# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Hermes home directory permissions and symlink security

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

These items address securing the HERMES_HOME directory to mode 0700 when an ancestor path (not the directory itself) is a symlink, a scenario common on macOS where /tmp and /var are symlinks. A related native test failure on macOS involving Hermes home permissions is also included.

## TL;DR

- 3 member(s): 0 open issue(s), 1 closed issue(s), 0 open PR(s), 1 merged PR(s), 1 PR(s) closed without merging.
- A fix was merged to main in PR #111450. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #111450 (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-111450`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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 `0.67`: 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

- #111299: Native test failures on macOS: relay traceparent and Hermes-home permissions

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#111450: fix(security): HERMES_HOME under a symlinked parent (macOS /tmp, /var) is secured to 0700 (#111299, salvage #111301)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `hermes_cli/config_home.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_home_directory_diagnostics.py`
- **#111301: fix(security): secure HERMES_HOME when only an ancestor path is a symlink**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `56d2438a45f`, `2e320e6d1a81`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #111450 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-09-15`.