fix: resolve listed messaging targets consistently

cron/scheduler.py

@@ -98,24 +98,26 @@ def _resolve_delivery_target(job: dict) -> Optional[dict]:
 
     if ":" in deliver:
         platform_name, rest = deliver.split(":", 1)
-        # Check for thread_id suffix (e.g. "telegram:-1003724596514:17")
-        if ":" in rest:
-            chat_id, thread_id = rest.split(":", 1)
+        platform_key = platform_name.lower()
+
+        from tools.send_message_tool import _parse_target_ref
+
+        parsed_chat_id, parsed_thread_id, is_explicit = _parse_target_ref(platform_key, rest)
+        if is_explicit:
+            chat_id, thread_id = parsed_chat_id, parsed_thread_id
         else:
             chat_id, thread_id = rest, None
 
         # Resolve human-friendly labels like "Alice (dm)" to real IDs.
-        # send_message(action="list") shows labels with display suffixes
-        # that aren't valid platform IDs (e.g. WhatsApp JIDs).
         try:
             from gateway.channel_directory import resolve_channel_name
-            target = chat_id
-            # Strip display suffix like " (dm)" or " (group)"
-            if target.endswith(")") and " (" in target:
-                target = target.rsplit(" (", 1)[0].strip()
-            resolved = resolve_channel_name(platform_name.lower(), target)
+            resolved = resolve_channel_name(platform_key, chat_id)
             if resolved:
-                chat_id = resolved
+                parsed_chat_id, parsed_thread_id, resolved_is_explicit = _parse_target_ref(platform_key, resolved)
+                if resolved_is_explicit:
+                    chat_id, thread_id = parsed_chat_id, parsed_thread_id
+                else:
+                    chat_id = resolved
         except Exception:
             pass
 

gateway/channel_directory.py

@@ -18,6 +18,20 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 DIRECTORY_PATH = get_hermes_home() / "channel_directory.json"
 
 
+def _normalize_channel_query(value: str) -> str:
+    return value.lstrip("#").strip().lower()
+
+
+def _channel_target_name(platform_name: str, channel: Dict[str, Any]) -> str:
+    """Return the human-facing target label shown to users for a channel entry."""
+    name = channel["name"]
+    if platform_name == "discord" and channel.get("guild"):
+        return f"#{name}"
+    if platform_name != "discord" and channel.get("type"):
+        return f"{name} ({channel['type']})"
+    return name
+
+
 def _session_entry_id(origin: Dict[str, Any]) -> Optional[str]:
     chat_id = origin.get("chat_id")
     if not chat_id:
@@ -188,23 +202,25 @@ def resolve_channel_name(platform_name: str, name: str) -> Optional[str]:
     if not channels:
         return None
 
-    query = name.lstrip("#").lower()
+    query = _normalize_channel_query(name)
 
-    # 1. Exact name match
+    # 1. Exact name match, including the display labels shown by send_message(action="list")
     for ch in channels:
-        if ch["name"].lower() == query:
+        if _normalize_channel_query(ch["name"]) == query:
+            return ch["id"]
+        if _normalize_channel_query(_channel_target_name(platform_name, ch)) == query:
             return ch["id"]
 
     # 2. Guild-qualified match for Discord ("GuildName/channel")
     if "/" in query:
         guild_part, ch_part = query.rsplit("/", 1)
         for ch in channels:
-            guild = ch.get("guild", "").lower()
-            if guild == guild_part and ch["name"].lower() == ch_part:
+            guild = ch.get("guild", "").strip().lower()
+            if guild == guild_part and _normalize_channel_query(ch["name"]) == ch_part:
                 return ch["id"]
 
     # 3. Partial prefix match (only if unambiguous)
-    matches = [ch for ch in channels if ch["name"].lower().startswith(query)]
+    matches = [ch for ch in channels if _normalize_channel_query(ch["name"]).startswith(query)]
     if len(matches) == 1:
         return matches[0]["id"]
 
@@ -239,17 +255,16 @@ def format_directory_for_display() -> str:
             for guild_name, guild_channels in sorted(guilds.items()):
                 lines.append(f"Discord ({guild_name}):")
                 for ch in sorted(guild_channels, key=lambda c: c["name"]):
-                    lines.append(f"  discord:#{ch['name']}")
+                    lines.append(f"  discord:{_channel_target_name(plat_name, ch)}")
             if dms:
                 lines.append("Discord (DMs):")
                 for ch in dms:
-                    lines.append(f"  discord:{ch['name']}")
+                    lines.append(f"  discord:{_channel_target_name(plat_name, ch)}")
             lines.append("")
         else:
             lines.append(f"{plat_name.title()}:")
             for ch in channels:
-                type_label = f" ({ch['type']})" if ch.get("type") else ""
-                lines.append(f"  {plat_name}:{ch['name']}{type_label}")
+                lines.append(f"  {plat_name}:{_channel_target_name(plat_name, ch)}")
             lines.append("")
 
     lines.append('Use these as the "target" parameter when sending.')

tests/cron/test_scheduler.py

@@ -90,8 +90,9 @@ class TestResolveDeliveryTarget:
         with patch(
             "gateway.channel_directory.resolve_channel_name",
             return_value="12345678901234@lid",
-        ):
+        ) as resolve_mock:
             result = _resolve_delivery_target(job)
+        resolve_mock.assert_called_once_with("whatsapp", "Alice (dm)")
         assert result == {
             "platform": "whatsapp",
             "chat_id": "12345678901234@lid",
@@ -112,6 +113,20 @@ class TestResolveDeliveryTarget:
             "thread_id": None,
         }
 
+    def test_human_friendly_topic_label_preserves_thread_id(self):
+        """Resolved Telegram topic labels should split chat_id and thread_id."""
+        job = {"deliver": "telegram:Coaching Chat / topic 17585 (group)"}
+        with patch(
+            "gateway.channel_directory.resolve_channel_name",
+            return_value="-1009999:17585",
+        ):
+            result = _resolve_delivery_target(job)
+        assert result == {
+            "platform": "telegram",
+            "chat_id": "-1009999",
+            "thread_id": "17585",
+        }
+
     def test_raw_id_not_mangled_when_directory_returns_none(self):
         """deliver: 'whatsapp:12345@lid' passes through when directory has no match."""
         job = {"deliver": "whatsapp:12345@lid"}

tests/gateway/test_channel_directory.py

@@ -119,6 +119,19 @@ class TestResolveChannelName:
         with self._setup(tmp_path, platforms):
             assert resolve_channel_name("telegram", "Coaching Chat / topic 17585") == "-1001:17585"
 
+    def test_display_label_with_type_suffix_resolves(self, tmp_path):
+        platforms = {
+            "telegram": [
+                {"id": "123", "name": "Alice", "type": "dm"},
+                {"id": "456", "name": "Dev Group", "type": "group"},
+                {"id": "-1001:17585", "name": "Coaching Chat / topic 17585", "type": "group"},
+            ]
+        }
+        with self._setup(tmp_path, platforms):
+            assert resolve_channel_name("telegram", "Alice (dm)") == "123"
+            assert resolve_channel_name("telegram", "Dev Group (group)") == "456"
+            assert resolve_channel_name("telegram", "Coaching Chat / topic 17585 (group)") == "-1001:17585"
+
 
 class TestBuildFromSessions:
     def _write_sessions(self, tmp_path, sessions_data):

tests/tools/test_send_message_tool.py

@@ -203,6 +203,44 @@ class TestSendMessageTool:
             media_files=[],
         )
 
+    def test_display_label_target_resolves_via_channel_directory(self, tmp_path):
+        config, telegram_cfg = _make_config()
+        cache_file = tmp_path / "channel_directory.json"
+        cache_file.write_text(json.dumps({
+            "updated_at": "2026-01-01T00:00:00",
+            "platforms": {
+                "telegram": [
+                    {"id": "-1001:17585", "name": "Coaching Chat / topic 17585", "type": "group"}
+                ]
+            },
+        }))
+
+        with patch("gateway.channel_directory.DIRECTORY_PATH", cache_file), \
+             patch("gateway.config.load_gateway_config", return_value=config), \
+             patch("tools.interrupt.is_interrupted", return_value=False), \
+             patch("model_tools._run_async", side_effect=_run_async_immediately), \
+             patch("tools.send_message_tool._send_to_platform", new=AsyncMock(return_value={"success": True})) as send_mock, \
+             patch("gateway.mirror.mirror_to_session", return_value=True):
+            result = json.loads(
+                send_message_tool(
+                    {
+                        "action": "send",
+                        "target": "telegram:Coaching Chat / topic 17585 (group)",
+                        "message": "hello",
+                    }
+                )
+            )
+
+        assert result["success"] is True
+        send_mock.assert_awaited_once_with(
+            Platform.TELEGRAM,
+            telegram_cfg,
+            "-1001",
+            "hello",
+            thread_id="17585",
+            media_files=[],
+        )
+
     def test_media_only_message_uses_placeholder_for_mirroring(self):
         config, telegram_cfg = _make_config()