fix(telegram): build command menu off event loop

plugins/platforms/telegram/adapter.py

@@ -39,6 +39,19 @@ def _redact_telegram_error_text(error: object) -> str:
         return "<telegram error redacted>"
 
 
+def _build_telegram_command_menu() -> tuple[list[tuple[str, str]], int, int]:
+    """Build the Telegram menu off the gateway event loop.
+
+    Skill discovery resolves configured paths and can touch a slow filesystem, so it
+    must not run inline with reconnect housekeeping.
+    """
+    from hermes_cli.commands_platforms import telegram_menu_commands, telegram_menu_max_commands
+
+    max_commands = telegram_menu_max_commands()
+    menu_commands, hidden_count = telegram_menu_commands(max_commands=max_commands)
+    return menu_commands, hidden_count, max_commands
+
+
 def _consume_abandoned_task(task: asyncio.Task) -> None:
     """Observe a detached task's terminal exception to avoid noisy loop logs."""
     try:
@@ -2586,12 +2599,10 @@ class TelegramAdapter(BasePlatformAdapter):
         """Register the command menu (from COMMAND_REGISTRY) in every scope — Telegram picks the
         narrowest matching one per chat type; forum topics are handled lazily by _ensure_forum_commands."""
         from telegram import BotCommand, BotCommandScopeAllPrivateChats, BotCommandScopeAllGroupChats, BotCommandScopeDefault
-        from hermes_cli.commands_platforms import telegram_menu_commands, telegram_menu_max_commands
         if not self._bot:
             return
         # Telegram allows 100 commands but has an undocumented ~4KB payload limit; default cap 60.
-        max_commands = telegram_menu_max_commands()
-        menu_commands, hidden_count = telegram_menu_commands(max_commands=max_commands)
+        menu_commands, hidden_count, max_commands = await asyncio.to_thread(_build_telegram_command_menu)
         bot_commands = [BotCommand(name, desc) for name, desc in menu_commands]
         for scope_cls in (BotCommandScopeDefault, BotCommandScopeAllPrivateChats, BotCommandScopeAllGroupChats):
             scope_name = getattr(scope_cls, "__name__", str(scope_cls))

tests/gateway/test_telegram_forum_commands.py

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """Tests for lazy forum command registration in TelegramAdapter."""
 
 import asyncio
+import threading
 from types import SimpleNamespace
 from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, MagicMock, patch
 
@@ -83,3 +84,47 @@ async def test_ensure_forum_commands_race_safety():
 
     # The lock should make this exactly 1 call, not 2.
     assert adapter._bot.set_my_commands.await_count == 1
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_register_command_menu_builds_skill_menu_off_event_loop(monkeypatch):
+    """A slow skill scan must not starve Telegram's reconnect event loop."""
+    import telegram
+
+    adapter = _make_test_adapter()
+    scan_started = threading.Event()
+    release_scan = threading.Event()
+    loop_progressed = threading.Event()
+    observed = {}
+
+    def _blocking_menu(*, max_commands):
+        assert max_commands == 60
+        scan_started.set()
+        release_scan.wait(timeout=1)
+        observed["loop_progressed"] = loop_progressed.is_set()
+        return [("help", "Show help"), ("skill", "Run a skill")], 0
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr("hermes_cli.commands_platforms.telegram_menu_max_commands", lambda: 60)
+    monkeypatch.setattr("hermes_cli.commands_platforms.telegram_menu_commands", _blocking_menu)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        telegram, "BotCommand", lambda command, description: SimpleNamespace(command=command, description=description))
+    # This releases a pre-fix synchronous scan so the regression test cannot hang the suite.
+    safety_release = threading.Timer(0.2, release_scan.set)
+    safety_release.start()
+    task = asyncio.create_task(adapter._register_command_menu())
+    try:
+        await asyncio.to_thread(scan_started.wait)
+        loop_progressed.set()
+        release_scan.set()
+        await task
+    finally:
+        release_scan.set()
+        safety_release.cancel()
+        if not task.done():
+            task.cancel()
+            await task
+
+    assert observed["loop_progressed"] is True
+    assert adapter._bot.set_my_commands.await_count == 3
+    for call in adapter._bot.set_my_commands.await_args_list:
+        assert [command.command for command in call.args[0]] == ["help", "skill"]