# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Tool-loop guardrail improvements for content repetition

## Open now

- 2 issues, 0 PRs open on GitHub.
- #60084: \[Bug\]: Tool-loop guardrails miss loops where args vary but the result never changes (incl. repeated multimodal results)
- #67889: tool_loop_guardrails cannot detect thrashing on the terminal tool — three compounding gaps

These issues and PRs address gaps in tool-call loop detection, specifically cases where arguments vary but tool results remain the same or repeat. Work spans bug reports, warning-first approaches, and fixes for content-based repetition detection.

## TL;DR

- 7 member(s): 2 open issue(s), 0 closed issue(s), 0 open PR(s), 0 merged PR(s), 5 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_PARTIAL`): some members are connected by structural evidence (shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference); the rest are joined by an automated relevance judgement over their text.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 `0.26`: 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.

## Open related issues

- #60084: \[Bug\]: Tool-loop guardrails miss loops where args vary but the result never changes (incl. repeated multimodal results)
- #67889: tool_loop_guardrails cannot detect thrashing on the terminal tool — three compounding gaps

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#60087: feat(guardrails): detect repeated tool results independent of args/failure**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `37c27b6a5`, `#60084`, `#78551`, `#60084`
- **#60148: fix(tool-guardrails): detect content repetition across varying argument sets (#60084)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `stale_abandoned`; implication `active`
- **#60219: fix(tool-guardrails): detect content-repetition loops across varying args (#60084)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `stale_abandoned`; implication `active`
- **#60268: fix(guardrails): detect content-based repetition loops even when args vary (#60084)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `duplicate_of`; implication `duplicate`; refs `#60087`, `#60084`, `#60087`, `#60219`, `#60094`, `#60148`
- **#60285: fix(agent): detect same-result tool loops even when args vary**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `duplicate_of`; implication `duplicate`; refs `#60087`

## Fix status

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