# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Delegate tool handling non-string message content

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

These issues and PRs address crashes and incorrect behavior in the delegate task system when tool message content is a list, dict, or content-block structure rather than a plain string. Multiple fix attempts cover different code paths including error detection, tracing, and observability.

## TL;DR

- 8 member(s): 0 open issue(s), 1 closed issue(s), 0 open PR(s), 1 merged PR(s), 6 PR(s) closed without merging.
- A fix was merged to main in PR #40283. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #40283 (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-40283`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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 `0.25`: 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

- #28639: delegate_task crashes when tool message content is a list

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#29207: fix(delegate): handle list-form tool message content (#28639)**. closed without merge · fix tier `suggested`
  - maintainer direction: category `uncategorized`; implication `needs_llm`; refs `#28639`, `#28899`, `#28658`, `#28648`, `#29275`
  - _suggested-tier fix detail withheld; re-request with `?tier=all` to include it._
- **#40283: fix(delegate): handle content-block tool results (#28639)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`; implication `superseded`
  - files: `scripts/release.py`, `tests/tools/test_delegate.py`, `tools/delegate_tool.py`
- **#28648: fix(delegate): handle list tool message content in _run_single_child (#28639)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `merged_via`; implication `superseded`; refs `#40283`
- **#28658: fix(agent): normalize non-string tool content in delegate tool_trace (#28639)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `stale_abandoned`; implication `active`
- **#28899: fix(delegate): tolerate non-string tool message content (#28639)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `f83918c31d3900377da5766d011dff8699e66d39`, `#40283`, `#28639`, `#40283`
- **#29275: fix(delegate): handle list/dict tool message content in _looks_like_error_output**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `merged_via`; implication `superseded`; refs `#40283`
- **#33807: fix(delegate): handle list-shaped tool message content**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `superseded_by_pr`; implication `superseded`; refs `#28639`, `#28899`, `#28639`, `#29275`, `#28648`, `#28639`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #40283 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-06-06`.
- Subsystem: `agent`