fix(honcho): extend saveMessages=false guard to shutdown() flush

Salvages #67559 — original gated sync_turn/on_memory_write/on_session_end but missed shutdown(), whose flush_all() still persisted on exit. hermes-sweeper review (salvageability=high) flagged this as the one gap.

Guard sits after the worker-thread joins, not at the top: cleanup is independent of persistence, and a top-of-method return would leak _prefetch_thread/_sync_thread. Adds TestShutdown and clarifies the saveMessages=false README row.

Credit @Matroskin86 (original PR author).

plugins/memory/honcho/README.md

@@ -215,7 +215,7 @@ Pick **[e]** at the prompt to set the three keys directly instead of going throu
 | Key | Type | Default | Description |
 |-----|------|---------|-------------|
 | `writeFrequency` | string/int | `"async"` | `"async"` (background), `"turn"` (sync per turn), `"session"` (batch on end), or integer N (every N turns) |
-| `saveMessages` | bool | `true` | Persist messages to Honcho API |
+| `saveMessages` | bool | `true` | Persist messages to Honcho API. When `false`, all automatic writes are skipped — raw turns (`sync_turn`), conclusion mirroring (`on_memory_write`), and session-end/shutdown flushes — while read and tools paths stay fully functional. |
 
 ### Session Resolution
 

plugins/memory/honcho/__init__.py

@@ -1665,7 +1665,12 @@ class HonchoMemoryProvider(MemoryProvider):
         for t in (self._prefetch_thread, self._sync_thread):
             if t and t.is_alive():
                 t.join(timeout=5.0)
-        # Flush any remaining messages
+        # Flush any remaining messages. Honors saveMessages: false — skip
+        # persistence, but the worker-thread joins above still run (cleanup
+        # is independent of persistence; placing the guard here rather than
+        # at the top avoids leaking _prefetch_thread/_sync_thread).
+        if not getattr(self._config, "save_messages", True):
+            return
         if self._manager and not (self._init_thread and self._init_thread.is_alive() and not self._session_initialized):
             try:
                 self._manager.flush_all()

tests/honcho_plugin/test_save_messages.py

@@ -63,3 +63,27 @@ class TestOnSessionEnd:
         p = _provider(save_messages=True)
         p.on_session_end([])
         p._manager.flush_all.assert_called_once()
+
+
+class TestShutdown:
+    """shutdown() joins worker threads then flushes; saveMessages=false must
+    skip the flush (persistence) while still running the joins (cleanup)."""
+
+    def _provider_for_shutdown(self, save_messages: bool) -> HonchoMemoryProvider:
+        p = _provider(save_messages=save_messages)
+        # shutdown() iterates these thread handles; if no turn/session-end ran
+        # they may be unset, so default to None (= "no thread started").
+        p._init_thread = None
+        p._prefetch_thread = None
+        p._sync_thread = None
+        return p
+
+    def test_disabled_skips_flush(self):
+        p = self._provider_for_shutdown(save_messages=False)
+        p.shutdown()
+        p._manager.flush_all.assert_not_called()
+
+    def test_enabled_flushes(self):
+        p = self._provider_for_shutdown(save_messages=True)
+        p.shutdown()
+        p._manager.flush_all.assert_called_once()