fix(session_search): read default_mode from auxiliary.session_search

The previous fix wired _resolve_user_default_mode() to look up
tools.session_search.default_mode, but the config schema has no
top-level 'tools' section. The closest analogue is auxiliary.<tool>,
which already groups per-tool config by tool name (auxiliary.vision
has download_timeout, auxiliary.session_search has max_concurrency —
neither is strictly aux-LLM routing).

This moves the lookup to auxiliary.session_search.default_mode so the
knob lives next to max_concurrency and the existing session_search
config block. Adds default_mode to the default config scaffold so it
shows up in fresh installs.

Updates docstring, tool description string, warning messages, and all
7 mock-config tests to the new path. 88/88 tests passing.

hermes_cli/config.py

@@ -828,6 +828,7 @@ DEFAULT_CONFIG = {
             "timeout": 30,
             "extra_body": {},
             "max_concurrency": 3,  # Clamp parallel summaries to avoid request-burst 429s on small providers
+            "default_mode": "summary",  # 'fast' | 'summary' — which mode session_search uses when caller passes none
         },
         "skills_hub": {
             "provider": "auto",

tests/tools/test_session_search.py

@@ -746,7 +746,7 @@ class TestSessionSearch:
 
         If the handler substitutes "summary" when the LLM omits ``mode``, then
         ``_resolve_user_default_mode()`` is structurally unreachable from real
-        tool calls and the ``tools.session_search.default_mode`` config knob
+        tool calls and the ``auxiliary.session_search.default_mode`` config knob
         becomes dead code. This is the registry-handler counterpart to
         ``test_run_agent_special_session_search_paths_forward_mode``.
         """
@@ -761,13 +761,13 @@ class TestSessionSearch:
         )
         assert 'mode=args.get("mode", "summary")' not in source, (
             "registry handler must not hardcode \"summary\" as the mode default — "
-            "it shadows tools.session_search.default_mode in config.yaml"
+            "it shadows auxiliary.session_search.default_mode in config.yaml"
         )
 
     def test_unset_mode_via_registry_honours_configured_default(self, monkeypatch):
         """End-to-end: unset mode through the registry handler resolves to config.
 
-        With ``tools.session_search.default_mode: fast`` configured, an LLM tool
+        With ``auxiliary.session_search.default_mode: fast`` configured, an LLM tool
         call that omits ``mode`` must run in fast mode (no aux LLM), not summary.
         This is the regression test for the bug where three layers of hardcoded
         ``"summary"`` defaults made the config knob unreachable.
@@ -779,7 +779,7 @@ class TestSessionSearch:
         self._clear_default_mode_cache()
         monkeypatch.setattr(
             "hermes_cli.config.load_config",
-            lambda: {"tools": {"session_search": {"default_mode": "fast"}}},
+            lambda: {"auxiliary": {"session_search": {"default_mode": "fast"}}},
         )
         # Sanity: the resolver itself sees fast.
         assert _resolve_user_default_mode() == "fast"
@@ -798,7 +798,7 @@ class TestSessionSearch:
         )
 
     # -----------------------------------------------------------------
-    # User-configurable default mode (tools.session_search.default_mode
+    # User-configurable default mode (auxiliary.session_search.default_mode
     # in ~/.hermes/config.yaml). Lets a user opt into fast-as-default
     # without having to pass mode= on every call.
     # -----------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -818,12 +818,12 @@ class TestSessionSearch:
         assert _resolve_user_default_mode() == "summary"
 
     def test_user_can_configure_fast_as_default(self, monkeypatch):
-        """tools.session_search.default_mode: fast → unset mode resolves to 'fast'."""
+        """auxiliary.session_search.default_mode: fast → unset mode resolves to 'fast'."""
         from tools.session_search_tool import _resolve_user_default_mode
         self._clear_default_mode_cache()
         monkeypatch.setattr(
             "hermes_cli.config.load_config",
-            lambda: {"tools": {"session_search": {"default_mode": "fast"}}},
+            lambda: {"auxiliary": {"session_search": {"default_mode": "fast"}}},
         )
         assert _resolve_user_default_mode() == "fast"
 
@@ -833,7 +833,7 @@ class TestSessionSearch:
         self._clear_default_mode_cache()
         monkeypatch.setattr(
             "hermes_cli.config.load_config",
-            lambda: {"tools": {"session_search": {"default_mode": "summary"}}},
+            lambda: {"auxiliary": {"session_search": {"default_mode": "summary"}}},
         )
         assert _resolve_user_default_mode() == "summary"
 
@@ -844,7 +844,7 @@ class TestSessionSearch:
         self._clear_default_mode_cache()
         monkeypatch.setattr(
             "hermes_cli.config.load_config",
-            lambda: {"tools": {"session_search": {"default_mode": "smary"}}},
+            lambda: {"auxiliary": {"session_search": {"default_mode": "smary"}}},
         )
         with caplog.at_level(logging.WARNING):
             assert _resolve_user_default_mode() == "summary"
@@ -857,7 +857,7 @@ class TestSessionSearch:
         self._clear_default_mode_cache()
         monkeypatch.setattr(
             "hermes_cli.config.load_config",
-            lambda: {"tools": {"session_search": {"default_mode": "guided"}}},
+            lambda: {"auxiliary": {"session_search": {"default_mode": "guided"}}},
         )
         assert _resolve_user_default_mode() == "summary"
 
@@ -868,7 +868,7 @@ class TestSessionSearch:
         for bad in (42, ["fast"], {"mode": "fast"}, True):
             monkeypatch.setattr(
                 "hermes_cli.config.load_config",
-                lambda b=bad: {"tools": {"session_search": {"default_mode": b}}},
+                lambda b=bad: {"auxiliary": {"session_search": {"default_mode": b}}},
             )
             self._clear_default_mode_cache()
             assert _resolve_user_default_mode() == "summary", f"bad value {bad!r} should fall back"
@@ -881,7 +881,7 @@ class TestSessionSearch:
         self._clear_default_mode_cache()
         monkeypatch.setattr(
             "hermes_cli.config.load_config",
-            lambda: {"tools": {"session_search": {"default_mode": "fast"}}},
+            lambda: {"auxiliary": {"session_search": {"default_mode": "fast"}}},
         )
         mock_db = MagicMock()
         mock_db.search_messages.return_value = []
@@ -900,7 +900,7 @@ class TestSessionSearch:
         self._clear_default_mode_cache()
         monkeypatch.setattr(
             "hermes_cli.config.load_config",
-            lambda: {"tools": {"session_search": {"default_mode": "fast"}}},
+            lambda: {"auxiliary": {"session_search": {"default_mode": "fast"}}},
         )
 
         async def fail_summarize(*_args, **_kwargs):

tools/session_search_tool.py

@@ -26,16 +26,19 @@ MAX_SESSION_CHARS = 100_000
 
 
 # Default mode is summary unless the user opts into a different one via
-# ``tools.session_search.default_mode`` in ~/.hermes/config.yaml. Only ``fast``
-# and ``summary`` are valid defaults — guided requires anchors and can't be
-# used standalone. Wrapped in lru_cache so the YAML read happens at most once
-# per process; the CLI / TUI is the typical caller and config changes need a
-# restart anyway.
+# ``auxiliary.session_search.default_mode`` in ~/.hermes/config.yaml. Lives
+# alongside the other session_search-scoped knobs (provider, model,
+# max_concurrency) — "auxiliary" started as aux-LLM routing but in practice
+# groups per-tool config by tool name. Only ``fast`` and ``summary`` are
+# valid defaults — guided requires anchors and can't be used standalone.
+# Wrapped in lru_cache so the YAML read happens at most once per process;
+# the CLI / TUI is the typical caller and config changes need a restart
+# anyway.
 _VALID_DEFAULT_MODES = ("fast", "summary")
 
 
 def _resolve_user_default_mode() -> str:
-    """Look up ``tools.session_search.default_mode`` from ~/.hermes/config.yaml.
+    """Look up ``auxiliary.session_search.default_mode`` from ~/.hermes/config.yaml.
 
     Returns "summary" if unset, invalid, or the config loader is unavailable
     (e.g. tests, tools loaded outside the CLI). Logs a one-time warning on
@@ -52,7 +55,7 @@ def _resolve_user_default_mode() -> str:
         return "summary"
 
     raw = (
-        config.get("tools", {})
+        config.get("auxiliary", {})
         .get("session_search", {})
         .get("default_mode")
     )
@@ -60,14 +63,14 @@ def _resolve_user_default_mode() -> str:
         return "summary"
     if not isinstance(raw, str):
         logging.warning(
-            "tools.session_search.default_mode in config.yaml must be a string, got %r — falling back to 'summary'",
+            "auxiliary.session_search.default_mode in config.yaml must be a string, got %r — falling back to 'summary'",
             raw,
         )
         return "summary"
     normalised = raw.strip().lower()
     if normalised not in _VALID_DEFAULT_MODES:
         logging.warning(
-            "tools.session_search.default_mode=%r is not one of %s — falling back to 'summary'. "
+            "auxiliary.session_search.default_mode=%r is not one of %s — falling back to 'summary'. "
             "(guided requires anchors and cannot be a default.)",
             raw, _VALID_DEFAULT_MODES,
         )
@@ -1124,7 +1127,7 @@ SESSION_SEARCH_SCHEMA = {
         "Returns titles, previews, timestamps. Zero LLM cost, instant. Start here when the user "
         "asks 'what were we working on' or 'what did we do recently'.\n\n"
         "The default mode is configurable per-user via "
-        "``tools.session_search.default_mode: fast`` in ~/.hermes/config.yaml. When no mode is "
+        "``auxiliary.session_search.default_mode: fast`` in ~/.hermes/config.yaml. When no mode is "
         "passed explicitly, that user-configured value applies (then 'summary' as the final "
         "fallback).\n\n"
         "USE THIS PROACTIVELY when:\n"