# NousResearch/hermes-agent · NULL system prompt seeding bug and fixes

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

These members address a bug where NULL system prompts could be persisted or seeded during turn or session setup before a proper prompt restore occurs. The group includes the bug report and related fixes targeting the ordering and persistence of system prompt initialization.

## 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 #52616. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #52616 (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-52616`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #45499: \[Bug\]: API/gateway turn setup can seed NULL system_prompt before prompt restore

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#52616: fix: persist non-NULL system prompt on fresh turn setup (#45499)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `agent/turn_context.py`, `tests/agent/test_turn_context.py`
- **#45502: fix(agent): defer _ensure_db_session until after system prompt restore**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `2a1e6155657213761520e6e081c09cb8e082d9bf`, `#45499`, `#52616`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #52616 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-06-25`.
- Subsystem: `agent`