# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Kanban connect() flock hang fix iterations

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

A bug was identified where kanban_db.connect() could hang indefinitely due to an unbounded fcntl.flock(LOCK_EX) call under concurrent access. Several follow-up fixes iterated on bounding, salvaging, and ultimately skipping the cross-process init lock to address the hang.

## 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 #50353. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #50353 (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-50353`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #36644: \[Bug\]: Kanban dispatcher hangs forever on an unbounded fcntl.flock(LOCK_EX) in kanban_db.connect() under concurrent board access

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#37216: fix(kanban): skip cross-process flock on steady-state connect() (#36644)**. closed without merge · fix tier `suggested`
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `84ba83b09ad1f480dbf4186ec7812798853eeac9`, `#36644`
  - _suggested-tier fix detail withheld; re-request with `?tier=all` to include it._
- **#50353: fix(kanban): bound the cross-process init lock so connect() can't hang forever**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `hermes_cli/kanban_db.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_kanban_db.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_kanban_init_lock_bounded.py`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #50353 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-06-21`.
- Subsystem: `gateway`