# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Cron external worker cold start timeout fixes

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

These issues and PRs address a problem where cold external worker startups were being abandoned because the acknowledgment deadline (5 seconds) was shorter than the time needed for a cold start (~12 seconds). Changes extend or align the ack deadline and preserve startup diagnostics.

## 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 #110192. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #110192 (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-110192`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #109243: cron: external-worker handoff requires an ack within 5s, but a cold worker start takes ~12s

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#110192: cron: cold external worker starts no longer abandoned at 5s — ack deadline equals the 30s adoption grace (#109243, salvage #109252)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `cron/scheduler.py`, `tests/cron/test_restart_safe_worker.py`
- **#109252: fix(cron): allow cold external worker startup**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `157aa716b7ba`, `#110192`, `#109294`
- **#109294: fix(cron): preserve external worker startup diagnostics**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `uncategorized`; implication `needs_llm`; refs `#109243`, `#110192`, `#109252`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #110192 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-09-13`.