# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Pinned/bundled skill protection in background review

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

These items address adding protection for pinned and bundled skills within background review prompts, and aligning that handling with curator behavior. A related fork fix is also included.

## 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 #28338. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #28338 (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-28338`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #27644: \[Feature\]: Align bg-review's bundled/pinned skill handling with the curator

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#28338: feat(bg-review): add bundled/pinned skill protection to review prompts (#27992)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `agent/background_review.py`
  - fix hunks:
  - `agent/background_review.py`

    ```diff
    @@ -112,6 +112,12 @@
         "skill that governs that task needs to carry the lesson.\n\n"
         "If you notice two existing skills that overlap, note it in your "
         "reply — the background curator handles consolidation at scale.\n\n"
    +    "Protected skills (DO NOT edit these):\n"
    +    "  • Bundled skills (shipped with Hermes, e.g. 'hermes-agent').\n"
    +    "  • Hub-installed skills (installed via 'hermes skills install').\n"
    +    "  • Pinned skills (marked via 'hermes curator pin').\n"
    +    "If the only skills that need updating are protected, say\n"
    +    "'Nothing to save.' and stop.\n\n"
         "Do NOT capture (these become persistent self-imposed constraints "
         "that bite you later when the environment changes):\n"
         "  • Environment-dependent failures: missing binaries, fresh-install "
    ```

    ```diff
    @@ -189,6 +195,12 @@
         "should carry user-preference lessons when relevant.\n\n"
         "If you notice overlapping existing skills, mention it — the "
         "background curator handles consolidation.\n\n"
    +    "Protected skills (DO NOT edit these):\n"
    +    "  • Bundled skills (shipped with Hermes, e.g. 'hermes-agent').\n"
    +    "  • Hub-installed skills (installed via 'hermes skills install').\n"
    +    "  • Pinned skills (marked via 'hermes curator pin').\n"
    +    "If the only skills that need updating are protected, say\n"
    +    "'Nothing to save.' and stop.\n\n"
         "Do NOT capture as skills (these become persistent self-imposed "
         "constraints that bite you later when the environment changes):\n"
         "  • Environment-dependent failures: missing binaries, fresh-install "
    ```
- **#27992: feat(bg-review): add bundled/pinned skill protection to review prompts (#27644)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `merged_via`; implication `superseded`; refs `af78449acdd4de4528e79e9abc11cb1ac5a87030`, `#28338`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #28338 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-05-19`.