# NousResearch/hermes-agent · MCP probe timeout misclassified as auth failure

## Open now

- 1 issue, 2 PRs open on GitHub.
- #119232: \[Bug\]: Desktop MCP card reports "Needs authentication" for a no-auth server whenever the probe times out (auth regex matches Hermes' own "OAuth" wording)
- PR #119235: fix(mcp): classify desktop probe auth failures structurally
- PR #119240: fix(desktop): stop MCP timeouts masquerading as auth failures

A bug where MCP server probe timeouts are incorrectly reported as authentication failures, likely due to regex matching OAuth-related wording in error messages. Multiple fixes address classifying auth vs. timeout failures more accurately.

## TL;DR

- 4 member(s): 1 open issue(s), 0 closed issue(s), 2 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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 `0.50`: 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.

## Open related issues

- #119232: \[Bug\]: Desktop MCP card reports "Needs authentication" for a no-auth server whenever the probe times out (auth regex matches Hermes' own "OAuth" wording)

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#119235: fix(mcp): classify desktop probe auth failures structurally**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `silent_close`; implication `active`
  - files: `apps/desktop/src/api/mcp.ts`, `apps/desktop/src/app/capabilities/mcp/mcp-status.ts`, `apps/desktop/src/lib/mcp-probe-cache.test.ts`, `apps/desktop/src/lib/mcp-probe-cache.ts`, `hermes_cli/web_routers/mcp.py`
- **#119240: fix(desktop): stop MCP timeouts masquerading as auth failures**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`
  - files: `apps/desktop/src/lib/mcp-probe-cache.test.ts`, `apps/desktop/src/lib/mcp-probe-cache.ts`
- **#119337: fix(mcp): a 401 is an auth refusal, and a timeout is not one**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `superseded_by_pr`; implication `superseded`; refs `#119235`, `#119240`

## Fix status

- No merged fix on record.
- Subsystem: `apps/desktop`