# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Windows default browser detection reads wrong registry key

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

A bug on Windows 11 25H2/build 26200 causes a blank updater window because the code reads the legacy UserChoice registry key instead of the newer UserChoiceLatest key. The accompanying fixes update the lookup order to prefer UserChoiceLatest.

## 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 #134428. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #134428 (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: `resolved` · deciding PR(s): `pr-134428`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #108051: \[Bug\]\[Windows 11 25H2 / build 26200\] Desktop updater: \`Get-DefaultBrowserExe\` reads the legacy \`UserChoice\` key the OS no longer updates — blank ghost update window

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#134428: Windows 11 25H2: real-profile browsing and the updater window find the default browser (#107854, salvage #106971)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `contributors/emails/[redacted:email]`, `hermes_cli/browser_connect.py`, `scripts/desktop-update/windows.ps1`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_browser_connect_default_chromium.py`
- **#108062: fix(desktop): prefer UserChoiceLatest when resolving Windows updater browser**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `d95d5bca1fb`, `#134428`
- **#108064: fix(desktop): read the default browser ProgId from UserChoiceLatest before the legacy UserChoice key**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `5419d869bbe`, `d95d5bca1fb`, `#134428`, `#106971`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #134428 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-10-07`.
- Subsystem: `apps/desktop`