# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Fix install failures from node-pty and native build tools

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

These items address installation and update path failures related to native build tool prerequisites, stale Python environments, and unwanted node-pty compilation, particularly on WSL and openSUSE. They also cover surfacing guidance when npm install fails due to missing native tooling.

## 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 #99482. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #99482 (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-99482`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #38311: Update/install path can leave Hermes broken: stale Python venv and node-pty build prerequisites missing on WSL/openSUSE

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#99482: fix(install): stop a CLI install from building the desktop's node-pty (salvage #88442)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `scripts/ci/classify_changes.py`, `scripts/install.sh`, `tests/ci/test_classify_changes.py`, `tests/test_install_sh_node_deps_workspaces.py`
- **#38329: fix(update): print native build tools guidance when npm install fails**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `a51a7b9b92b63b5f97afa0fc31c9cd349f04b5ec`, `#38311`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #99482 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-08-31`.
- Subsystem: `hermes_cli`