# NousResearch/hermes-agent · SQLite locking and contention fixes in state layer

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

These items address 'database is locked' errors caused by insufficient busy timeouts and event-loop contention in the SQLite-backed state/session layer. Proposed approaches include increasing the busy timeout and moving database operations off the event-loop thread.

## 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 #88753. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #88753 (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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #57921: hermes_state.py: timeout=1.0 causes "database is locked" when dashboard event loop stalls under GIL pressure

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#88753: fix(gateway,state): SessionDB off the event-loop thread + contention-safe v25 migration**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `hermes_cli/goals.py`, `hermes_state_schema.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_goals_db_bootstrap_off_loop.py`, `tests/state/test_dedupe_migration_contention.py`
- **#58003: fix(state): increase SQLite busy timeout from 1s to 30s (#57921)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `b7bcae49c6`, `8b03e6580`, `#74478`, `#88753`, `#57921`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #88753 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-08-18`.
- Subsystem: `dashboard`