[Bug]: Desktop approval card shows a placeholder instead of the command for hook approvals

[rudidev08]

Bug Description

With the merged plugin approve hook (#58698), an approval coming from a rule shows a placeholder as the "command" on the desktop approval card, not the real command. The real command lives in the approval's description, but the card attached to the tool call never renders description. So you approve without seeing what runs.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Add a pre_tool_call plugin rule that returns {"action": "approve"} for a command-bearing tool (e.g. terminal).
2. In the desktop app, ask something that runs a shell command, e.g. "what folder are you in?" (runs pwd).
3. On the approval card, expand "Command".
4. It shows <terminal> (plugin approval rule) instead of pwd.

Expected Behavior

The approval card shows the actual command (or the description, which contains it), so you can see what you're approving.

Actual Behavior

The "Command" toggle shows the synthetic label <terminal> (plugin approval rule). description (which holds run\npwd) isn't rendered on that card at all, so there's no way to see the command before approving.

Affected Component

• Tools (terminal, file ops, web, code execution, etc.)
• Other (desktop app approval UI)

Messaging Platform (if gateway-related)

N/A (CLI only)

Debug Report

Not attaching hermes debug share output: this is a deterministic UI bug reproducible from the steps above, and the shared logs carry prompt/message content and personal data that isn't needed here (see #22016). Environment dump instead:

version:          0.18.2 [5e849942] (2026-07-10)
os:               Darwin 25.5.0 arm64
python:           3.11.15
openai_sdk:       2.24.0
profile:          default
model:            deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash
provider:         nous
terminal:         docker
api_keys:         (all not set)
features:         toolsets=hermes-cli, gateway running, cron_jobs 3, skills 1
config_overrides: terminal.backend=docker, compression.threshold=0.7, tts.provider=openai,
                  fallback_providers=[omlx/Qwen3.5-122B-A10B-4bit]

Operating System

macOS 26.5.2

Python Version

3.11.15 (hermes runtime)

Hermes Version

v0.18.2 (2026.7.7.2), upstream 5e84994, git install, up to date

Root Cause Analysis (optional)

• Backend tools/approval.py request_tool_approval() sets the displayed command to f"<{tool_name}> (plugin approval rule)" — a synthetic allowlist label; the real command/change is put in description.
• Desktop apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/tool/approval.tsx inline ApprovalBar renders only request.command (the "Command" expander) and never request.description. description shows only in the floating fallback bar and the always-allow dialog.
• Related [Feature]: Desktop approval bar truncates the approval description to one line — no way to review a multi-line change/diff before approving #61249 / PR fix(desktop): preserve multiline approval descriptions #62092 make the fallback bar's description multi-line, but don't render description on the inline card and don't touch the placeholder.

Proposed Fix (optional)

Render description on the inline approval card too (and/or put the real command in command for command-bearing tools).

Are you willing to submit a PR for this?

• I'd like to fix this myself and submit a PR

[GottZ]

This was generated by AI during triage.

Summary

Two PRs address this issue complex. #62092 exposes the real approval description on the inline card and also fixes multiline truncation on the floating surface, while #62411 exposes the inline description but adds an overbroad synthetic-command heuristic and duplicates the description on the floating surface.

Related pull requests

• fix(desktop): preserve multiline approval descriptions #62092 best fix — (+36/-4) — best existing fix: Renders request.description on the inline approval card with preserved line breaks and bounded scrolling, directly exposing the real command context hidden behind the plugin placeholder; it also fixes the related floating-surface truncation and includes regression coverage for both surfaces.
• fix(desktop): render description on inline approval card for plugin approvals #62411 partial — (+38/-2) — partial fix: Renders the description inline, but its startsWith('<') heuristic can hide valid shell commands and its unconditional description block duplicates the floating description. The contributor CHANGES_REQUESTED review identifies both defects, so this PR should not proceed as-is.

Duplicates

#62092 and #62411 overlap on inline description rendering. For that shared change, #62411 is superseded by #62092, but they are not exact duplicates because #62092 also fixes floating multiline display while #62411 adds synthetic-command suppression.

Suggested consolidation

Consistent with the keep-open review on #62092, keep #62092 open with a salvage path: preserve its tested inline description rendering, multiline wrapping, and bounded scrolling as the best existing fix for #62402 and the related #61249 surface defect. Close #62411 as duplicate of #62092 for the overlapping inline-rendering fix; if exact plugin-label suppression remains desirable, split it into separate author action that matches only the backend-generated label and explicitly resolves the contributor's CHANGES_REQUESTED review.

Complex graph

flowchart LR
    classDef open fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#1d4ed8,color:#1e3a8a
    classDef merged fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#15803d,color:#14532d
    classDef closed fill:#e5e7eb,stroke:#6b7280,color:#1f2937
    classDef unverified fill:#f3f4f6,stroke:#9ca3af,color:#374151
    classDef best stroke-width:3px,stroke:#b45309
    classDef target stroke-width:3px,stroke:#4338ca
    I61249(["issue #61249 (open)"])
    I62402(["issue #62402 (open)"])
    P62092["PR #62092 (open)"]
    P62411["PR #62411 (open)"]
    P62092 -->|best fix| I62402
    P62411 -.->|partial| I62402
    P62092 -->|best fix| I61249
    P62411 -.->|partial| I61249
    class I61249 open
    class I62402 open
    class I62402 target
    class P62092 open
    class P62411 open
    class P62092 best
    class P62092 best
    click I61249 "https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/issues/61249"
    click I62402 "https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/issues/62402"
    click P62092 "https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/pull/62092"
    click P62411 "https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/pull/62411"

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Graph: solid arrow = fixes / best fix, dashed arrow = partial or unverified (see edge label); boxed group = PRs duplicating each other; amber border = best fix; indigo border = target; gray node = closed (state tag in the node label).

Cross-PR triage: Reviewed 2 pull requests and 2 issues in this complex. Each diff was read against this issue; Assessment working set: 9 kB of PR diffs, 9 kB of issue/PR text, 5 kB of discussion (7 comments), 6 verify verdicts. verdicts reflect diff content, not PR titles. Part of an automated triage batch.