# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Skills read tools missing from idempotent guardrail list

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

A bug was identified where skills_list and skill_view are read-only tools but were absent from IDEMPOTENT_TOOL_NAMES, causing repeated identical calls to go undetected by the tool-loop guardrail. Multiple fixes and related agent guards address this gap.

## TL;DR

- 8 member(s): 0 open issue(s), 2 closed issue(s), 0 open PR(s), 1 merged PR(s), 5 PR(s) closed without merging.
- A fix was merged to main in PR #100967. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #100967 (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: `partially_resolved` · deciding PR(s): `pr-100967`. This is distinct from the fix status above. Weigh it yourself.

## How this cluster was grouped

- Link evidence (`STRUCTURAL_PARTIAL`): some members are connected by structural evidence (shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference); the rest are joined by an automated relevance judgement over their text.
- Members outside that structural core may belong to a different underlying problem.
- Pairwise link density `0.23`: 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

- #30408: Hermes should stop repeated tool loops and block obviously broken final responses
- #49075: \[bug\] Tool-loop guardrail: skills_list / skill_view are read-only but missing from IDEMPOTENT_TOOL_NAMES, so repeated-identical-call loops go undetected

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#49092: fix(guardrails): add skills_list/skill_view to IDEMPOTENT_TOOL_NAMES**. closed without merge · fix tier `suggested`
  - maintainer direction: category `superseded_by_pr`; implication `superseded`
  - _suggested-tier fix detail withheld; re-request with `?tier=all` to include it._
- **#54411: fix(guardrails): add skills_list/skill_view to IDEMPOTENT_TOOL_NAMES**. closed without merge · fix tier `suggested`
  - maintainer direction: category `superseded_by_pr`; implication `superseded`
  - _suggested-tier fix detail withheld; re-request with `?tier=all` to include it._
- **#100967: fix(guardrails): tool-call loops hard-stop on unattended platforms, identical replays halt for any tool (#49075, #89069; salvage #49189, #47231)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`; implication `superseded`
  - files: `agent/agent_init.py`, `agent/tool_guardrails.py`, `cli-config.yaml.example`, `hermes_cli/config_defaults.py`, `run_agent.py`, `tests/agent/test_tool_guardrails.py`, `tests/run_agent/test_tool_call_guardrail_runtime.py`, `website/docs/user-guide/configuration.md`, `website/docs/user-guide/docker.md`
- **#47231: fix(agent): guard repeated skill reads**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `merged_via`; implication `superseded`; refs `25d954c2cf`, `#100967`, `#49075`
- **#49101: fix(guardrail): add skills_list and skill_view to IDEMPOTENT_TOOL_NAMES**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `duplicate_of`; implication `duplicate`; refs `#47231`, `#47231`, `#49092`, `#49075`
- **#49202: fix(agent): guard repeated skill read tool calls**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `merged_via`; implication `superseded`; refs `25d954c2cf`, `#100967`, `#47231`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #100967 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-09-02`.
- Subsystem: `agent`