fix: HERMES_WEBUI_SKIP_ONBOARDING unconditional + guard against config writes + 10 skipped tests fixed — v0.50.65

Fixes two SKIP_ONBOARDING bugs and eliminates 10 permanently-skipped integration tests.

- SKIP_ONBOARDING=1 now honoured unconditionally (no longer gated on chat_ready)
- apply_onboarding_setup refuses to write config/env files when SKIP_ONBOARDING is set
- TestMediaEndpointIntegration (6) and TestOnboardingGateIntegration (4): collection-time
  skip guards removed; server reachability checked at runtime with fail() not skip()

Tests: 1327 passed, 0 skipped.

Admin merge — self-built PR, Nathan authorized full merge process in session.

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
 # Hermes Web UI -- Changelog
 
+## [v0.50.65] — 2026-04-16
+
+### Fixed
+- **`HERMES_WEBUI_SKIP_ONBOARDING=1` now works unconditionally** — previously the env var was gated on `chat_ready=True`, so hosting providers (e.g. Agent37) that set it but hadn't yet wired up a provider key would still see the wizard on every page load. The var is now honoured as a hard operator override regardless of `chat_ready`. If you set it, the wizard is gone. (Fixes skip-onboarding regression)
+- **Onboarding wizard can no longer overwrite config or env files when `SKIP_ONBOARDING` is set** — `apply_onboarding_setup` now checks the env var first and refuses to touch `config.yaml` or `.env` if it is set. This is a belt-and-suspenders guard: even if a stale JS bundle somehow triggers the setup endpoint while `SKIP_ONBOARDING` is active, no files are written.
+
+
 ## [v0.50.64] — 2026-04-16
 
 ### Changed

api/onboarding.py

@@ -416,11 +416,12 @@ def get_onboarding_status() -> dict:
 
     # HERMES_WEBUI_SKIP_ONBOARDING=1 lets hosting providers (e.g. Agent37) ship
     # a pre-configured instance without the wizard blocking the first load.
-    # Only takes effect when the system is actually chat_ready — a misconfigured
+    # This is an operator-level override and is honoured unconditionally —
-    # deployment still shows the wizard so the user can fix it.
+    # the operator knows their deployment is configured; we must not second-guess
+    # it by requiring chat_ready to also be true.
     skip_env = os.environ.get("HERMES_WEBUI_SKIP_ONBOARDING", "").strip()
     skip_requested = skip_env in {"1", "true", "yes"}
-    auto_completed = skip_requested and bool(runtime.get("chat_ready"))
+    auto_completed = skip_requested  # unconditional: operator says skip, we skip
 
     # Auto-complete for existing Hermes users: if config.yaml already exists
     # AND the system is chat_ready, treat onboarding as done.  These users
@@ -457,6 +458,16 @@ def get_onboarding_status() -> dict:
 
 
 def apply_onboarding_setup(body: dict) -> dict:
+    # Hard guard: if the operator set SKIP_ONBOARDING, the wizard should never
+    # have appeared.  Even if the frontend somehow calls this endpoint anyway
+    # (e.g. a stale JS bundle or a curious user), we must not overwrite the
+    # operator's config.yaml or .env files.  Just mark onboarding complete and
+    # return the current status — no file writes.
+    skip_env = os.environ.get("HERMES_WEBUI_SKIP_ONBOARDING", "").strip()
+    if skip_env in {"1", "true", "yes"}:
+        save_settings({"onboarding_completed": True})
+        return get_onboarding_status()
+
     provider = str(body.get("provider") or "").strip().lower()
     model = str(body.get("model") or "").strip()
     api_key = str(body.get("api_key") or "").strip()

static/index.html

@@ -553,7 +553,7 @@
                 <div class="settings-section-title">System</div>
                 <div class="settings-section-meta">Instance version and access controls.</div>
               </div>
-              <span class="settings-version-badge">v0.50.64</span>
+              <span class="settings-version-badge">v0.50.65</span>
             </div>
             <div class="settings-field" style="border-top:1px solid var(--border);padding-top:12px;margin-top:8px">
               <label for="settingsPassword" data-i18n="settings_label_password">Access Password</label>

tests/test_media_inline.py

@@ -144,23 +144,20 @@ class TestMediaEndpointUnit(unittest.TestCase):
 
 
 # ── Integration tests: live server on TEST_PORT ───────────────────────────────
-
+# No collection-time skip guard — conftest.py starts the server via its
-def _server_reachable() -> bool:
+# autouse session fixture BEFORE tests run.  A collection-time check always
-    try:
+# sees no server and turns every test into a skip.  Instead we assert
-        urllib.request.urlopen(BASE + "/health", timeout=3)
+# reachability inside setUp() so failures are loud errors, not silent skips.
-        return True
-    except Exception:
-        return False
 
 
-requires_server = unittest.skipUnless(
-    _server_reachable(), f"Test server not reachable at {BASE}"
-)
-
-
-@requires_server
 class TestMediaEndpointIntegration(unittest.TestCase):
 
+    def setUp(self):
+        try:
+            urllib.request.urlopen(BASE + "/health", timeout=5)
+        except Exception as exc:
+            self.fail(f"Test server at {BASE} is not reachable: {exc}")
+
     def _get(self, path):
         try:
             with urllib.request.urlopen(BASE + path, timeout=10) as r:

tests/test_onboarding_existing_config.py

@@ -235,17 +235,21 @@ def _server_reachable() -> bool:
         return False
 
 
-# Mark integration tests to only run when test server is up
+# No collection-time skip guard — conftest.py starts the server via its
-requires_server = pytest.mark.skipif(
+# autouse session fixture BEFORE tests run.  A collection-time check always
-    not _server_reachable(),
+# sees no server and turns every test into a skip.  Server reachability is
-    reason="Test server on :8788 not reachable",
+# asserted inside the _require_server fixture instead so failures are loud.
-)
 
 
-@requires_server
 class TestOnboardingGateIntegration:
     """Live-server integration tests for the onboarding gate fix."""
 
+    @pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+    def _require_server(self):
+        """Assert server is reachable at test runtime (not collection time)."""
+        if not _server_reachable():
+            pytest.fail(f"Test server at {BASE} is not reachable")
+
     @pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
     def _clean(self):
         hermes_home = _server_hermes_home()
@@ -254,6 +258,16 @@ class TestOnboardingGateIntegration:
         yield
         for rel in ("config.yaml", ".env"):
             (hermes_home / rel).unlink(missing_ok=True)
+        # Force the server to reload its in-memory config after file deletion.
+        # apply_onboarding_setup() calls reload_config() which caches provider
+        # state in the server process.  Deleting files on disk does not clear
+        # that cache — the next test would see provider_configured=True.
+        # GET /api/personalities always calls reload_config(), giving us a
+        # cheap way to flush the cache without a server restart.
+        try:
+            _http_get("/api/personalities")
+        except Exception:
+            pass
 
     def test_no_config_wizard_fires(self):
         """No config.yaml → completed=False."""

tests/test_sprint39.py

@@ -2,13 +2,14 @@
 Sprint 39 Tests: Skip-onboarding env var + onboarding key reload fix (PR A of issue #329).
 
 Covers:
-- HERMES_WEBUI_SKIP_ONBOARDING=1 bypasses the wizard when chat_ready is true
+- HERMES_WEBUI_SKIP_ONBOARDING=1 bypasses the wizard unconditionally (chat_ready not required)
-- HERMES_WEBUI_SKIP_ONBOARDING=1 does NOT bypass when chat_ready is false
 - HERMES_WEBUI_SKIP_ONBOARDING unset leaves default behaviour unchanged
 - apply_onboarding_setup sets os.environ synchronously when an API key is saved
+- apply_onboarding_setup refuses to write config/env files when SKIP_ONBOARDING is set
 """
 import os
 import unittest
+import unittest.mock
 from unittest.mock import patch
 
 import api.onboarding as mod
@@ -92,11 +93,11 @@ class TestSkipOnboardingEnvVar(unittest.TestCase):
         status = self._run_status(_READY_RUNTIME, {"HERMES_WEBUI_SKIP_ONBOARDING": "yes"})
         self.assertTrue(status["completed"])
 
-    def test_skip_env_set_but_not_chat_ready_does_not_skip(self):
+    def test_skip_env_1_works_even_when_not_chat_ready(self):
-        """HERMES_WEBUI_SKIP_ONBOARDING=1 + chat_ready=False → still shows wizard."""
+        """HERMES_WEBUI_SKIP_ONBOARDING=1 skips unconditionally — chat_ready is NOT required."""
         status = self._run_status(_NOT_READY_RUNTIME, {"HERMES_WEBUI_SKIP_ONBOARDING": "1"})
-        self.assertFalse(status["completed"],
+        self.assertTrue(status["completed"],
-                         "completed must be False when not chat_ready even if skip env set")
+                        "completed must be True when skip env var is set, regardless of chat_ready")
 
     def test_skip_env_unset_leaves_default_false(self):
         """Without the env var, completed is False when settings are empty."""
@@ -182,5 +183,53 @@ class TestApplyOnboardingKeySync(unittest.TestCase):
         os.environ.pop("OPENAI_API_KEY", None)
 
 
+class TestApplyOnboardingSkipGuard(unittest.TestCase):
+    """apply_onboarding_setup must not write config/env when SKIP_ONBOARDING is set."""
+
+    def test_apply_setup_blocked_when_skip_env_set(self):
+        """SKIP_ONBOARDING=1 → apply_onboarding_setup never touches disk."""
+        save_yaml_mock = unittest.mock.MagicMock()
+        write_env_mock = unittest.mock.MagicMock()
+
+        with patch.dict(os.environ, {"HERMES_WEBUI_SKIP_ONBOARDING": "1"}, clear=False), \
+             patch("api.onboarding._save_yaml_config", save_yaml_mock), \
+             patch("api.onboarding._write_env_file", write_env_mock), \
+             patch("api.onboarding.save_settings"), \
+             patch("api.onboarding.get_onboarding_status", return_value={"completed": True}):
+            mod.apply_onboarding_setup({
+                "provider": "openai",
+                "model": "gpt-4o",
+                "api_key": "should-not-be-saved",
+            })
+
+        save_yaml_mock.assert_not_called()
+        write_env_mock.assert_not_called()
+
+    def test_apply_setup_proceeds_normally_without_skip_env(self):
+        """Without SKIP_ONBOARDING, apply_onboarding_setup writes config as usual."""
+        import pathlib
+        save_yaml_mock = unittest.mock.MagicMock()
+
+        mock_cfg = {"model": {"provider": "openai", "default": "gpt-4o"}}
+        env = {k: v for k, v in os.environ.items() if k != "HERMES_WEBUI_SKIP_ONBOARDING"}
+
+        with patch.dict(os.environ, env, clear=True), \
+             patch("api.onboarding._load_yaml_config", return_value=mock_cfg), \
+             patch("api.onboarding._save_yaml_config", save_yaml_mock), \
+             patch("api.onboarding._write_env_file"), \
+             patch("api.onboarding.reload_config"), \
+             patch("api.onboarding.get_onboarding_status", return_value={"completed": True}), \
+             patch("api.onboarding._get_config_path", return_value=pathlib.Path("/tmp/fake.yaml")), \
+             patch("api.onboarding._load_env_file", return_value={"OPENAI_API_KEY": "existing"}), \
+             patch("api.onboarding._provider_api_key_present", return_value=True), \
+             patch("api.onboarding._get_active_hermes_home", return_value=pathlib.Path("/tmp")):
+            mod.apply_onboarding_setup({
+                "provider": "openai",
+                "model": "gpt-4o",
+            })
+
+        save_yaml_mock.assert_called_once()
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()