[BUG] [v0.0.7] cortex export --format yaml produces files that cortex import rejects

[marvinayisi]

Project

cortex

Description

cortex export --format yaml generates a structured session export, but cortex import rejects that file because the importer only deserializes JSON. This breaks the export/import round-trip for a format that the exporter explicitly supports.

repro.mp4

Error Message

Error: Failed to parse JSON from file: expected value at line 1 column 1

Debug Logs

Relevant code paths:
- src/cortex-cli/src/export_cmd.rs:22, 211-212 -> exporter supports ExportFormat::Yaml and serializes YAML
- src/cortex-cli/src/import_cmd.rs:73-99 -> importer always calls serde_json::from_str(&json_content)

System Information

cortex 0.0.7 (7954d02 2026-04-02)
ProductName: macOS
ProductVersion: 26.1
BuildVersion: 25B78
Darwin Lydias-MacBook-Pro.local 25.1.0 Darwin Kernel Version 25.1.0: Mon Oct 20 19:34:03 PDT 2025; root:xnu-12377.41.6~2/RELEASE_ARM64_T8112 arm64

Screenshots

repro.mp4

Steps to Reproduce

1. Import any valid portable session JSON so there is a session available to export.
2. Run HOME=<tmp> cortex export <session-id> --format yaml -o out.yaml.
3. Run HOME=<tmp> cortex import out.yaml.

Expected Behavior

A session exported in a supported structured format should be importable back into cortex, or the exporter should not present that format as a portable export.

Actual Behavior

The YAML export is generated successfully, but cortex import immediately rejects it with a JSON parse error.

Additional Context

Duplicate-check note: searched for export --format yaml import rejects YAML portable format, cortex export yaml import only json, and similar variants. I did not find an existing issue matching this YAML export/import round-trip failure.

[echobt]

✅ Validation Result: VALID

Reason

The cortex export --format yaml command generates a YAML file, but the cortex import command attempts to parse it as JSON, leading to a parse error. The code confirms this: src/cortex-cli/src/export_cmd.rs serializes to YAML, while src/cortex-cli/src/import_cmd.rs uses serde_json::from_str to parse the input file.

Verification Checklist

• ✅ Screenshot/video provided
• ✅ Images accessible
• ✅ Shows CLI/TUI interface
• ✅ Code matches description
• ✅ No duplicates found

[GreyforgeLabs]

Fix PR opened: CortexLM/cortex-code#389

Summary:

• cortex import now accepts session exports parsed as JSON or YAML, matching cortex export --format yaml.
• Invalid export diagnostics now mention JSON/YAML and keep the existing content preview hints.
• Added a CLI regression test that imports a YAML session export.

Validation:

• cargo test -p cortex-cli --test import_yaml --no-default-features --features cortex-tui -- --nocapture
• cargo check -p cortex-cli --no-default-features --features cortex-tui
• cargo fmt --package cortex-cli --check
• git diff --check