PR #23431: fix(cli): recursively expand nested paste references

• Repository: NousResearch/hermes-agent
• Author: CalmProton
• State: open | merged: False
• Link: https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/pull/23431

Description (problem / solution / changelog)

Summary

_expand_paste_references() in cli.py uses re.sub() which only does one pass. When a paste file's content contains a reference to another paste file (chained pastes from multiple sequential pastes), nested references are left as literal [Pasted text #N] placeholders — silently dropping content from the agent's input.

Fix: Loop expansion until no references remain, with a circular reference guard (max 10 iterations + seen set).

How to Test

1. Paste 3+ blocks of 5+ lines each in sequence (chain pastes)
2. Submit the message
3. Verify all pasted content appears in the agent's input

Unit tests cover:

• Single-level expansion (existing behavior)
• 3-level nested expansion
• Circular reference guard

Platform Tested

• Windows 11 with git-bash
• Python 3.11.14
• Hermes main (a28243430)

Related

Closes #23430

Changed files

• cli.py (modified, +24/-2)
• tests/cli/test_cli_external_editor.py (modified, +62/-1)

PR #23520: fix(cli): recursively expand nested paste references

• Repository: NousResearch/hermes-agent
• Author: qWaitCrypto
• State: closed | merged: False
• Link: https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/pull/23520

Description (problem / solution / changelog)

What does this PR do?

Fixes chained paste expansion in the interactive CLI.

Today _expand_paste_references() only runs a single re.sub() pass, so if a pasted file contains another [Pasted text #N: ... → file] placeholder, only the top-level reference is expanded and nested placeholders are left behind in the final message.

This patch makes paste expansion recursive so chained paste files are fully expanded before the message is sent to the agent. It also adds a bounded pass limit so self-referential or cyclic placeholders do not loop forever.

Related Issue

Fixes #23430.

Type of Change

• Bug fix
• Tests

Changes Made

• Update HermesCLI._expand_paste_references() to repeatedly expand paste placeholders until the text stabilizes or no placeholders remain
• Add a recursion/pass limit to avoid infinite expansion on self-referential placeholders
• Add regression tests for:
  • nested/chained paste expansion
  • self-referential placeholders stopping safely
  • existing single-level expansion behavior remaining intact

How to Test

pytest -q tests/cli/test_cli_external_editor.py
pytest -q tests/cli/test_cli_external_editor.py -k paste

Local result:

• 9 passed in 24.62s
• 4 passed in 37.37s

Checklist

• I have tested these changes locally
• I have added or updated tests where needed
• This PR is scoped to a single bugfix

Screenshots / Logs

N/A

Changed files

• cli.py (modified, +10/-1)
• tests/cli/test_cli_external_editor.py (modified, +36/-0)