From b1663edf2a2587881c442b6a67d833841c6e3a2f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: aameobius <aameobius@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 2026 23:24:28 +0300
Subject: [PATCH] fix(cron): load .env on no_agent path so standalone ticks
 resolve delivery home channels

hermes-cron-tick.service starts without TELEGRAM_HOME_CHANNEL/DISCORD_HOME_CHANNEL
in the unit env; the per-run load_hermes_dotenv reload lived only on the agent
path (after the no_agent short-circuit returns), so every deliver=telegram/all
script job failed with 'no delivery target resolved'. Load the dotenv at the top
of the no_agent branch; override=False keeps the gateway's in-process tick
behavior unchanged.
---
 cron/scheduler.py                | 16 ++++++++++++++++
 tests/cron/test_cron_no_agent.py | 30 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 46 insertions(+)

diff --git a/cron/scheduler.py b/cron/scheduler.py
index 71a54368d1ec7..0177b278f927b 100644
--- a/cron/scheduler.py
+++ b/cron/scheduler.py
@@ -3207,6 +3207,22 @@ def run_job(
     #                               the whole point of no_agent is that there
     #                               is no agent to wake
     if job.get("no_agent"):
+        # Load .env before the script runs so auto-delivery can resolve home
+        # channels. A standalone cron tick process typically starts WITHOUT
+        # TELEGRAM_HOME_CHANNEL/DISCORD_HOME_CHANNEL in its environment, and
+        # the agent path's per-run dotenv reload below never executes for
+        # no_agent jobs — every deliver=telegram/all script job failed with
+        # "no delivery target resolved". load_hermes_dotenv does not override
+        # already-set vars, so the gateway's in-process tick is unaffected.
+        try:
+            from hermes_cli.env_loader import load_hermes_dotenv
+
+            load_hermes_dotenv(hermes_home=_get_hermes_home())
+        except Exception:
+            logger.debug(
+                "Job '%s': no_agent .env reload failed", job_id, exc_info=True
+            )
+
         script_path = job.get("script")
         if not script_path:
             err = "no_agent=True but no script is set for this job"
diff --git a/tests/cron/test_cron_no_agent.py b/tests/cron/test_cron_no_agent.py
index 6ba5afecf0ee5..94aea1de141ae 100644
--- a/tests/cron/test_cron_no_agent.py
+++ b/tests/cron/test_cron_no_agent.py
@@ -105,6 +105,36 @@ def test_run_job_no_agent_success_returns_script_stdout(hermes_env):
     assert "RAM 92% on host" in doc
 
 
+def test_run_job_no_agent_reloads_dotenv_before_script(hermes_env, monkeypatch):
+    """Regression: a standalone cron tick process starts without home-channel
+    vars in its environment, and the agent path's per-run dotenv reload never
+    executes for no_agent jobs — delivery home channels stayed unresolved.
+    run_job must load .env at the top of the no_agent branch."""
+    import hermes_cli.env_loader as env_loader
+    from cron.jobs import create_job
+    from cron.scheduler import run_job
+
+    loaded_homes: list = []
+
+    def fake_load(*, hermes_home=None, project_env=None):
+        loaded_homes.append(hermes_home)
+        return []
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(env_loader, "load_hermes_dotenv", fake_load)
+
+    script_path = hermes_env / "scripts" / "probe.sh"
+    script_path.write_text('#!/bin/bash\necho "ok"\n')
+
+    job = create_job(
+        prompt=None, schedule="every 5m", script="probe.sh", no_agent=True, deliver="local"
+    )
+    success, doc, final_response, error = run_job(job)
+    assert success is True
+    assert error is None
+    assert loaded_homes, "load_hermes_dotenv was not called on the no_agent path"
+    assert str(loaded_homes[0]) == str(hermes_env)
+
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # _run_job_script: shell-script support
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------