# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Skip memory sync on interrupted turns

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

These items address a fix to prevent external memory provider synchronization from running when a turn has been interrupted. All three members refer to the same specific change.

## 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 #15395. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #15395 (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-15395`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #15218: External memory sync should skip interrupted turns

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#15395: fix(memory): skip external-provider sync on interrupted turns (#15218)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `run_agent.py`, `tests/run_agent/test_memory_sync_interrupted.py`
  - fix hunks:
  - `run_agent.py`

    ```diff
    @@ -4162,6 +4162,49 @@ def commit_memory_session(self, messages: list = None) -> None:
             except Exception:
                 pass
     
    +    def _sync_external_memory_for_turn(
    +        self,
    +        *,
    +        original_user_message: Any,
    +        final_response: Any,
    +        interrupted: bool,
    +    ) -> None:
    +        """Mirror a completed turn into external memory providers.
    +
    +        Called at the end of ``run_conversation`` with the cleaned user
    +        message (``original_user_message``) and the finalised assistant
    +        response.  The external memory backend gets both ``sync_all`` (to
    +        persist the exchange) and ``queue_prefetch_all`` (to start
    +        warming context for the next turn) in one shot.
    +
    +        Uses ``original_user_message`` rather than ``user_message``
    +        because the latter may carry injected skill content that bloats
    +        or breaks provider queries.
    +
    +        Interrupted turns are skipped entirely (#15218).  A partial
    +        assistant output, an aborted tool chain, or a mid-stream reset
    +        is not durable conversational truth — mirroring it into an
    +        external memory backend pollutes future recall with state the
    +        user never saw completed.  The prefetch is gated on the same
    +        flag: the user's next message is almost certainly a retry of
    +        the same intent, and a prefetch keyed on the interrupted turn
    +        would fire against stale context.
    +
    +        Normal completed turns still sync as before.  The whole body is
    +        wrapped in ``try/except Exception`` because external memory
    +        providers are strictly best-effort — a misconfigured or offline
    +        backend must not block the user from seeing their response.
    +        """
    +        if interrupted:
    +            return
    +        if not (self._memory_manager and final_response and original_user_message):
    +            return
    +        try:
    +            self._memory_manager.sync_all(original_user_message, final_response)
    +            self._memory_manager.queue_prefetch_all(original_user_message)
    +        except Exception:
    +            pass
    +
         def release_clients(self) -> None:
             """Release LLM client resources WITHOUT tearing down session tool state.
     
    ```

    ```diff
    @@ -12524,14 +12567,11 @@ def _stop_spinner():
                 self._iters_since_skill = 0
     
             # External memory provider: sync the completed turn + queue next prefetch.
    -        # Use original_user_message (clean input) — user_message may contain
    -        # injected skill content that bloats / breaks provider queries.
    -        if self._memory_manager and final_response and original_user_message:
    -            try:
    -                self._memory_manager.sync_all(original_user_message, final_response)
    -                self._memory_manager.queue_prefetch_all(original_user_message)
    -            except Exception:
    -                pass
    +        self._sync_external_memory_for_turn(
    +            original_user_message=original_user_message,
    +            final_response=final_response,
    +            interrupted=interrupted,
    +        )
     
             # Background memory/skill review — runs AFTER the response is delivered
             # so it never competes with the user's task for model attention.
    ```
  - `tests/run_agent/test_memory_sync_interrupted.py`

    ```diff
    @@ -0,0 +1,189 @@
    +"""Regression guard for #15218 — external memory sync must skip interrupted turns.
    +
    +Before this fix, ``run_conversation`` called
    +``memory_manager.sync_all(original_user_message, final_response)`` at the
    +end of every turn where both args were present.  That gate didn't check
    +the ``interrupted`` flag, so an external memory backend received partial
    +assistant output, aborted tool chains, or mid-stream resets as durable
    +conversational truth.  Downstream recall then treated that not-yet-real
    +state as if the user had seen it complete.
    +
    +The fix is ``AIAgent._sync_external_memory_for_turn`` — a small helper
    +that replaces the inline block and returns early when ``interrupted``
    +is True (regardless of whether ``final_response`` and
    +``original_user_message`` happen to be populated).
    +
    +These tests exercise the helper directly on a bare ``AIAgent`` built
    +via ``__new__`` so the full ``run_conversation`` machinery isn't needed
    +— the method is pure logic and three state arguments.
    +"""
    +from unittest.mock import MagicMock
    +
    +import pytest
    +
    +
    +def _bare_agent():
    +    """Build an ``AIAgent`` with only the attributes
    +    ``_sync_external_memory_for_turn`` touches — matches the bare-agent
    +    pattern used across ``tests/run_agent/test_interrupt_propagation.py``.
    +    """
    +    from run_agent import AIAgent
    +
    +    agent = AIAgent.__new__(AIAgent)
    +    agent._memory_manager = MagicMock()
    +    return agent
    +
    +
    +class TestSyncExternalMemoryForTurn:
    +    # --- Interrupt guard (the #15218 fix) -------------------------------
    +
    +    def test_interrupted_turn_does_not_sync(self):
    +        """The whole point of #15218: even with a final_response and a
    +        user message, an interrupted turn must NOT reach the memory
    +        backend."""
    +        agent = _bare_agent()
    +        agent._sync_external_memory_for_turn(
    +            original_user_message="What time is it?",
    +            final_response="It is 3pm.",  # looks complete — but partial
    +            interrupted=True,
    +        )
    +        agent._memory_manager.sync_all.assert_not_called()
    +        agent._memory_manager.queue_prefetch_all.assert_not_called()
    +
    +    def test_interrupted_turn_skips_even_when_response_is_full(self):
    +        """A long, seemingly-complete assistant response is still
    +        partial if ``interrupted`` is True — an interrupt may have
    +        landed between the streamed reply and the next tool call.  The
    +        memory backend has no way to distinguish on its own, so we must
    +        gate at the source."""
    +        agent = _bare_agent()
    +        agent._sync_external_memory_for_turn(
    +            original_user_message="Plan a trip to Lisbon",
    +            final_response="Here's a detailed 7-day itinerary: [...]",
    +            interrupted=True,
    +        )
    +        agent._memory_manager.sync_all.assert_not_called()
    +
    +    # --- Normal completed turn still syncs ------------------------------
    +
    +    def test_completed_turn_syncs_and_queues_prefetch(self):
    +        """Regression guard for the positive path: a normal completed
    +        turn must still trigger both ``sync_all`` AND
    +        ``queue_prefetch_all`` — otherwise the external memory backend
    +        never learns about anything and every user complains.
    +        """
    +        agent = _bare_agent()
    +        agent._sync_external_memory_for_turn(
    +            original_user_message="What's the weather in Paris?",
    +            final_response="It's sunny and 22°C.",
    +            interrupted=False,
    +        )
    +        agent._memory_manager.sync_all.assert_called_once_with(
    +            "What's the weather in Paris?", "It's sunny and 22°C.",
    +        )
    +        agent._memory_manager.queue_prefetch_all.assert_called_once_with(
    +            "What's the weather in Paris?",
    +        )
    +
    +    # --- Edge cases (pre-existing behaviour preserved) ------------------
    +
    +    def test_no_final_response_skips(self):
    +        """If the model produced no final_response (e.g. tool-only turn
    +        that never resolved), we must not fabricate an empty sync."""
    +        agent = _bare_agent()
    +        agent._sync_external_memory_for_turn(
    +            original_user_message="Hello",
    +            final_response=None,
    +            interrupted=False,
    +        )
    +        agent._memory_manager.sync_all.assert_not_called()
    +
    +    def test_no_original_user_message_skips(self):
    +        """No user-origin message means this wasn't a user turn (e.g.
    +        a system-initiated refresh).  Don't sync an assistant-only
    +        exchange as if a user said something."""
    +        agent = _bare_agent()
    +        agent._sync_external_memory_for_turn(
    +            original_user_message=None,
    +            final_response="Proactive notification text",
    +            interrupted=False,
    +        )
    +        agent._memory_manager.sync_all.assert_not_called()
    +
    +    def test_no_memory_manager_is_a_no_op(self):
    +        """Sessions without an external memory manager must not crash
    +        or try to call .sync_all on None."""
    +        from run_agent import AIAgent
    +
    +        agent = AIAgent.__new__(AIAgent)
    +        agent._memory_manager = None
    +
    +        # Must not raise.
    +        agent._sync_external_memory_for_turn(
    +            original_user_message="hi",
    +            final_response="hey",
    +            interrupted=False,
    +        )
    +
    +    # --- Exception safety ----------------------------------------------
    +
    +    def test_sync_exception_is_swallowed(self):
    +        """External memory providers are best-effort; a misconfigured
    +        or offline backend must not block the user from seeing their
    +        response by propagating the exception up."""
    +        agent = _bare_agent()
    +        agent._memory_manager.sync_all.side_effect = RuntimeError(
    +            "backend unreachable"
    +        )
    +
    +        # Must not raise.
    +        agent._sync_external_memory_for_turn(
    +            original_user_message="hi",
    +            final_response="hey",
    +            interrupted=False,
    +        )
    +        # sync_all was attempted.
    +        agent._memory_manager.sync_all.assert_called_once()
    +
    +    def test_prefetch_exception_is_swallowed(self):
    +        """Same best-effort contract applies to the prefetch step — a
    +        failure in queue_prefetch_all must not bubble out."""
    +        agent = _bare_agent()
    +        agent._memory_manager.queue_prefetch_all.side_effect = RuntimeError(
    +            "prefetch worker dead"
    +        )
    +
    +        # Must not raise.
    +        agent._sync_external_memory_for_turn(
    +            original_user_message="hi",
    +            final_response="hey",
    +            interrupted=False,
    +        )
    +        # sync_all still happened before the prefetch blew up.
    +        agent._memory_manager.sync_all.assert_called_once()
    +
    +    # --- The specific matrix the reporter asked about ------------------
    +
    +    @pytest.mark.parametrize("interrupted,final,user,expect_sync", [
    +        (False, "resp", "user",  True),   # normal completed → sync
    +        (True,  "resp", "user",  False),  # interrupted → skip (the fix)
    +        (False, None,   "user",  False),  # no response → skip
    +        (False, "resp", None,    False),  # no user msg → skip
    +        (True,  None,   "user",  False),  # interrupted + no response → skip
    +        (True,  "resp", None,    False),  # interrupted + no user → skip
    +        (False, None,   None,    False),  # nothing → skip
    +        (True,  None,   None,    False),  # interrupted + nothing → skip
    +    ])
    +    def test_sync_matrix(self, interrupted, final, user, expect_sync):
    +        agent = _bare_agent()
    +        agent._sync_external_memory_for_turn(
    +            original_user_message=user,
    +            final_response=final,
    +            interrupted=interrupted,
    +        )
    +        if expect_sync:
    +            agent._memory_manager.sync_all.assert_called_once()
    +            agent._memory_manager.queue_prefetch_all.assert_called_once()
    +        else:
    +            agent._memory_manager.sync_all.assert_not_called()
    +            agent._memory_manager.queue_prefetch_all.assert_not_called()
    ```
- **#15249: fix(memory): skip external-provider sync on interrupted turns (#15218)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `partial_fix`; implication `needs_llm`; refs `#15218`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #15395 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-04-24`. This confirmation is old and may be out of date (a revert/reopen would not have invalidated it here); re-verify.