tools/approval.py no longer re-exports sibling names (approval_context/prompt/floors/detection/
human_wait/smart/gateway_wait); it imports only what it uses. Siblings reference sibling-defined
names directly (module-attribute reads on tools.approval_context so patching the defining module
still works); only facade-owned state (_lock, _gateway_queues, _permanent_approved, _denied,
_denial_breaker_addendum, _gateway_notify_cb) is still read back through tools.approval.
approval_detection calls its own _command_detection_variants instead of late-binding through the facade.
The terminal-command guard path loaded config 2-3x per invocation via
load_config(), which pays a defensive deepcopy of the entire config on
every call (~356us of the ~376us warm-cache cost measured on a real
config.yaml). All six swapped call sites were audited read-only — every
caller takes scalar reads or iterates the returned structures; none
mutate (the save path at save_permanent_allowlist keeps load_config) —
so they now use load_config_readonly(), the API built for exactly this
(precedent: #74211, #74322; the one unsafe-site lesson from #56085's
salvage is covered by the mutation audit and a cache-integrity test).
Measured (real config.yaml, warm cache): load_config 376.0us ->
load_config_readonly 19.9us (18.9x); full guard pass
check_all_command_guards('ls -la','local') 930.7us -> 241.8us (3.85x).
Tests: new test_approval_config_readonly.py drives the real functions
against a temp HERMES_HOME — readonly call counts per function, a
no-deepcopy pin for the full guard pass, and cache-identity/integrity
checks. Existing test mocks retargeted from load_config to
load_config_readonly (same injection intent). Note: 6
test_approval_mode_parity failures are pre-existing ordering flakes —
identical with the change stashed on clean main.
Teknium