# NousResearch/hermes-agent · UnicodeEncodeError ASCII codec handling and fixes

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

A bug report and several iterative fix attempts addressing UnicodeEncodeError failures that occur when the system runs under an ASCII locale. The fixes focus on sanitizing message content and syncing client state during error recovery.

## TL;DR

- 5 member(s): 0 open issue(s), 1 closed issue(s), 0 open PR(s), 2 merged PR(s), 2 PR(s) closed without merging.
- A fix was merged to main in PR #7292. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #7292 (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-10537`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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 `0.40`: 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

- #6843: \[Bug\]: UnicodeEncodeError

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#7292: fix(agent): salvage agent core PRs #6849 #6846**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`; implication `superseded`
  - files: `agent/context_references.py`, `cli.py`, `run_agent.py`, `tests/agent/test_context_references.py`, `tests/run_agent/test_unicode_ascii_codec.py`
- **#10537: fix: complete ASCII-locale UnicodeEncodeError recovery for api_messages/reasoning_content (#6843)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`; implication `superseded`
  - files: `.mailmap`, `run_agent.py`, `scripts/release.py`, `tests/run_agent/test_unicode_ascii_codec.py`
- **#6849: fix: handle UnicodeEncodeError with ASCII codec (#6843)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `merged_via`; implication `superseded`; refs `#7292`
- **#9778: fix: sanitize api_messages and extra string fields during ASCII-codec recovery (#6843)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `merged_via`; implication `superseded`; refs `#10537`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #7292 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-04-15`. This confirmation is old and may be out of date (a revert/reopen would not have invalidated it here); re-verify.