fix: allow MEDIA local paths with spaces

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.clawd.bot
 - **BREAKING:** Envelope and system event timestamps now default to host-local time (was UTC) so agents don’t have to constantly convert.
 
 ### Fixes
+- Media: accept MEDIA paths with spaces/tilde and prefer the message tool hint for image replies.
 - Config: avoid stack traces for invalid configs and log the config path.
 - CLI: read Codex CLI account_id for workspace billing. (#1422) Thanks @aj47.
 - Doctor: avoid recreating WhatsApp config when only legacy routing keys remain. (#900)

src/auto-reply/reply/get-reply-run.ts

@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ export async function runPreparedReply(
   const prefixedBody = [threadStarterNote, prefixedBodyBase].filter(Boolean).join("\n\n");
   const mediaNote = buildInboundMediaNote(ctx);
   const mediaReplyHint = mediaNote
-    ? "To send an image back, add a line like: MEDIA:https://example.com/image.jpg (no spaces). Keep caption in the text body."
+    ? "To send an image back, prefer the message tool (media/path/filePath). If you must inline, use MEDIA:/path or MEDIA:https://example.com/image.jpg (spaces ok, quote if needed). Keep caption in the text body."
     : undefined;
   let prefixedCommandBody = mediaNote
     ? [mediaNote, mediaReplyHint, prefixedBody ?? ""].filter(Boolean).join("\n").trim()

src/media/parse.test.ts

@@ -9,6 +9,24 @@ describe("splitMediaFromOutput", () => {
     expect(result.text).toBe("Hello world");
   });
 
+  it("captures media paths with spaces", () => {
+    const result = splitMediaFromOutput("MEDIA:/Users/pete/My File.png");
+    expect(result.mediaUrls).toEqual(["/Users/pete/My File.png"]);
+    expect(result.text).toBe("");
+  });
+
+  it("captures quoted media paths with spaces", () => {
+    const result = splitMediaFromOutput('MEDIA:"/Users/pete/My File.png"');
+    expect(result.mediaUrls).toEqual(["/Users/pete/My File.png"]);
+    expect(result.text).toBe("");
+  });
+
+  it("captures tilde media paths with spaces", () => {
+    const result = splitMediaFromOutput("MEDIA:~/Pictures/My File.png");
+    expect(result.mediaUrls).toEqual(["~/Pictures/My File.png"]);
+    expect(result.text).toBe("");
+  });
+
   it("keeps audio_as_voice detection stable across calls", () => {
     const input = "Hello [[audio_as_voice]]";
     const first = splitMediaFromOutput(input);

src/media/parse.ts

@@ -14,11 +14,26 @@ function cleanCandidate(raw: string) {
   return raw.replace(/^[`"'[{(]+/, "").replace(/[`"'\\})\],]+$/, "");
 }
 
-function isValidMedia(candidate: string) {
+function isValidMedia(candidate: string, opts?: { allowSpaces?: boolean }) {
   if (!candidate) return false;
-  if (candidate.length > 1024) return false;
+  if (candidate.length > 4096) return false;
-  if (/\s/.test(candidate)) return false;
+  if (!opts?.allowSpaces && /\s/.test(candidate)) return false;
-  return /^https?:\/\//i.test(candidate) || candidate.startsWith("/") || candidate.startsWith("./");
+  if (/^https?:\/\//i.test(candidate)) return true;
+  if (candidate.startsWith("/")) return true;
+  if (candidate.startsWith("./")) return true;
+  if (candidate.startsWith("../")) return true;
+  if (candidate.startsWith("~")) return true;
+  return false;
+}
+
+function unwrapQuoted(value: string): string | undefined {
+  const trimmed = value.trim();
+  if (trimmed.length < 2) return undefined;
+  const first = trimmed[0];
+  const last = trimmed[trimmed.length - 1];
+  if (first !== last) return undefined;
+  if (first !== `"` && first !== "'" && first !== "`") return undefined;
+  return trimmed.slice(1, -1).trim();
 }
 
 // Check if a character offset is inside any fenced code block
@@ -73,18 +88,55 @@ export function splitMediaFromOutput(raw: string): {
       pieces.push(line.slice(cursor, start));
 
       const payload = match[1];
-      const parts = payload.split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean);
+      const unwrapped = unwrapQuoted(payload);
+      const payloadValue = unwrapped ?? payload;
+      const parts = unwrapped ? [unwrapped] : payload.split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean);
+      const mediaStartIndex = media.length;
+      let validCount = 0;
       const invalidParts: string[] = [];
       for (const part of parts) {
         const candidate = normalizeMediaSource(cleanCandidate(part));
-        if (isValidMedia(candidate)) {
+        if (isValidMedia(candidate, unwrapped ? { allowSpaces: true } : undefined)) {
           media.push(candidate);
           hasValidMedia = true;
+          validCount += 1;
         } else {
           invalidParts.push(part);
         }
       }
 
+      const trimmedPayload = payloadValue.trim();
+      const looksLikeLocalPath =
+        trimmedPayload.startsWith("/") ||
+        trimmedPayload.startsWith("./") ||
+        trimmedPayload.startsWith("../") ||
+        trimmedPayload.startsWith("~") ||
+        trimmedPayload.startsWith("file://");
+      if (
+        !unwrapped &&
+        validCount === 1 &&
+        invalidParts.length > 0 &&
+        /\s/.test(payloadValue) &&
+        looksLikeLocalPath
+      ) {
+        const fallback = normalizeMediaSource(cleanCandidate(payloadValue));
+        if (isValidMedia(fallback, { allowSpaces: true })) {
+          media.splice(mediaStartIndex, media.length - mediaStartIndex, fallback);
+          hasValidMedia = true;
+          validCount = 1;
+          invalidParts.length = 0;
+        }
+      }
+
+      if (!hasValidMedia) {
+        const fallback = normalizeMediaSource(cleanCandidate(payloadValue));
+        if (isValidMedia(fallback, { allowSpaces: true })) {
+          media.push(fallback);
+          hasValidMedia = true;
+          invalidParts.length = 0;
+        }
+      }
+
       if (hasValidMedia && invalidParts.length > 0) {
         pieces.push(invalidParts.join(" "));
       }