fix(cli): render frontmatter once with --include-frontmatter

With the flag the API returns the literal file as content, so both display
paths printed the frontmatter twice (synthesized block/panel + the block
inside content). Plain now prints the file verbatim; Rich keeps the panel
and strips the block from the Markdown body.

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Signed-off-by: Drew Cain <groksrc@gmail.com>

src/basic_memory/cli/commands/tool.py

@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ from rich.tree import Tree
 from basic_memory.cli.app import app
 from basic_memory.cli.commands.command_utils import run_with_cleanup
 from basic_memory.config import ConfigManager
+from basic_memory.file_utils import has_frontmatter, remove_frontmatter
 from basic_memory.cli.commands.routing import force_routing, validate_routing_flags
 from basic_memory.mcp.tools import build_context as mcp_build_context
 from basic_memory.mcp.tools import delete_note as mcp_delete_note
@@ -214,8 +215,16 @@ def _display_read_note(result: dict[str, Any], *, include_frontmatter: bool = Fa
             fm_table.add_row(markup_escape(str(key)), markup_escape(str(value)))
         console.print(Panel(fm_table, title="[dim]frontmatter[/dim]", expand=False))
 
-    if content:
-        console.print(Markdown(content))
+    # Trigger: --include-frontmatter makes the API return the literal file, so
+    # content starts with the frontmatter block the panel above already shows.
+    # Why: rendering it again through Markdown duplicates the frontmatter (and
+    #      Markdown mangles the --- fences into rules/headings).
+    # Outcome: strip the block from the body; the panel is the frontmatter view.
+    body = content
+    if include_frontmatter and content and has_frontmatter(content):
+        body = remove_frontmatter(content)
+    if body and body.strip():
+        console.print(Markdown(body))
     else:
         console.print(Text("(no content)", style="dim"))
 
@@ -385,24 +394,17 @@ def _plain_read_note(result: dict[str, Any], *, include_frontmatter: bool = Fals
     title = result.get("title", "")
     permalink = result.get("permalink", "")
     content = result.get("content", "")
-    frontmatter: dict[str, Any] = result.get("frontmatter") or {}
 
     header = f"{title}  [{permalink}]" if permalink else title
     print(header)
 
-    # Trigger: --include-frontmatter was passed and the payload carries frontmatter.
-    # Why: the JSON payload always includes a "frontmatter" key, so the flag (not
-    #      mere presence) gates whether the key/value block is printed -- matching
-    #      the Rich path's gating behavior.
-    # Outcome: a blank line then "key: value" lines above the body.
-    if include_frontmatter and frontmatter:
-        print()
-        for key, value in frontmatter.items():
-            print(f"{key}: {value}")
-
     print()
-    # The API's content field keeps the blank line left by frontmatter
-    # stripping; trim newlines so the header gap stays a single blank line.
+    # Trigger: --include-frontmatter makes the API return the literal file
+    # (frontmatter block included) as content.
+    # Why: plain mode should show that file verbatim -- synthesizing a separate
+    #      key/value block would print the frontmatter twice.
+    # Outcome: with the flag, the body IS the frontmatter view; either way trim
+    #      surrounding newlines so the header gap stays a single blank line.
     body = content.strip("\n") if content else ""
     if body:
         print(body)

tests/cli/test_cli_tool_rich_output.py

@@ -28,6 +28,16 @@ READ_NOTE_RESULT = {
     "frontmatter": {"title": "Test Note", "tags": ["test"]},
 }
 
+# With --include-frontmatter the API returns the LITERAL FILE as content
+# (frontmatter block included) alongside the parsed frontmatter dict.
+READ_NOTE_RESULT_WITH_FRONTMATTER = {
+    "title": "Test Note",
+    "permalink": "notes/test-note",
+    "file_path": "notes/Test Note.md",
+    "content": "---\ntitle: Test Note\ntags:\n- test\n---\n\n# Test Note\n\nhello world",
+    "frontmatter": {"title": "Test Note", "tags": ["test"]},
+}
+
 SEARCH_RESULT = {
     # Real SearchResponse.model_dump() uses "current_page", not "page".
     # No "query" key in the response -- the query comes from the CLI argument.
@@ -436,24 +446,29 @@ def test_recent_activity_non_tty_gives_json(mock_mcp):
 @patch(
     "basic_memory.cli.commands.tool.mcp_read_note",
     new_callable=AsyncMock,
-    return_value=READ_NOTE_RESULT,
+    return_value=READ_NOTE_RESULT_WITH_FRONTMATTER,
 )
 def test_read_note_rich_include_frontmatter(mock_mcp):
-    """read-note --include-frontmatter renders frontmatter keys in Rich path.
+    """read-note --include-frontmatter renders the panel once, not twice.
 
-    Regression: previously the Rich renderer silently dropped frontmatter even
-    when --include-frontmatter was passed, requiring --json to see the data.
+    Regression 1: the Rich renderer silently dropped frontmatter even with the
+    flag. Regression 2: with the flag, content is the LITERAL FILE, so the
+    frontmatter block must be stripped from the Markdown body or it renders
+    again under the panel.
     """
     result = _tty_runner(["tool", "read-note", "test-note", "--include-frontmatter"])
 
     assert result.exit_code == 0, f"CLI failed: {result.output}"
-    # Frontmatter section header should appear
+    # Frontmatter panel appears with key/value data
     assert "frontmatter" in result.output
-    # The frontmatter key and value from READ_NOTE_RESULT should be visible
     assert "tags" in result.output
     assert "test" in result.output
-    # The note content should still appear
+    # The note content still appears
     assert "hello world" in result.output
+    # The frontmatter block is NOT rendered a second time through Markdown:
+    # the raw fence is stripped, and the title key appears only in the panel.
+    assert "---" not in result.output
+    assert result.output.count("title") == 1
 
 
 @patch(
@@ -758,16 +773,22 @@ def test_read_note_plain_output(mock_mcp):
 @patch(
     "basic_memory.cli.commands.tool.mcp_read_note",
     new_callable=AsyncMock,
-    return_value=READ_NOTE_RESULT,
+    return_value=READ_NOTE_RESULT_WITH_FRONTMATTER,
 )
 def test_read_note_plain_include_frontmatter(mock_mcp):
-    """read-note --plain --include-frontmatter renders key: value lines."""
+    """read-note --plain --include-frontmatter shows the literal file, once.
+
+    With the flag, content IS the file (frontmatter block included); plain mode
+    prints it verbatim and must not prepend a synthesized key/value block.
+    """
     result = _tty_runner(["tool", "read-note", "test-note", "--plain", "--include-frontmatter"])
 
     assert result.exit_code == 0, f"CLI failed: {result.output}"
-    assert "title: Test Note" in result.output
-    assert "tags:" in result.output
+    # The literal file: fences and YAML lines exactly as stored
+    assert "---\ntitle: Test Note\ntags:\n- test\n---" in result.output
     assert "hello world" in result.output
+    # No duplicated frontmatter from a synthesized block
+    assert result.output.count("title: Test Note") == 1
 
 
 @patch(