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

[buko]

config-mismatch.patch

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

Description

Currently, CodeWhale configuration files are fragmented and resolved inconsistently depending on the OS environment. On Windows (and specifically when running under Cygwin):

1. config.toml evaluates to %USERPROFILE%\.deepseek\config.toml because it ignores the $HOME environment variable (which is /home/bob/ on Cygwin).
2. settings.toml ignores $HOME and resolves to %APPDATA%\deepseek\settings.toml.

To make matters worse, CodeWhale v0.8.44 introduced a silent config migration. It copies the legacy .deepseek configuration directory to the new .codewhale directory in the background. Because it does this silently, users are left editing their legacy files (which they consider the source of truth) with no effect, leading to incredible confusion.

Proposed Solution

1. Unify the Paths: Update both codewhale_home() and legacy_deepseek_home() to respect the $HOME environment variable natively before falling back to the OS-specific %USERPROFILE%.
2. Consolidate settings.toml: Update Settings::path() so that it natively looks in .codewhale/settings.toml, gracefully falls back to .deepseek/settings.toml, and only checks %APPDATA% as a final backward-compatibility measure.
3. Loud Migration Warning: Change the silent migration logic into a loud migration logic. Introduce migrate_settings_if_needed(). If either config.toml or settings.toml is migrated from a legacy location, CodeWhale will print a massive highly-visible banner to the terminal instructing the user about the new path, listing the old paths to delete, and then immediately terminating execution std::process::exit(0). This guarantees no more silent ghost files.

Patch

A complete patch resolving this issue is attached.

[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.