# NousResearch/hermes-agent · read_file misreports permission-denied errors as "File not found"

## Open now

- 1 issue, 3 PRs open on GitHub.
- #138090: read_file reports "File not found" for files it cannot access (permission denied / sandbox)
- PR #138095: fix(tools): denied reads are not "File not found"
- PR #138096: fix(tools): report permission errors instead of "File not found" in read_file
- PR #138097: fix: report permission denied for unreadable files

These members all concern read_file (or related tools) returning a "File not found" message when a file exists but cannot be read due to permissions or sandbox restrictions. One appears to be an issue describing the behavior, and the others appear to be pull requests proposing that permission errors be reported instead.

## TL;DR

- 4 member(s): 1 open issue(s), 0 closed issue(s), 3 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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 `0.50`: 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

- #138090: read_file reports "File not found" for files it cannot access (permission denied / sandbox)

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#138095: fix(tools): denied reads are not "File not found"**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`
  - files: `tests/tools/test_read_file_access_denied.py`, `tools/file_operations.py`
- **#138096: fix(tools): report permission errors instead of "File not found" in read_file**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `ee59cfd590`
  - files: `tests/tools/test_read_permission_denied.py`, `tools/file_operations.py`
- **#138097: fix: report permission denied for unreadable files**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `silent_close`; implication `active`
  - files: `tests/tools/test_file_operations_permissions.py`, `tools/file_operations.py`

## Fix status

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