# NousResearch/hermes-agent · TUI startup failure due to --expose-gc flag handling

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

A bug where the Hermes TUI fails because --expose-gc was incorrectly passed via NODE_OPTIONS, and related fix attempts to pass it as a direct Node.js CLI argument instead.

## TL;DR

- 4 member(s): 0 open issue(s), 1 closed issue(s), 0 open PR(s), 1 merged PR(s), 2 PR(s) closed without merging.
- A fix was merged to main in PR #29998. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #29998 (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-29998`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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.

## Closed / duplicate issues

- #17187: \[Bug\]: \`hermes --tui\` fails with \`--expose-gc is not allowed in NODE_OPTIONS\`

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#29998: fix(tui): pass --expose-gc as node argv instead of NODE_OPTIONS**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `hermes_cli/main.py`, `scripts/release.py`
- **#17200: fix(tui): pass --expose-gc as a node CLI flag, not via NODE_OPTIONS (#17187)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `stale_abandoned`; implication `active`
- **#21711: fix(tui): pass --expose-gc as node argv instead of NODE_OPTIONS**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `merged_via`; implication `superseded`; refs `2ea7cf287`, `#29998`, `#17187`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #29998 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-05-21`.