# NousResearch/hermes-agent · uvx fallback incorrectly activating Browser Use mode

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

A bug where the uvx fallback path was selecting Browser Use as the default browser mode even when browser-use was not installed or when browser.cdp_url was set, causing built-in browser tools to silently disappear. Related fixes and a note about the desktop app's default browser driver are included.

## 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 #125995. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #125995 (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: `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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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.

## Closed / duplicate issues

- #120015: \[Bug\]: The Browser Use default activates through the \`uvx\` fallback even when browser-use isn't installed and \`browser.cdp_url\` is set, and the built-in \`browser_*\` tools (incl. \`browser_vision\`) disappear with no notice

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#125995: Desktop app ships the default browser driver (browser-harness in the main venv)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `hermes_cli/tools_config_post_setup.py`, `hermes_cli/update_cmd_maint.py`, `pyproject.toml`, `scripts/install.ps1`, `scripts/install.sh`, `scripts/smoke-payload.sh`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_tools_config.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_tools_config_post_setup.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_update_browser_use_cli_provision.py`, `tests/scripts/test_agent_build.py`, `tests/tools/test_browser_use_cli.py`, `tests/tools/test_browser_use_harness.py`, `tests/tools/test_browser_use_pm.py`, `tools/browser_use_cli.py`, `website/docs/getting-started/installation.md`, `website/docs/user-guide/features/browser.md`
- **#120033: fix(tools): uvx fallback no longer selects Browser Use mode by default**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `superseded_by_pr`; implication `superseded`; refs `8a3ede1be0`, `#125995`
- **#124315: fix: #120015 — Browser Use default no longer activates through the uvx fallback when browser.cdp_url is set**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `0e427d788d2`, `1d287d5375c`, `8a3ede1be0`, `521af5df7a5`, `#125995`, `#120015`, `#120033`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #125995 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-09-28`.
- Subsystem: `agent`