# NousResearch/hermes-agent · UTF-8 BOM handling when reading .env and user files

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

The members concern a UTF-8 byte order mark in .env files causing the first key to be dropped, with proposed changes to read files with a BOM-tolerant encoding (utf-8-sig). One member also mentions broader BOM-tolerant reads for user files and encoding-related cleanups, but the details are not given in the titles.

## 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 #81967. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #81967 (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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #65123: A UTF-8 BOM in .env silently drops the first key

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#81967: fix: BOM-tolerant user-file reads + encoding-footgun closures (PLW1514 was already gated)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `agent/auxiliary_client.py`, `agent/credential_sources.py`, `agent/shell_hooks.py`, `contributors/emails/[redacted:email]`, `gateway/slash_commands.py`, `hermes_cli/auth.py`, `hermes_cli/env_loader.py`, `hermes_cli/main.py`, `hermes_cli/send_cmd.py`, `scripts/check-windows-footguns.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_auth_commands.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_auth_store_windows_encoding.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_env_loader.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_send_cmd.py`, `tests/tools/test_code_execution.py`, `tests/tools/test_memory_tool.py`, `tools/code_execution_tool.py`, `tools/managed_tool_gateway.py`, `tools/memory_tool.py`, `tools/skills_tool.py` (+1 more)
- **#65124: fix(cli): read .env as utf-8-sig so a BOM doesn't drop the first key**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `merged_via`; implication `superseded`; refs `#81967`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #81967 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-08-08`.
- Subsystem: `hermes_cli`