# NousResearch/hermes-agent · MCP stdio server Node.js PATH ordering issues

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

These items concern how managed Node.js installations interact with MCP stdio servers, specifically around PATH precedence and native addon compatibility when a different Node version built the addon.

## 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 #125644. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #125644 (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-125644`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #124264: hermes update installs a managed Node and prepends it to MCP child PATH, breaking npm MCP servers with native addons

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#125644: MCP servers with a native addon built by another Node now say so and name the rebuild under Hermes's Node (#124264)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `hermes_cli/mcp_config.py`, `tests/e2e/core/upgrade/hosts/test_path_shapes.py`, `tests/tools/test_mcp_node_abi.py`, `tools/mcp_tool_config.py`, `tools/mcp_tool_errors.py`, `tools/mcp_tool_node_abi.py`, `tools/mcp_tool_transport.py`
- **#124304: fix(mcp): keep the user's Node ahead of PM's for stdio MCP servers**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `uncategorized`; implication `needs_llm`; refs `#124264`, `#125644`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #125644 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-09-28`.