# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Pre-update backup issues with retired-WAL directories

## Open now

- 1 issue, 2 PRs open on GitHub.
- #139784: Pre-update zip backup still aborts when a state.db.retired-wal-* DIRECTORY exists (backup exclusions match file basenames, never directory paths)
- PR #139790: fix: prune retired WAL directories from backups
- PR #141204: Pre-update backup: make failure observable and prune retired-WAL capture dirs

The three members all concern the pre-update zip backup and directories named like state.db.retired-wal-*. They cover backup aborts when such a directory exists, making backup failures observable, and pruning or excluding these directories from backups. Their outcomes are not established from the titles alone.

## 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #139784: Pre-update zip backup still aborts when a state.db.retired-wal-* DIRECTORY exists (backup exclusions match file basenames, never directory paths)

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#139790: fix: prune retired WAL directories from backups**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `6008c3bfcb`
  - files: `hermes_cli/backup.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_backup_retired_wal_prune.py`
- **#141204: Pre-update backup: make failure observable and prune retired-WAL capture dirs**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `silent_close`; implication `active`
  - files: `hermes_cli/backup.py`, `hermes_cli/update_cmd_maint.py`

## Fix status

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