# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Fix tilde expansion in HERMES_HOME path resolution

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

These issues and PRs address a bug where a literal '~' in the HERMES_HOME environment variable is not expanded to the user's home directory, causing Hermes to scaffold its home directory relative to the current working directory instead.

## 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 #114824. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #114824 (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-114824`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #114353: HERMES_HOME with an unexpanded '~' is resolved relative to cwd, scaffolding a full Hermes home inside the current directory

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#114824: fix(config): HERMES_HOME with a literal ~ resolves to the real home, not cwd (#114353, salvage #109212)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `apps/desktop/electron/backend-env.test.ts`, `apps/desktop/electron/backend-env.ts`, `gateway/lifecycle_ledger.py`, `gateway/shutdown_forensics.py`, `gateway/shutdown_watchdog.py`, `gateway/status.py`, `hermes_cli/_startup_fast.py`, `hermes_cli/main.py`, `hermes_constants.py`, `tests/gateway/test_process_hermes_home_expansion.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_startup_fast_guards.py`, `tests/test_hermes_constants.py`, `website/docs/reference/environment-variables.md`
- **#114361: fix(cli): expand a literal '~' in HERMES_HOME instead of scaffolding at cwd**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `superseded_by_pr`; implication `superseded`; refs `#109212`, `#114353`, `#109201`
- **#114449: fix(config): expand a literal tilde in HERMES_HOME before resolving**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `superseded_by_pr`; implication `superseded`; refs `eeb382837a2b`, `#114824`, `#114353`, `#109212`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #114824 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-09-18`.