# NousResearch/hermes-agent · MCP server config validation and crash prevention

## Open now

- 2 issues, 2 PRs open on GitHub.
- #33119: feat: validate MCP server config on startup to prevent third-party corruption from bricking Hermes
- #45674: bug(cli): \`hermes mcp list\` crashes with AttributeError when a server entry is a string
- PR #45684: fix(cli): guard mcp list/test/configure against non-dict server entries
- PR #118785: fix(mcp): skip malformed mcp_servers entries on load (#33119) (salvage of #33405)

These issues and PRs address crashes and errors caused by non-dict (e.g. string) MCP server config entries, adding validation, normalization, and graceful handling on load and in CLI commands.

## TL;DR

- 7 member(s): 2 open issue(s), 0 closed issue(s), 2 open PR(s), 0 merged PR(s), 3 PR(s) closed without merging.
- No fix has been merged to main; one or more PRs were attempted (see below).
- **Recommended:** review the prior/competing PR(s) below. A fix was attempted but not merged; your case may extend or revive that work.

## 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_PARTIAL`): some members are connected by structural evidence (shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference); the rest are joined by an automated relevance judgement over their text.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 `0.26`: 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

- #33119: feat: validate MCP server config on startup to prevent third-party corruption from bricking Hermes
- #45674: bug(cli): \`hermes mcp list\` crashes with AttributeError when a server entry is a string

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#33405: fix(mcp): validate mcp_servers entries on load; skip-with-warning instead of crashing**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `superseded_by_pr`; implication `superseded`; refs `#118785`, `#33405`, `#33119`
- **#45684: fix(cli): guard mcp list/test/configure against non-dict server entries**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `uncategorized`; implication `needs_llm`
  - files: `hermes_cli/mcp_config.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_mcp_config.py`
- **#45716: fix(cli): coerce string MCP server entries to dict in \`mcp list\`**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `duplicate_of`; implication `duplicate`; refs `#45684`, `#45684`
- **#46044: fix(mcp): normalize string server configs**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `duplicate_of`; implication `duplicate`; refs `#45684`, `#45684`
- **#118785: fix(mcp): skip malformed mcp_servers entries on load (#33119) (salvage of #33405)**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `silent_close`; implication `active`
  - files: `hermes_cli/mcp_config.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_mcp_catalog.py`, `tools/mcp_tool_config.py`

## Fix status

- No merged fix on record.
- Subsystem: `hermes_cli`