# NousResearch/hermes-agent · build-only flag disrupts running Desktop app on macOS

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

These items concern a bug where \`--build-only\` on desktop incorrectly swaps or deletes bundle files while a Desktop instance is already running from the release tree. Related work adds a guard to refuse or safely handle the swap in that scenario.

## 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 #116719. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #116719 (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-116719`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #116504: desktop: \`--build-only\` swaps release/mac-arm64/Hermes.app under a running Desktop and deletes the previous bundle (macOS)

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#116719: fix(desktop): \`hermes desktop --build-only\` stops a Desktop running from the release tree before swapping the bundle under it (#116504)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `hermes_cli/main_desktop.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_desktop_swap_file_lock_retry.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_gui_command.py`
- **#116672: fix(desktop): refuse the staged-app swap while an app is still running from the release tree**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `silent_close`; implication `active`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #116719 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-09-20`.
- Subsystem: `apps/desktop`