fix: root-level provider in config.yaml no longer overrides model.provider

load_cli_config() had a priority inversion: a stale root-level
'provider' key in config.yaml would OVERRIDE the canonical
'model.provider' set by 'hermes model'. The gateway reads
model.provider directly from YAML and worked correctly, but
'hermes chat -q' and the interactive CLI went through the merge
logic and picked up the stale root-level key.

Fix: root-level provider/base_url are now only used as a fallback
when model.provider/model.base_url is not set (never as an override).

Also added _normalize_root_model_keys() to config.py load_config()
and save_config() — migrates root-level provider/base_url into the
model section and removes the root-level keys permanently.

Reported by (≧▽≦) in Discord: opencode-go provider persisted as a
root-level key and overrode the correct model.provider=openrouter,
causing 401 errors.

cli.py

@@ -263,17 +263,20 @@ def load_cli_config() -> Dict[str, Any]:
                     # Old format: model is a dict with default/base_url
                     defaults["model"].update(file_config["model"])
 
-            # Root-level provider and base_url override model config.
-            # Users may write:
-            #   model: kimi-k2.5:cloud
-            #   provider: custom
-            #   base_url: http://localhost:11434/v1
-            # These root-level keys must be merged into defaults["model"] so
-            # they are picked up by CLI provider resolution.
-            if "provider" in file_config and file_config["provider"]:
-                defaults["model"]["provider"] = file_config["provider"]
-            if "base_url" in file_config and file_config["base_url"]:
-                defaults["model"]["base_url"] = file_config["base_url"]
+            # Legacy root-level provider/base_url fallback.
+            # Some users (or old code) put provider: / base_url: at the
+            # config root instead of inside the model: section.  These are
+            # only used as a FALLBACK when model.provider / model.base_url
+            # is not already set — never as an override.  The canonical
+            # location is model.provider (written by `hermes model`).
+            if not defaults["model"].get("provider"):
+                root_provider = file_config.get("provider")
+                if root_provider:
+                    defaults["model"]["provider"] = root_provider
+            if not defaults["model"].get("base_url"):
+                root_base_url = file_config.get("base_url")
+                if root_base_url:
+                    defaults["model"]["base_url"] = root_base_url
             
             # Deep merge file_config into defaults.
             # First: merge keys that exist in both (deep-merge dicts, overwrite scalars)

hermes_cli/config.py

@@ -1373,6 +1373,36 @@ def _expand_env_vars(obj):
     return obj
 
 
+def _normalize_root_model_keys(config: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    """Move stale root-level provider/base_url into model section.
+
+    Some users (or older code) placed ``provider:`` and ``base_url:`` at the
+    config root instead of inside ``model:``.  These root-level keys are only
+    used as a fallback when the corresponding ``model.*`` key is empty — they
+    never override an existing ``model.provider`` or ``model.base_url``.
+    After migration the root-level keys are removed so they can't cause
+    confusion on subsequent loads.
+    """
+    # Only act if there are root-level keys to migrate
+    has_root = any(config.get(k) for k in ("provider", "base_url"))
+    if not has_root:
+        return config
+
+    config = dict(config)
+    model = config.get("model")
+    if not isinstance(model, dict):
+        model = {"default": model} if model else {}
+        config["model"] = model
+
+    for key in ("provider", "base_url"):
+        root_val = config.get(key)
+        if root_val and not model.get(key):
+            model[key] = root_val
+        config.pop(key, None)
+
+    return config
+
+
 def _normalize_max_turns_config(config: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
     """Normalize legacy root-level max_turns into agent.max_turns."""
     config = dict(config)
@@ -1414,7 +1444,7 @@ def load_config() -> Dict[str, Any]:
         except Exception as e:
             print(f"Warning: Failed to load config: {e}")
     
-    return _expand_env_vars(_normalize_max_turns_config(config))
+    return _expand_env_vars(_normalize_root_model_keys(_normalize_max_turns_config(config)))
 
 
 _SECURITY_COMMENT = """
@@ -1521,7 +1551,7 @@ def save_config(config: Dict[str, Any]):
 
     ensure_hermes_home()
     config_path = get_config_path()
-    normalized = _normalize_max_turns_config(config)
+    normalized = _normalize_root_model_keys(_normalize_max_turns_config(config))
 
     # Build optional commented-out sections for features that are off by
     # default or only relevant when explicitly configured.

tests/test_cli_init.py

@@ -192,6 +192,91 @@ class TestHistoryDisplay:
         assert "A" * 250 + "..." not in output
 
 
+class TestRootLevelProviderOverride:
+    """Root-level provider/base_url in config.yaml must NOT override model.provider."""
+
+    def test_model_provider_wins_over_root_provider(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        """model.provider takes priority — root-level provider is only a fallback."""
+        import yaml
+
+        hermes_home = tmp_path / ".hermes"
+        hermes_home.mkdir()
+        monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_HOME", str(hermes_home))
+
+        config_path = hermes_home / "config.yaml"
+        config_path.write_text(yaml.safe_dump({
+            "provider": "opencode-go",  # stale root-level key
+            "model": {
+                "default": "google/gemini-3-flash-preview",
+                "provider": "openrouter",  # correct canonical key
+            },
+        }))
+
+        import cli
+        monkeypatch.setattr(cli, "_hermes_home", hermes_home)
+        cfg = cli.load_cli_config()
+
+        assert cfg["model"]["provider"] == "openrouter"
+
+    def test_root_provider_ignored_when_default_model_provider_exists(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        """Even when model.provider is the default 'auto', root-level provider is ignored."""
+        import yaml
+
+        hermes_home = tmp_path / ".hermes"
+        hermes_home.mkdir()
+        monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_HOME", str(hermes_home))
+
+        config_path = hermes_home / "config.yaml"
+        config_path.write_text(yaml.safe_dump({
+            "provider": "opencode-go",  # stale root key
+            "model": {
+                "default": "google/gemini-3-flash-preview",
+                # no explicit model.provider — defaults provide "auto"
+            },
+        }))
+
+        import cli
+        monkeypatch.setattr(cli, "_hermes_home", hermes_home)
+        cfg = cli.load_cli_config()
+
+        # Root-level "opencode-go" must NOT leak through
+        assert cfg["model"]["provider"] != "opencode-go"
+
+    def test_normalize_root_model_keys_moves_to_model(self):
+        """_normalize_root_model_keys migrates root keys into model section."""
+        from hermes_cli.config import _normalize_root_model_keys
+
+        config = {
+            "provider": "opencode-go",
+            "base_url": "https://example.com/v1",
+            "model": {
+                "default": "some-model",
+            },
+        }
+        result = _normalize_root_model_keys(config)
+        # Root keys removed
+        assert "provider" not in result
+        assert "base_url" not in result
+        # Migrated into model section
+        assert result["model"]["provider"] == "opencode-go"
+        assert result["model"]["base_url"] == "https://example.com/v1"
+
+    def test_normalize_root_model_keys_does_not_override_existing(self):
+        """Existing model.provider is never overridden by root-level key."""
+        from hermes_cli.config import _normalize_root_model_keys
+
+        config = {
+            "provider": "stale-provider",
+            "model": {
+                "default": "some-model",
+                "provider": "correct-provider",
+            },
+        }
+        result = _normalize_root_model_keys(config)
+        assert result["model"]["provider"] == "correct-provider"
+        assert "provider" not in result  # root key still cleaned up
+
+
 class TestProviderResolution:
     def test_api_key_is_string_or_none(self):
         cli = _make_cli()