# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Auth sync feature for detecting credential drift ## Open now - 1 issue, 1 PR open on GitHub. - #18359: \[Feature\]: hermes auth sync — detect and fix credential drift across .env files and credential pool - PR #52300: feat(auth): hermes auth sync — detect and fix credential drift across profile .env files These members concern a proposed or in-progress 'hermes auth sync' feature aimed at detecting and fixing credential drift across .env files, auth.json, and a credential pool. There is also a related fix for preferring ~/.hermes/.env over stale environment variables when seeding the credential pool. ## TL;DR - 4 member(s): 1 open issue(s), 0 closed issue(s), 1 open PR(s), 1 merged PR(s), 1 PR(s) closed without merging. - A fix was merged to main in PR #18755. Verify it addresses your case. - **Recommended:** read PR #18755 (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: `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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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 - #18359: \[Feature\]: hermes auth sync — detect and fix credential drift across .env files and credential pool ## Prior & competing PRs - **#18755: fix: prefer ~/.hermes/.env over stale os.environ when seeding credential pool (salvage #18256)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified` - maintainer direction: category `merged` - files: `agent/credential_pool.py`, `scripts/release.py`, `tests/agent/test_credential_pool.py` - fix hunks: - `agent/credential_pool.py` ```diff @@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations import logging +import os import random import threading import time ``` ```diff @@ -13,7 +14,7 @@ from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Set, Tuple from hermes_constants import OPENROUTER_BASE_URL -from hermes_cli.config import get_env_value +from hermes_cli.config import get_env_value, load_env import hermes_cli.auth as auth_mod from hermes_cli.auth import ( CODEX_ACCESS_TOKEN_REFRESH_SKEW_SECONDS, ``` ```diff @@ -1380,6 +1381,16 @@ def _is_suppressed(_p, _s): # type: ignore[misc] def _seed_from_env(provider: str, entries: List[PooledCredential]) -> Tuple[bool, Set[str]]: changed = False active_sources: Set[str] = set() + + # Prefer ~/.hermes/.env over os.environ — the user's config file is the + # authoritative source for Hermes credentials. Stale env vars from parent + # processes (Codex CLI, test scripts, etc.) should not override deliberate + # changes to the .env file. + def _get_env_prefer_dotenv(key: str) -> str: + env_file = load_env() + val = env_file.get(key) or os.environ.get(key) or "" + return val.strip() + # Honour user suppression — `hermes auth remove ` for an # env-seeded credential marks the env: source as suppressed so it # won't be re-seeded from the user's shell environment or ~/.hermes/.env. ``` ```diff @@ -1391,8 +1402,8 @@ def _seed_from_env(provider: str, entries: List[PooledCredential]) -> Tuple[bool def _is_source_suppressed(_p, _s): # type: ignore[misc] return False if provider == "openrouter": - # Check both os.environ and ~/.hermes/.env file - token = [redacted:secret-assignment]"OPENROUTER_API_KEY") or "").strip() + # Prefer ~/.hermes/.env over os.environ + token = _get_env_prefer_dotenv("OPENROUTER_API_KEY") if token: source = "env:OPENROUTER_API_KEY" if _is_source_suppressed(provider, source): ``` ```diff @@ -1418,7 +1429,7 @@ def _is_source_suppressed(_p, _s): # type: ignore[misc] env_url = "" if pconfig.base_url_env_var: - env_url = (get_env_value(pconfig.base_url_env_var) or "").strip().rstrip("/") + env_url = _get_env_prefer_dotenv(pconfig.base_url_env_var).rstrip("/") env_vars = list(pconfig.api_key_env_vars) if provider == "anthropic": ``` ```diff @@ -1429,8 +1440,8 @@ def _is_source_suppressed(_p, _s): # type: ignore[misc] ] for env_var in env_vars: - # Check both os.environ and ~/.hermes/.env file - token = [redacted:secret-assignment] or "").strip() + # Prefer ~/.hermes/.env over os.environ + token = [redacted:secret-assignment] if not token: continue source = f"env:{env_var}" ``` - `scripts/release.py` ```diff @@ -371,6 +371,7 @@ "[redacted:email]": "zons-zhaozhy", "[redacted:email]": "Es1la", "[redacted:email]": "CoreyNoDream", + "[redacted:email]": "franksong2702", # ── bulk addition: 75 emails resolved via API, PR salvage bodies, noreply # crossref, and GH contributor list matching (April 2026 audit) ── "[redacted:email]": "aaronagent", ``` - `tests/agent/test_credential_pool.py` ```diff @@ -348,6 +348,64 @@ def test_load_pool_seeds_env_api_key(tmp_path, monkeypatch): assert entry.access_token == "sk-or-seeded" + +def test_load_pool_prefers_dotenv_over_stale_os_environ(tmp_path, monkeypatch): + """Regression for #18254: stale OPENROUTER_API_KEY in os.environ (inherited + from a parent shell) must NOT shadow the fresh key in ~/.hermes/.env when + seeding the credential pool. Before the fix, `get_env_value()` preferred + os.environ and silently wrote the stale value into auth.json, causing + persistent 401 errors after key rotation. + """ + hermes_home = tmp_path / "hermes" + hermes_home.mkdir() + monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_HOME", str(hermes_home)) + + # Simulate the bug: parent shell exported a stale test key + monkeypatch.setenv("OPENROUTER_API_KEY", "[redacted:openai-key]") + + # User edited ~/.hermes/.env with the fresh key + (hermes_home / ".env").write_text( + "OPENROUTER_API_KEY=[redacted:openai-key]\n" + ) + + _write_auth_store(tmp_path, {"version": 1, "providers": {}}) + + from agent.credential_pool import load_pool + pool = load_pool("openrouter") + entry = pool.select() + + assert entry is not None + assert entry.source == "env:OPENROUTER_API_KEY" + # The fresh key from .env must win over the stale shell export + assert entry.access_token == "[redacted:openai-key]", ( + f"Expected .env to win, got {entry.access_token!r}" + ) + + +def test_load_pool_falls_back_to_os_environ_when_dotenv_empty(tmp_path, monkeypatch): + """When ~/.hermes/.env does not define OPENROUTER_API_KEY (typical Docker / + K8s / systemd deployment), seeding must still pick up the key from + os.environ. Guards against regressions that would break production + deployments relying on runtime-injected env vars. + """ + hermes_home = tmp_path / "hermes" + hermes_home.mkdir() + monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_HOME", str(hermes_home)) + monkeypatch.setenv("OPENROUTER_API_KEY", "[redacted:openai-key]") + + # .env exists but does not define OPENROUTER_API_KEY + (hermes_home / ".env").write_text("SOME_OTHER_VAR=unrelated\n") + + _write_auth_store(tmp_path, {"version": 1, "providers": {}}) + + from agent.credential_pool import load_pool + pool = load_pool("openrouter") + entry = pool.select() + + assert entry is not None + assert entry.access_token == "[redacted:openai-key]" + + def test_load_pool_removes_stale_seeded_env_entry(tmp_path, monkeypatch): monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_HOME", str(tmp_path / "hermes")) monkeypatch.delenv("OPENROUTER_API_KEY", raising=False) ``` - **#18361: feat(auth): hermes auth sync — detect and fix credential drift across .env files and auth.json**. closed without merge - maintainer direction: category `superseded_by_pr`; implication `superseded`; refs `#18755`, `#18254` - **#52300: feat(auth): hermes auth sync — detect and fix credential drift across profile .env files**. open - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded` - files: `hermes_cli/auth_commands.py`, `hermes_cli/subcommands/auth.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_auth_sync.py` ## Fix status - Merged to main in PR #18755 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream. - Fix last verified (merged) `2026-05-02`. - Subsystem: `hermes_cli`