Release CV: stage-batch6 — 3-PR Windows-only stack (v0.51.124) — start.ps1 paths/docs/hardening

[nesquena-hermes]

Release CV — v0.51.124 — stage-batch6 — 3-PR Windows-only stack

Updated: dropped #2811 from this batch after the Windows CI workflow it introduces failed on its own introducing PR — the workflow's "Provision hermes-agent" step does pip install hermes-agent which doesn't resolve (hermes-agent isn't on PyPI; it's a private repo). The workflow needs the contributor's attention before it can ship; leaving #2811 open with a maintainer comment.

PR	LOC (rebased)	Surface	Risk
#2805	+12/-9 in start.ps1	expand Windows installer candidate paths	low — additive, dedupes WOW64 collisions
#2806	+6/-2 in start.ps1 + README.md	correct native Windows venv guidance	low — pure docs
#2807	+35/-3 in start.ps1	TryParse port + exit-after-finally	low — better error UX, no behavior change in happy path

All 3 PRs by @Koraji95-coder, all Windows-only (no impact on Linux/macOS runtime). Rebased onto current master per Nathan's standing rule.

Cherry-picks (squashed/rebased)

ed9a1637 feat(start.ps1): expand hermes-agent candidate paths for Windows installers (#2805)
9db6be99 docs(start.ps1+README): clarify native Windows venv path                       (#2806)
055f9b3c harden(start.ps1): TryParse HERMES_WEBUI_PORT + exit AFTER try/finally cleanup (#2807)
fe0a1cea Stamp CHANGELOG for v0.51.124

Conflict resolution

All 3 PRs were branched off #2783 (which shipped in v0.51.121). The naive cherry-pick would have re-applied #2783's content. Resolution:

1. feat(start.ps1): expand hermes-agent candidate paths for Windows installers #2805 (squash-merge): conflict in start.ps1 — took theirs (broader candidate-list discovery is strictly an improvement)
2. docs(start.ps1+README): clarify native Windows venv path; remove misleading WSL2-venv-portability claim #2806 (squash-merge): conflicts in start.ps1 + README.md — took theirs for docs hunks, kept feat(start.ps1): expand hermes-agent candidate paths for Windows installers #2805's -PathType Container + expanded candidate list
3. harden(start.ps1): TryParse HERMES_WEBUI_PORT + exit AFTER try/finally cleanup #2807 (3-way diff apply): clean apply of its 2 unique commits' diff

Authorship preserved on every commit.

Pre-Opus gate

Check	Result
File-scope verification	start.ps1, README.md, CHANGELOG.md only
No .py files touched	confirmed
PowerShell syntax (pwsh)	not installed locally — would have been checked by #2811's workflow if it were ready
Full pytest	6333 passed, 7 skipped, 0 failed (identical to v0.51.123 — no Python regressions, expected)
Merge-marker grep	clean
All 3 PRs' content verified by marker grep	#2805 Select-Object -Unique+ProgramW6432 (4 hits); #2806 native-Windows docs (4 hits); #2807 TryParse+serverExitCode (5 hits)

What's deferred

• ci(windows): add native-Windows startup E2E workflow #2811 Windows CI workflow — needs the pip install hermes-agent provisioning step rewritten (hermes-agent isn't on PyPI). Leaving open with a maintainer comment for the contributor.
• All other open non-hold PRs documented in batch5 PR body — composer max-width, MCP PATCH, Cursor ACP, runner harness, Web Agent tools, Turkish locale, Auxiliary Models, Artifacts tab.