# NousResearch/hermes-agent · PermissionError in context-file discovery crashes agent surfaces

## Open now

- 0 issues, 1 PR open on GitHub.
- PR #112432: fix(agent): guard _find_hermes_md and .cursor/rules discovery against PermissionError

An unguarded PermissionError raised during system-prompt context-file discovery (hermes.md and .cursor/rules) was crashing multiple agent surfaces simultaneously. These members address adding permission-error guards to the relevant discovery functions.

## TL;DR

- 3 member(s): 0 open issue(s), 1 closed issue(s), 1 open PR(s), 1 merged PR(s), 0 PR(s) closed without merging.
- A fix was merged to main in PR #113143. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #113143 (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-113143`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #112430: \[Bug\]: Catastrophic outage — unguarded PermissionError in _find_hermes_md() kills terminal, TUI, dashboard and gateway messaging at once; hermes doctor --fix can't repair it

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#113143: fix(agent): an unreadable directory no longer crashes system-prompt context-file discovery on every surface (#112430, salvage #112432, #8767)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `agent/prompt_builder.py`, `contributors/emails/[redacted:email]`, `contributors/emails/[redacted:email]`, `tests/agent/test_prompt_builder.py`
- **#112432: fix(agent): guard _find_hermes_md and .cursor/rules discovery against PermissionError**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `superseded_by_pr`; implication `superseded`; refs `#113143`
  - files: `agent/prompt_builder.py`, `tests/agent/test_prompt_builder.py`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #113143 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-09-17`.
- Subsystem: `agent`