diff --git a/agent/rate_limit_credits.py b/agent/rate_limit_credits.py
index cd438a6293..13b98e19e1 100644
--- a/agent/rate_limit_credits.py
+++ b/agent/rate_limit_credits.py
@@ -70,9 +70,8 @@ class RateLimitCreditsMixin:
             logger.info(
                 "credits ▸ [FIXTURE] remaining=%d (%s) · paid=%s · denom=%s · used=%s "
                 "(real headers bypassed — `echo clear` / unset HERMES_DEV_CREDITS_FIXTURE to restore)",
-                fixture.remaining_micros, fixture.remaining_usd or "?", fixture.paid_access,
-                fixture.denominator_kind, _pct(fixture.used_fraction),
-            )
+                fixture.remaining_micros, fixture.remaining_usd or "?", fixture.paid_access, fixture.denominator_kind,
+                _pct(fixture.used_fraction))
             self._emit_credits_notices()
             return
         headers = _response_headers(http_response)
@@ -88,10 +87,8 @@ class RateLimitCreditsMixin:
             return
         if state is None:
             if dev:
-                logger.info(
-                    "credits ▸ response had no valid x-nous-credits-* headers "
-                    "(miss — producer off / non-Nous path / >TTL stale)"
-                )
+                logger.info("credits ▸ response had no valid x-nous-credits-* headers "
+                            "(miss — producer off / non-Nous path / >TTL stale)")
             return
 
         self._adopt_credits_state(state)
@@ -99,14 +96,11 @@ class RateLimitCreditsMixin:
             # HERMES_DEV_CREDITS streams each capture to agent.log (`hermes logs -f`, grep 'credits ▸').
             spent = self.get_credits_spent_micros()
             logger.info(
-                "credits ▸ remaining=%d (%s) · paid=%s · denom=%s · used=%s "
-                "· Δspent=%s · age=%s%s",
-                state.remaining_micros, state.remaining_usd or "?", state.paid_access,
-                state.denominator_kind, _pct(state.used_fraction),
-                ("%.1f¢" % (spent / 10000)) if spent is not None else "n/a",
+                "credits ▸ remaining=%d (%s) · paid=%s · denom=%s · used=%s · Δspent=%s · age=%s%s",
+                state.remaining_micros, state.remaining_usd or "?", state.paid_access, state.denominator_kind,
+                _pct(state.used_fraction), ("%.1f¢" % (spent / 10000)) if spent is not None else "n/a",
                 ("%.0fs" % state.age_seconds) if state.age_seconds != float("inf") else "n/a",
-                (" · disabled=%s" % state.disabled_reason) if state.disabled_reason else "",
-            )
+                (" · disabled=%s" % state.disabled_reason) if state.disabled_reason else "")
         self._emit_credits_notices()
 
     def _adopt_credits_state(self, state) -> None:
@@ -133,10 +127,7 @@ class RateLimitCreditsMixin:
             if latch is None:
                 latch = self._credits_latch = new_credits_latch()
             # Free-model gate: a depleted account can still inference on a free model. Local data only.
-            model_is_free = is_free_tier_model(
-                getattr(self, "model", "") or "",
-                getattr(self, "base_url", "") or "",
-            )
+            model_is_free = is_free_tier_model(getattr(self, "model", "") or "", getattr(self, "base_url", "") or "")
             to_show, to_clear = evaluate_credits_notices(state, latch, model_is_free=model_is_free)
             for key in to_clear:
                 self._emit_notice_clear(key)
diff --git a/agent/rate_limit_tracker.py b/agent/rate_limit_tracker.py
index 0633c11424..36412a36d2 100644
--- a/agent/rate_limit_tracker.py
+++ b/agent/rate_limit_tracker.py
@@ -86,10 +86,7 @@ def has_rate_limit_headers(lowered: Mapping[str, str]) -> bool:
     return any(k.startswith("x-ratelimit-") for k in lowered)
 
 
-def parse_rate_limit_headers(
-    headers: Mapping[str, str],
-    provider: str = "",
-) -> Optional[RateLimitState]:
+def parse_rate_limit_headers(headers: Mapping[str, str], provider: str = "") -> Optional[RateLimitState]:
     """Parse x-ratelimit-* headers into a RateLimitState (None if none present)."""
     lowered = lower_headers(headers)
     if not has_rate_limit_headers(lowered):
@@ -159,12 +156,8 @@ def format_rate_limit_display(state: RateLimitState) -> str:
     freshness = "just now" if age < 5 else f"{int(age)}s ago" if age < 60 else f"{_fmt_seconds(age)} ago"
 
     provider_label = state.provider.title() if state.provider else "Provider"
-    labeled = [
-        ("Requests/min", state.requests_min),
-        ("Requests/hr", state.requests_hour),
-        ("Tokens/min", state.tokens_min),
-        ("Tokens/hr", state.tokens_hour),
-    ]
+    labeled = [("Requests/min", state.requests_min), ("Requests/hr", state.requests_hour),
+               ("Tokens/min", state.tokens_min), ("Tokens/hr", state.tokens_hour)]
     lines = [f"{provider_label} Rate Limits (captured {freshness}):", ""]
     lines += [_bucket_line(label, bucket) for label, bucket in labeled[:2]]
     lines += [""] + [_bucket_line(label, bucket) for label, bucket in labeled[2:]]
diff --git a/agent/reasoning_effort.py b/agent/reasoning_effort.py
index bc71be7eb2..bad9ca9387 100644
--- a/agent/reasoning_effort.py
+++ b/agent/reasoning_effort.py
@@ -86,9 +86,7 @@ def kimi_supported_efforts(model: Optional[str]) -> tuple[str, ...]:
 
 
 def clamp_effort(
-    effort: Optional[str],
-    supported: Optional[Sequence[str]],
-    overrides: Optional[dict[str, str]] = None,
+    effort: Optional[str], supported: Optional[Sequence[str]], overrides: Optional[dict[str, str]] = None,
 ) -> Optional[str]:
     """Clamp a requested reasoning effort onto a wire's supported levels.
 
diff --git a/agent/reasoning_params.py b/agent/reasoning_params.py
index b06e567f2b..094c3ac01f 100644
--- a/agent/reasoning_params.py
+++ b/agent/reasoning_params.py
@@ -123,15 +123,10 @@ class ReasoningParamsMixin:
             return None
         effort = str(cfg.get("effort", "medium")).strip().lower()
 
-        if effort == "xhigh" and "xhigh" not in supported and "high" in supported:
-            effort = "high"
-        elif effort not in supported:
-            if effort == "minimal" and "low" in supported:
-                effort = "low"
-            elif "medium" in supported:
-                effort = "medium"
-            else:
-                effort = supported[0]
+        if effort not in supported:
+            # Nearest-neighbour fallbacks: xhigh→high, minimal→low, else medium, else the first published level.
+            nearest = {"xhigh": "high", "minimal": "low"}.get(effort)
+            effort = nearest if nearest in supported else "medium" if "medium" in supported else supported[0]
         return {"effort": effort}
 
     _build_assistant_message = _forward("agent.chat_completion_helpers", "build_assistant_message")
@@ -147,12 +142,8 @@ class ReasoningParamsMixin:
         cached = getattr(self, "_thinking_pad_cache", None)
         if cached is not None and cached[0] == key:
             return cached[1]
-        result = (
-            self._needs_deepseek_tool_reasoning()
-            or self._needs_kimi_tool_reasoning()
-            or self._needs_mimo_tool_reasoning()
-            or self._reasoning_echo_opt_in()
-        )
+        result = (self._needs_deepseek_tool_reasoning() or self._needs_kimi_tool_reasoning()
+                  or self._needs_mimo_tool_reasoning() or self._reasoning_echo_opt_in())
         self._thinking_pad_cache = (key, result)
         return result
 
@@ -204,13 +195,9 @@ class ReasoningParamsMixin:
         if not isinstance(tool_calls, list):
             return api_msg
         from agent.transports.chat_completions import _model_consumes_thought_signature
-        strip = {"call_id", "response_item_id"}
-        if not _model_consumes_thought_signature(model):
-            strip.add("extra_content")
-        api_msg["tool_calls"] = [
-            {k: v for k, v in tc.items() if k not in strip} if isinstance(tc, dict) else tc
-            for tc in tool_calls
-        ]
+        strip = {"call_id", "response_item_id"} | (set() if _model_consumes_thought_signature(model) else {"extra_content"})
+        api_msg["tool_calls"] = [{k: v for k, v in tc.items() if k not in strip} if isinstance(tc, dict) else tc
+                                 for tc in tool_calls]
         return api_msg
 
     _sanitize_tool_call_arguments = _forward_static("agent.agent_runtime_helpers", "sanitize_tool_call_arguments")
diff --git a/agent/retry_utils.py b/agent/retry_utils.py
index 96652b6fb9..9fc4852cb3 100644
--- a/agent/retry_utils.py
+++ b/agent/retry_utils.py
@@ -66,8 +66,7 @@ def parse_retry_after_seconds(value_or_headers: Any) -> Optional[float]:
     return max(0.0, (when - datetime.now(timezone.utc)).total_seconds())
 
 
-def jittered_backoff(attempt: int, *, base_delay: float = 5.0, max_delay: float = 120.0,
-                     jitter_ratio: float = 0.5) -> float:
+def jittered_backoff(attempt: int, *, base_delay: float = 5.0, max_delay: float = 120.0, jitter_ratio: float = 0.5) -> float:
     """min(base * 2^(attempt-1), max_delay) + uniform jitter in
     [0, jitter_ratio * delay]. ``attempt`` is 1-based."""
     global _jitter_counter
@@ -102,12 +101,7 @@ def is_zai_coding_overload_error(*, base_url: str | None, model: str | None, err
 
 
 def adaptive_rate_limit_backoff(
-    attempt: int,
-    *,
-    base_url: str | None,
-    model: str | None,
-    error: Any,
-    default_wait: float,
+    attempt: int, *, base_url: str | None, model: str | None, error: Any, default_wait: float,
     short_attempts: int = _ZAI_CODING_OVERLOAD_SHORT_ATTEMPTS,
 ) -> tuple[float, str | None]:
     """Provider-aware rate-limit backoff → ``(wait_seconds, reason_label)``.
diff --git a/agent/review_engine.py b/agent/review_engine.py
index 69b0a2f671..ca653c178b 100644
--- a/agent/review_engine.py
+++ b/agent/review_engine.py
@@ -41,20 +41,13 @@ def _message_text(message: Dict[str, Any]) -> str:
     if isinstance(content, str):
         return content
     if isinstance(content, list):
-        parts = [
-            str(part.get("text") or "") if part.get("type") == "text"
-            else f"[{part.get('type', 'attachment')}]"
-            for part in content
-            if isinstance(part, dict)
-        ]
+        parts = [str(part.get("text") or "") if part.get("type") == "text" else f"[{part.get('type', 'attachment')}]"
+                 for part in content if isinstance(part, dict)]
         return "\n".join(p for p in parts if p)
     return ""
 
 
-def snapshot_recent_messages(
-    messages: List[Dict[str, Any]],
-    limit: int = DEFAULT_CONTEXT_MESSAGES,
-) -> List[Dict[str, str]]:
+def snapshot_recent_messages(messages: List[Dict[str, Any]], limit: int = DEFAULT_CONTEXT_MESSAGES) -> List[Dict[str, str]]:
     """Last ``limit`` user/assistant messages as {role, text} dicts, oldest first.
 
     System messages, tool results and empty-text messages (pure tool-call stubs) are excluded.
@@ -76,11 +69,7 @@ def snapshot_recent_messages(
     return out
 
 
-def collect_parent_loaded_skills(
-    parent_agent,
-    messages: List[Dict[str, Any]],
-    limit: int = 8,
-) -> List[str]:
+def collect_parent_loaded_skills(parent_agent, messages: List[Dict[str, Any]], limit: int = 8) -> List[str]:
     """Names of skills the parent agent was operating under.
 
     Launch-preloaded skills come from the stable marker in the parent's
@@ -113,11 +102,7 @@ def collect_parent_loaded_skills(
     return names[:limit]
 
 
-def build_review_task(
-    snapshot: List[Dict[str, str]],
-    user_prompt: str = "",
-    loaded_skills: Optional[List[str]] = None,
-) -> tuple:
+def build_review_task(snapshot: List[Dict[str, str]], user_prompt: str = "", loaded_skills: Optional[List[str]] = None) -> tuple:
     """Compose the reviewer subagent's (goal, context) pair."""
     lines = [
         "You were spawned by the /review command. The following is an excerpt of the most recent conversation "
@@ -174,11 +159,7 @@ def _load_review_credentials_cfg() -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]]:
     return cfg
 
 
-def start_review(
-    parent_agent,
-    messages: List[Dict[str, Any]],
-    user_prompt: str = "",
-) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+def start_review(parent_agent, messages: List[Dict[str, Any]], user_prompt: str = "") -> Dict[str, Any]:
     """Dispatch the reviewer subagent in the background.
 
     Returns the parsed ``delegate_task`` dispatch dict (``status: "dispatched"`` with a
@@ -199,13 +180,7 @@ def start_review(
 
     from tools.delegate_tool import delegate_task
 
-    raw = delegate_task(
-        goal=goal,
-        context=context,
-        background=True,
-        parent_agent=parent_agent,
-        credentials_cfg=credentials_cfg,
-    )
+    raw = delegate_task(goal=goal, context=context, background=True, parent_agent=parent_agent, credentials_cfg=credentials_cfg)
     try:
         result = json.loads(raw)
     except Exception:
diff --git a/agent/review_idle_queue.py b/agent/review_idle_queue.py
index 6b06b70970..c59c13cf23 100644
--- a/agent/review_idle_queue.py
+++ b/agent/review_idle_queue.py
@@ -220,11 +220,9 @@ def _managed_server_idle() -> bool:
 
         loaded = [m["id"] for m in _get("/models").get("data", [])
                   if (m.get("status") or {}).get("value") in ("loaded", "ready")]
-        for mid in loaded:
-            if any(s.get("is_processing") for s in _get(f"/slots?model={quote(mid)}")
-                   if isinstance(s, dict)):
-                return False
-        return True
+        return not any(
+            s.get("is_processing") for mid in loaded for s in _get(f"/slots?model={quote(mid)}") if isinstance(s, dict)
+        )
     except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001
         return True
 
diff --git a/agent/side_question.py b/agent/side_question.py
index e4c34d419b..8adcf2fede 100644
--- a/agent/side_question.py
+++ b/agent/side_question.py
@@ -86,12 +86,10 @@ def render_history_for_side_question(
             break
         kept.append(line)
         used += cost
-    kept.reverse()
-
     if not kept:
         return "(no prior conversation)"
     prefix = "[...older conversation omitted...]\n" if len(kept) < len(lines) else ""
-    return prefix + "\n".join(kept)
+    return prefix + "\n".join(reversed(kept))
 
 
 def _side_question_task_config() -> Dict[str, Any]:
@@ -118,10 +116,8 @@ def _answer_via_fork(parent_agent: Any, question: str, history: Optional[List[Di
     )
     from hermes_cli.plugins import clear_thread_tool_whitelist, set_thread_tool_whitelist
 
-    fork, _rt, routed = build_cache_parity_fork(
-        parent_agent, _side_question_task_config(),
-        max_iterations=_FORK_MAX_ITERATIONS, write_origin="side_question",
-    )
+    fork, _rt, routed = build_cache_parity_fork(parent_agent, _side_question_task_config(),
+                                                max_iterations=_FORK_MAX_ITERATIONS, write_origin="side_question")
     try:
         set_thread_tool_whitelist(
             set(),
@@ -189,7 +185,5 @@ def answer_side_question(
         except Exception:
             logger.warning("/btw cache-parity fork failed; falling back to one-shot", exc_info=True)
 
-    return _answer_via_oneshot(
-        question, history,
-        main_runtime=main_runtime, max_tokens=max_tokens, temperature=temperature, timeout=timeout,
-    )
+    return _answer_via_oneshot(question, history, main_runtime=main_runtime, max_tokens=max_tokens,
+                               temperature=temperature, timeout=timeout)
diff --git a/agent/ssl_verify.py b/agent/ssl_verify.py
index 03e6ce95d9..277fe5f953 100644
--- a/agent/ssl_verify.py
+++ b/agent/ssl_verify.py
@@ -14,12 +14,7 @@ _CA_BUNDLE_ENV_VARS = ("HERMES_CA_BUNDLE", "SSL_CERT_FILE", "REQUESTS_CA_BUNDLE"
 _INSECURE_STRINGS = {"false", "0", "no", "off"}
 
 
-def resolve_httpx_verify(
-    *,
-    ca_bundle: Optional[str] = None,
-    ssl_verify: Any = None,
-    base_url: str = "",
-) -> bool | ssl.SSLContext:
+def resolve_httpx_verify(*, ca_bundle: Optional[str] = None, ssl_verify: Any = None, base_url: str = "") -> bool | ssl.SSLContext:
     """Resolve httpx ``verify``: ``ssl_verify: false`` > explicit ``ca_bundle`` >
     CA-bundle env vars > ``True`` (certifi default). ``base_url`` only feeds the warning."""
     if ssl_verify is False or (isinstance(ssl_verify, str) and ssl_verify.strip().lower() in _INSECURE_STRINGS):
@@ -38,8 +33,5 @@ def resolve_httpx_verify(
         ca_path = str(Path(effective_ca).expanduser())
         if os.path.isfile(ca_path):
             return ssl.create_default_context(cafile=ca_path)
-        logger.warning(
-            "CA bundle path does not exist: %s — falling back to default certificates",
-            effective_ca,
-        )
+        logger.warning("CA bundle path does not exist: %s — falling back to default certificates", effective_ca)
     return True
diff --git a/agent/terminal_env_provider.py b/agent/terminal_env_provider.py
index fc8d58fdcd..f6cdbfa4a7 100644
--- a/agent/terminal_env_provider.py
+++ b/agent/terminal_env_provider.py
@@ -82,9 +82,7 @@ class TerminalEnvironmentProvider(ProviderBase):
     def probe(self) -> Tuple[str, str]:
         """Dashboard picker health probe ``(status, detail)`` with status in
         ``ready`` / ``needs_setup`` / ``unavailable``. Must never raise; stay fast (<~2s)."""
-        if self.is_available():
-            return ("ready", "")
-        return ("needs_setup", f"{self.display_name} is not configured.")
+        return ("ready", "") if self.is_available() else ("needs_setup", f"{self.display_name} is not configured.")
 
     def setup_instructions(self) -> List[str]:
         """Lines printed by ``hermes setup`` after this backend is selected. The wizard
@@ -107,14 +105,8 @@ class TerminalEnvironmentProvider(ProviderBase):
 
     @abc.abstractmethod
     def create_environment(
-        self,
-        *,
-        cwd: str,
-        timeout: int,
-        task_id: str = "default",
-        image: Optional[str] = None,
-        container_config: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
-        **kwargs: Any,
+        self, *, cwd: str, timeout: int, task_id: str = "default", image: Optional[str] = None,
+        container_config: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None, **kwargs: Any,
     ):
         """Create and return an execution environment (``BaseEnvironment`` duck type).
 
diff --git a/agent/thinking_timeout_guidance.py b/agent/thinking_timeout_guidance.py
index 28c31935f2..ac7ce1dddf 100644
--- a/agent/thinking_timeout_guidance.py
+++ b/agent/thinking_timeout_guidance.py
@@ -35,9 +35,7 @@ def is_thinking_timeout(classified: object, model: str, error_msg: str) -> bool:
     return any(p in error_msg_lower for p in _THINKING_TIMEOUT_SUBSTRINGS)
 
 
-def build_thinking_timeout_guidance(
-    provider: str, model: str, model_label: Optional[str] = None,
-) -> str:
+def build_thinking_timeout_guidance(provider: str, model: str, model_label: Optional[str] = None) -> str:
     """User-facing guidance appended to the final response. ``model`` is used verbatim in
     the config snippet so it is copy-pasteable; ``model_label`` is the optional prose name."""
     label = model_label or model
diff --git a/agent/transcription_provider.py b/agent/transcription_provider.py
index 3dd3490f6b..647dbe644d 100644
--- a/agent/transcription_provider.py
+++ b/agent/transcription_provider.py
@@ -25,12 +25,7 @@ class TranscriptionProvider(CatalogProviderBase):
 
     @abc.abstractmethod
     def transcribe(
-        self,
-        file_path: str,
-        *,
-        model: Optional[str] = None,
-        language: Optional[str] = None,
-        **extra: Any,
+        self, file_path: str, *, model: Optional[str] = None, language: Optional[str] = None, **extra: Any,
     ) -> Dict[str, Any]:
         """Transcribe ``file_path`` (existence + size already validated) into the module envelope.