# NousResearch/hermes-agent · External secrets overwritten during repeated env reloads

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

A bug where secrets looked up from external sources (such as BSM) are clobbered when \`load_hermes_dotenv\` is called more than once, due to \`load_dotenv\` being invoked with \`override=True\`. The associated fixes aim to preserve those externally sourced secrets across repeated reload calls.

## 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 #115984. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #115984 (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-115984`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #74265: \[Bug\]: BSM-resolved secrets clobbered by load_dotenv(override=True) on second load_hermes_dotenv call (gateway)

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#115984: fix(env_loader): external-source secrets survive repeated load_hermes_dotenv() calls (#74265, salvage #74283)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `agent/secret_sources/registry.py`, `hermes_cli/env_loader.py`, `tests/agent/test_env_loader_reload_restore.py`
- **#74283: fix(env_loader): preserve external-source secrets across reloads (#74265)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `merged_via`; implication `superseded`; refs `#115984`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #115984 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-09-19`.
- Subsystem: `agent`