# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Web search backend availability checks and new providers

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

These issues and PRs address silent failures when web search backend packages are missing, adding runtime and dispatch-time availability checks. A related change also adds Brave Search and DuckDuckGo as new free-tier search providers.

## TL;DR

- 4 member(s): 0 open issue(s), 1 closed issue(s), 0 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.
- Pairwise link density `0.50`: 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

- #42011: web_search silently echoes tool call when backend package is missing

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#42024: fix(web): add runtime availability check in web_search_tool handler**. closed without merge · fix tier `suggested`
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `b05253ceed5f9d139f4a7d8705f5c97fcf644a2c`
  - _suggested-tier fix detail withheld; re-request with `?tier=all` to include it._
- **#42715: fix(web): add dispatch-time backend availability check for web_search**. closed without merge · fix tier `suggested`
  - maintainer direction: category `uncategorized`; implication `needs_llm`
  - _suggested-tier fix detail withheld; re-request with `?tier=all` to include it._
- **#42018: fix(web): keep configured web_search callable when backend setup is missing**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `a9cd0e07cbe6f411c875d6cfd3c8c356ca90b121`, `b05253ceed5f9d139f4a7d8705f5c97fcf644a2c`

## Fix status

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