# NousResearch/hermes-agent · MCP tools config bare string causes crash or silent failure

## Open now

- 1 issue, 2 PRs open on GitHub.
- #122373: mcp_servers.<name>.tools as a bare string crashes config_fingerprint and silently registers 0 tools
- PR #122381: fix(mcp): normalize shorthand tools filter config instead of crashing discovery
- PR #122694: fix(mcp): accept a bare string/list in mcp_servers.<name>.tools (#122373)

A bare string or list value in mcp_servers.<name>.tools crashes config fingerprinting and silently registers no tools. The associated fixes normalize this shorthand input format during MCP discovery.

## TL;DR

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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #122373: mcp_servers.<name>.tools as a bare string crashes config_fingerprint and silently registers 0 tools

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#122381: fix(mcp): normalize shorthand tools filter config instead of crashing discovery**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `c85ec918f3`
  - files: `hermes_cli/mcp_config.py`, `hermes_cli/tools_config_mcp.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_mcp_config.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_mcp_tools_config.py`, `tests/tools/test_mcp_tools_filter_config.py`, `tools/mcp_schema_cache.py`, `tools/mcp_tool_common.py`, `tools/mcp_tool_registration.py`
- **#122694: fix(mcp): accept a bare string/list in mcp_servers.<name>.tools (#122373)**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `uncategorized`; implication `needs_llm`; refs `1e2dc64ec29a46ea`, `1e2dc64ec29a46ea`, `1e2dc64ec29a46ea`
  - files: `tests/tools/test_mcp_tools_filter_normalize.py`, `tools/mcp_schema_cache.py`, `tools/mcp_tool_registration.py`

## Fix status

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