Bug Description

Generated images are saved under the newer Hermes cache path (~/.hermes/cache/images/...), but Telegram media delivery from a final gateway response did not deliver the image. Copying the exact same generated image into the legacy path (~/.hermes/image_cache/...) and sending it via MEDIA: worked immediately.

This looks like a cache-root mismatch/regression around image generation output paths vs the gateway media delivery pipeline/allowlist.

Observed Behavior

In a Telegram group chat, image_generate returned a local file path like:

/Users/hermes/.hermes/cache/images/openai_codex_gpt-image-2-medium_20260524_165209_f2f01ae4.png

The assistant final response included:

MEDIA:/Users/hermes/.hermes/cache/images/openai_codex_gpt-image-2-medium_20260524_165209_f2f01ae4.png

The user did not receive the image.

As a workaround, the same file was copied to the legacy cache root:

/Users/hermes/.hermes/image_cache/system-ops-hermes-avatar.png

Then sending:

MEDIA:/Users/hermes/.hermes/image_cache/system-ops-hermes-avatar.png

worked in the same Telegram chat.

Expected Behavior

Images generated by image_generate should be saved to, or normalized into, a gateway-deliverable media cache path. A MEDIA: tag pointing at a generated image should upload the image natively to Telegram without the agent needing to know which cache directory is currently deliverable.

Actual Behavior

image_generate produced a file under ~/.hermes/cache/images, but the Telegram user did not receive it when emitted in the final response. The legacy ~/.hermes/image_cache path did deliver.

Steps to Reproduce

1. In a Telegram gateway session, call image_generate.
2. Let the tool return a local path under ~/.hermes/cache/images/....
3. Include that path in the final response as MEDIA:/absolute/path/to/generated.png.
4. Observe that the image is not delivered to the user.
5. Copy the file into ~/.hermes/image_cache/....
6. Send the copied path via MEDIA:/absolute/path/to/copied.png.
7. Observe that Telegram delivery succeeds.

Environment

• Platform: Telegram group chat
• Host OS: macOS
• Hermes home: /Users/hermes/.hermes
• Generated file path: ~/.hermes/cache/images/...
• Working file path: ~/.hermes/image_cache/...
• Provider/model for image generation in this instance: openai-codex / gpt-image-2-medium

Related Issues

• Telegram MEDIA image delivery can echo local file path as text instead of uploading attachment #6249: Telegram MEDIA image delivery can echo local file path as text instead of uploading attachment
• image_gen + video_gen: xAI ephemeral tmp URLs 404 by send_photo time — needs gateway-side caching #26942: image_gen + video_gen ephemeral URL issue; proposes caching generated images into image_cache

This issue is more specific: the image is already a local file, but the generated local cache path (cache/images) does not behave like the legacy deliverable path (image_cache) for Telegram delivery from the final response.

Possible Fix Direction

Unify generated media output with the gateway's validated/deliverable media roots. Options:

1. Have image_generate write/copy generated images into the same deliverable cache root used by Telegram (image_cache or the canonical equivalent).
2. Normalize ~/.hermes/cache/images to a deliverable root during gateway MEDIA: extraction/validation.
3. Add a regression test that a generated image path under the current image-generation cache can be delivered through the Telegram media pipeline, not only the legacy image_cache path.