# NousResearch/hermes-agent · FTS5 shadow table orphan bug and repair handling

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

A bug where database recovery resurrects orphaned FTS5 shadow tables causes startup failures; related fixes and improvements address detection, self-healing, and repair of these orphan tables on session database open.

## TL;DR

- 4 member(s): 0 open issue(s), 1 closed issue(s), 0 open PR(s), 1 merged PR(s), 2 PR(s) closed without merging.
- A fix was merged to main in PR #108130. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #108130 (and any competing PRs below) before filing. Confirm the merged change covers your symptom.

## Maintainer resolution verdict

- Internal-tracker verdict over this cluster's issue members: `unresolved`. This is distinct from the fix status above. Weigh it yourself.

## How this cluster was grouped

- Link evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.
- Pairwise link density `0.50`: the share of member pairs that carry a link, counting a structural link in full and a relevance-only link at 0.36. `1.00` means every pair is linked.

## Closed / duplicate issues

- #103840: \[Bug\]: state.db recovery via \`.recover\` resurrects orphan FTS5 shadow tables — gateway fails startup with "fts5: error creating shadow table messages_fts_data: table already exists"

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#108130: state.db FTS damage no longer kills turns; doctor/repair/recover handle real incident shapes (#97794, #88587, #100227, #103840, #106667, #102240, #98050, #103647, #96591, #105887; salvage #97843 #88604 #56824 #91413 #102808 #103657 #106890 #103321)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `agent/turn_explainers.py`, `contributors/emails/91889514+jangomango76@users.noreply.github.com`, `contributors/emails/[redacted:email]`, `contributors/emails/[redacted:email]`, `contributors/emails/[redacted:email]`, `gateway/run_notifications.py`, `hermes_cli/console_engine.py`, `hermes_cli/doctor_state.py`, `hermes_cli/session_lost_and_found.py`, `hermes_cli/session_recovery.py`, `hermes_cli/sessions_cmd.py`, `hermes_cli/web_routers/_common.py`, `hermes_cli/web_routers/analytics.py`, `hermes_cli/web_server_sessions.py`, `hermes_constants.py`, `hermes_state_errors.py`, `hermes_state_fts.py`, `hermes_state_repair.py`, `hermes_state_schema.py`, `hermes_state_search.py` (+12 more)
- **#56824: fix(state): repair orphan FTS5 shadow tables on SessionDB open**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `merged_via`; implication `superseded`; refs `04dd80a977`, `#108130`, `#103868`
- **#103868: fix(state): self-heal orphan FTS5 shadow tables (views+triggers, ownership-safe)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `04dd80a977`, `#108130`, `#56824`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #108130 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-09-11`.
- Subsystem: `agent`