# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Fix misleading credential status in doctor/errors

## Open now

- 1 issue, 1 PR open on GitHub.
- #119105: Turn start fails with generic "Hermes hit an internal problem starting this reply" when credential pool is empty — doctor misleadingly reports "API key or custom endpoint configured"
- PR #119137: fix(doctor): a remote base URL with no key is not a configured credential

These items address cases where missing or empty model credentials produce misleading feedback — either a generic internal error on turn start or a false 'configured' report from the doctor command when no API key is present.

## TL;DR

- 3 member(s): 1 open issue(s), 0 closed issue(s), 1 open PR(s), 0 merged PR(s), 1 PR(s) closed without merging.
- No fix has been merged to main; one or more PRs were attempted (see below).
- **Recommended:** review the prior/competing PR(s) below. A fix was attempted but not merged; your case may extend or revive that work.

## Maintainer resolution verdict

- Internal-tracker verdict over this cluster's issue members: `unresolved`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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.

## Open related issues

- #119105: Turn start fails with generic "Hermes hit an internal problem starting this reply" when credential pool is empty — doctor misleadingly reports "API key or custom endpoint configured"

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#119115: fix: surface missing model credentials**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `#119105`, `#132673`
- **#119137: fix(doctor): a remote base URL with no key is not a configured credential**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `uncategorized`; implication `needs_llm`; refs `1ed86965b8d8990469679ed3e67c9a4af91c3491`
  - files: `hermes_cli/doctor_config.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_doctor.py`

## Fix status

- No merged fix on record.
- Subsystem: `agent`