Live-test surfaced a real bug: fast-mode results paired the resolved
lineage-root session_id with the raw FTS5 row's message_id. The (sid,
match_message_id) handle was self-inconsistent because the message
lives in the child (delegation/compression) session, not the parent —
so the agent's follow-up mode='guided' call hit
'around_message_id N not in session_id ROOT' and the drill failed.
Repro: ask the TUI to fast-search a topic that appears in a compressed
child session of the current lineage, then ask it to drill in. Today's
session is exactly that shape — message 18425 lives in
20260512_102257_d5048c (child) but fast returned its parent
20260511_101921_a7dd34 paired with id=18425.
Fix has two layers:
1) Fast-mode output now pairs session_id (raw FTS5 sid) with
match_message_id consistently. The lineage root is exposed as a
separate parent_session_id field (omitted when there's no
delegation/compression above). Dedup grouping still happens by
lineage root, so the user still sees one entry per conversation,
but the per-entry handle is now a valid pair the agent can hand
straight to mode='guided'.
- #15909 source-from-parent invariant preserved: source/model/title
still promote from the resolved parent for display.
2) Defensive rebind in mode='guided': if (a_sid, a_msg_id) doesn't
resolve, look up the actual owning session for a_msg_id. If it's a
descendant in the same lineage as a_sid, transparently rebind and
refetch. Records the rebind in a warning field on the returned
window (also flattened to top level for single-anchor responses).
Cross-lineage rebinds are refused — that path stays an error.
This keeps the tool forgiving for legacy callers, memory snippets,
or any other source that still emits the old (parent_sid, child_id)
shape.
3) Schema description tightened: explicit note that the agent must
pass (session_id, match_message_id) verbatim from a single fast
result — do NOT substitute parent_session_id (it's display-only).
Tests: updated the existing #15909 regression to assert the new pair
shape, plus four new tests:
- test_fast_pair_session_id_with_match_message_id (positive)
- test_fast_no_parent_session_id_field_when_session_is_already_root
(tidy output for non-delegation case)
- test_guided_rebinds_anchor_when_message_lives_in_descendant_session
(safety net fires correctly within a lineage)
- test_guided_does_not_rebind_across_lineages (refuses cross-lineage
rebind — no silent drill into unrelated session)
85/85 session_search + get_messages_around tests passing. Live-DB
smoke test against /tmp/state-smoke.db (snapshot of ~/.hermes/state.db)
confirms the user's failing case now rebinds:
success: True
top-level warning: 'around_message_id 18425 lives in
20260512_102257_d5048c (child of 20260511_101921_a7dd34);
rebound transparently'
returned session_id: 20260512_102257_d5048c
window before/after: 5 / 5
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