce_bool(value: Any, default: bool = True) -> bool:
     """Coerce bool-ish config values, preserving a caller-provided default."""
-    if value is None:
-        return default
-    if isinstance(value, str):
-        lowered = value.strip().lower()
-        if lowered in ("true", "1", "yes", "on"):
-            return True
-        if lowered in ("false", "0", "no", "off"):
-            return False
-        return default
-    return is_truthy_value(value, default=default)
+    return coerce_bool(value, default=default)
 
 
 def _normalize_unauthorized_dm_behavior(value: Any, default: str = "pair") -> str:

gateway/run.py

@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).parent.parent))
 
 # Resolve Hermes home directory (respects HERMES_HOME override)
 from hermes_constants import get_hermes_home
-from utils import atomic_yaml_write, base_url_host_matches, is_truthy_value
+from utils import atomic_yaml_write, base_url_host_matches, coerce_bool, is_truthy_value
 _hermes_home = get_hermes_home()
 
 # Load environment variables from ~/.hermes/.env first.
@@ -748,7 +748,7 @@ class GatewayRunner:
                     self._session_db.maybe_auto_prune_and_vacuum(
                         retention_days=int(_sess_cfg.get("retention_days", 90)),
                         min_interval_hours=int(_sess_cfg.get("min_interval_hours", 24)),
-                        vacuum=bool(_sess_cfg.get("vacuum_after_prune", True)),
+                        vacuum=coerce_bool(_sess_cfg.get("vacuum_after_prune", True), default=True),
                     )
             except Exception as exc:
                 logger.debug("state.db auto-maintenance skipped: %s", exc)

tests/cli/test_state_db_auto_maintenance.py

@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+from unittest.mock import Mock
+
+import pytest
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("raw_value", ["false", False])
+def test_run_state_db_auto_maintenance_respects_vacuum_flag(monkeypatch, tmp_path, raw_value):
+    monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_HOME", str(tmp_path))
+
+    import cli as cli_mod
+
+    session_db = Mock()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        "hermes_cli.config.load_config",
+        lambda: {
+            "sessions": {
+                "auto_prune": True,
+                "retention_days": 30,
+                "min_interval_hours": 12,
+                "vacuum_after_prune": raw_value,
+            }
+        },
+    )
+
+    cli_mod._run_state_db_auto_maintenance(session_db)
+
+    session_db.maybe_auto_prune_and_vacuum.assert_called_once_with(
+        retention_days=30,
+        min_interval_hours=12,
+        vacuum=False,
+    )

tests/gateway/test_state_db_auto_maintenance.py

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+from unittest.mock import Mock
+
+import pytest
+
+from gateway.config import GatewayConfig
+from gateway.run import GatewayRunner
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("raw_value", ["false", False])
+def test_gateway_runner_respects_vacuum_after_prune_flag(monkeypatch, tmp_path, raw_value):
+    monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_HOME", str(tmp_path))
+
+    fake_db = Mock()
+    monkeypatch.setattr("hermes_state.SessionDB", lambda: fake_db)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        "hermes_cli.config.load_config",
+        lambda: {
+            "sessions": {
+                "auto_prune": True,
+                "retention_days": 45,
+                "min_interval_hours": 6,
+                "vacuum_after_prune": raw_value,
+            }
+        },
+    )
+
+    runner = GatewayRunner(GatewayConfig(sessions_dir=tmp_path / "sessions"))
+
+    assert runner._session_db is fake_db
+    fake_db.maybe_auto_prune_and_vacuum.assert_called_once_with(
+        retention_days=45,
+        min_interval_hours=6,
+        vacuum=False,
+    )

utils.py

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
 TRUTHY_STRINGS = frozenset({"1", "true", "yes", "on"})
+FALSY_STRINGS = frozenset({"0", "false", "no", "off"})
 
 
 def is_truthy_value(value: Any, default: bool = False) -> bool:
@@ -28,6 +29,28 @@ def is_truthy_value(value: Any, default: bool = False) -> bool:
     return bool(value)
 
 
+def coerce_bool(value: Any, default: bool = False) -> bool:
+    """Coerce bool-ish config values while preserving the caller's default.
+
+    Unlike ``bool(value)``, this treats quoted config strings like
+    ``"false"`` and ``"0"`` as ``False`` instead of truthy non-empty
+    strings. Unrecognized strings fall back to ``default`` so malformed
+    YAML values don't silently flip behavior.
+    """
+    if value is None:
+        return default
+    if isinstance(value, bool):
+        return value
+    if isinstance(value, str):
+        lowered = value.strip().lower()
+        if lowered in TRUTHY_STRINGS:
+            return True
+        if lowered in FALSY_STRINGS:
+            return False
+        return default
+    return bool(value)
+
+
 def env_var_enabled(name: str, default: str = "") -> bool:
     """Return True when an environment variable is set to a truthy value."""
     return is_truthy_value(os.getenv(name, default), default=False)