CodeWhale Config Paths Fragmented Across OS and Cygwin (Plus Silent Migration Bug)

[buko]

config-mismatch.patch

Config and secret paths diverge across environments

Original report

On Windows and Cygwin, configuration files can resolve through different home-directory rules. A legacy migration can also leave users editing an old file that is no longer authoritative. The attached community patch is useful evidence, but its forced banner-and-exit behavior is not accepted without a separate design review.

Current v0.9.3 scope

Re-audit current main before changing code: some path consolidation has landed since this report. The remaining contract is one resolver for Codewhale home, config, settings, sessions, and the file-backed secret store, with explicit compatibility migration and diagnostics.

Acceptance criteria

• One canonical home resolver is used by config, settings, sessions, credentials, provider setup, diagnostics, and migration code.
• An explicit Codewhale-home override has the same meaning in every process and terminal; platform fallbacks are documented and covered on Unix, native Windows, and Cygwin-like environments.
• Every provider credential entry flow writes through the same selected secret backend and a second fresh terminal using the same home can read the credential.
• Diagnostics report the resolved home, config/settings paths, selected secret backend, and present/missing state without ever printing a secret value.
• Legacy migration is idempotent, records source and destination, preserves the original until success is verified, and gives a concise notice without an unconditional process exit.
• Conflicting legacy/current files produce a truthful actionable diagnostic instead of silently choosing an unexpected file.
• Tests isolate all homes/backends and prove no dependence on the developer machine.

Related UI ownership: #3957.

[Hmbown]

Thanks @buko for the detailed report and patch sketch. A narrow slice landed in #2467 (12c06c1): file-backed secrets now prefer ~/.codewhale/secrets, legacy ~/.deepseek/secrets entries are copied forward without overwriting newer values, and Xiaomi/MiMo auth aliases are wired through the CLI/TUI/docs.

I’m leaving this open because the broader config-path report is not fully resolved yet: config.toml / settings.toml consolidation, the Cygwin $HOME behavior, and the loud migration UX still need a separate fix. Please retest the secrets/auth part on the next build, but this issue should continue tracking the remaining config-path work.

[Hmbown]

Thanks again @buko. A second config-path slice landed in #2474 (33abdf126 on main): fresh user writes now prefer ~/.codewhale/config.toml, mcp.json, notes, memory, automations, composer stash, capacity memory, tool spillover, audit logs, and user slash commands; existing ~/.deepseek/... files are still read as legacy fallbacks. The /set / status-item persistence path now uses the same effective_home_dir() resolver as TUI config loading, which fixes the Windows/Cygwin-style $HOME mismatch that showed up in CI.

I am intentionally leaving this issue open because it still tracks two bigger pieces that #2474 did not fully claim: settings.toml consolidation and the louder migration UX. The docs now describe .codewhale as the canonical home with .deepseek as compatibility fallback, so the next slice can focus on those remaining paths without mixing in the broader docs/runtime cleanup.

[Hmbown]

Thanks @buko for the original report. The v0.8.50 triage branch (#2504) now carries the settings-path slice from @cyq1017's #2516: new settings writes prefer ~/.codewhale/settings.toml, legacy ~/.deepseek/settings.toml remains readable, the platform config-dir fallback stays last, and a local follow-up also aligns TUI prefs with the same CodeWhale-home preference.

I am keeping this issue open because the loud migration UX is still not done in this slice. This should reduce the split-path behavior for fresh writes without claiming the full migration story is complete.

[Hmbown]

Thanks again @buko. I opened #2630 with the low-risk part of this for v0.8.52: config roots now honor a non-empty exported $HOME before falling back to the platform home resolver, while CODEWHALE_HOME remains the explicit override.

I am leaving the separate migration-notice UX part tracked in #2611 so the release fix stays narrow.

[Hmbown]

The $HOME resolver slice from #2630 is now merged to main for v0.8.52. Thank you again for the detailed report and patch sketch; this release keeps the low-risk path fix narrow ($HOME before platform home, CODEWHALE_HOME still explicit) so we do not destabilize migration behavior late in the release. Leaving this open because the louder migration notice remains tracked separately in #2611.