# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Desktop new sessions losing project working directory

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

These issues and fixes concern a bug where new chat sessions on the desktop app fail to inherit or preserve the intended project directory, instead falling back to a default or home directory. Multiple related fixes address this across different scenarios including Windows and config refresh cases.

## TL;DR

- 6 member(s): 0 open issue(s), 3 closed issue(s), 0 open PR(s), 1 merged PR(s), 2 PR(s) closed without merging.
- A fix was merged to main in PR #81956. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #81956 (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: `partially_resolved` · deciding PR(s): `pr-81956`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_PARTIAL`): some members are connected by structural evidence (shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference); the rest are joined by an automated relevance judgement over their text.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 `0.25`: 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

- #65274: \[Bug\]: Desktop project-scoped fresh sessions fall back to home cwd on Windows
- #66677: feat(desktop): auto-bind new session to active Project workspace
- #66686: \[Bug\]: new session no longer auto-binds to the active Project's workspace (regression after Jul 18 update)

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#81956: fix(desktop): a new chat stops landing in the project you were just in**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`; implication `superseded`
  - files: `apps/desktop/src/app/gateway/hooks/use-gateway-boot.test.tsx`, `apps/desktop/src/app/gateway/hooks/use-gateway-boot.ts`, `apps/desktop/src/app/right-sidebar/files/ipc.ts`, `apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-message-stream/gateway-event.ts`, `apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-session-actions/index.ts`, `apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-session-actions/utils.ts`, `apps/desktop/src/lib/path-compare.test.ts`, `apps/desktop/src/lib/path-compare.ts`, `apps/desktop/src/store/projects.test.ts`, `apps/desktop/src/store/projects.ts`, `apps/desktop/src/store/session.test.ts`, `apps/desktop/src/store/session.ts`
- **#66517: fix(desktop): preserve project cwd on fresh-draft config refresh**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `stale_abandoned`; implication `active`; refs `#66546`, `#66524`, `#66523`
- **#66898: fix(desktop): new session inherits active project cwd when not entered (#66686)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `merged_via`; implication `superseded`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #81956 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-08-08`.
- Subsystem: `apps/desktop`