# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Desktop chat messages vanish on window/session switch

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

Multiple related reports and fixes around assistant messages disappearing from the desktop UI when switching windows, tabs, or sessions mid-conversation, including issues with in-progress streaming bubbles and missing client-side transcript caching.

## TL;DR

- 10 member(s): 0 open issue(s), 6 closed issue(s), 0 open PR(s), 1 merged PR(s), 3 PR(s) closed without merging.
- A fix was merged to main in PR #104523. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #104523 (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: `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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_PARTIAL`): some members are connected by structural evidence (shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference); the rest are joined by an automated relevance judgement over their text.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 `0.13`: 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

- #41838: \[Bug\]: Desktop in-progress assistant bubble disappears after switching away and returning mid-stream
- #66667: \[desktop\] Session switching is slow - no client-side transcript cache (stale-while-revalidate)
- #67644: Desktop app: chat history lost when switching tabs/sessions (ECONNRESET in renderer)
- #67651: Desktop App: Messages disappear from UI after switching provider mid-conversation; Cmd+R restores them
- #68321: Desktop: all assistant messages vanish when switching away from and back to a chat (user messages remain; DB intact)
- #68324: \[Bug\]: Desktop — assistant messages vanish when switching away and back to a chat (user messages remain); restart/refresh restores them

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#104523: fix(desktop): assistant replies persisted only in codex_message_items no longer vanish on rehydration (#68321, salvage #101901)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`; implication `superseded`
  - files: `apps/desktop/src/lib/chat-messages.codex-sidecar-hydration.test.ts`, `apps/desktop/src/lib/chat-messages/hydration.ts`, `apps/desktop/src/types/hermes.ts`
- **#41839: fix(desktop): keep in-progress assistant bubbles visible across window switches**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `uncategorized`; implication `needs_llm`
- **#68329: fix(desktop): restore assistant messages after chat switches**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `91ed8e4a99131aaaf62f2b49d1b5db70139a21e0`
- **#101901: fix(desktop): assistant rows whose text persisted to sidecars no longer vanish on rehydrate (#68321)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `merged_via`; implication `superseded`; refs `644d00b960`, `#104523`, `#68321`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #104523 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-09-06`.
- Subsystem: `apps/desktop`