# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Auxiliary auto-chain silently uses paid OpenRouter model

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

Reports and related fixes address an issue where the auxiliary auto-chain feature falls back to a hardcoded paid OpenRouter model without user awareness or configuration options. Multiple fix attempts and a localized description are included in the cluster.

## 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 #76635. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #76635 (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-76635`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #75803: Auxiliary auto-chain silently falls back to a hardcoded PAID OpenRouter model — no free marker, no opt-out, unreachable by config

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#76635: fix(agent): auxiliary auto-chain free-only fallback (#75803)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`; implication `superseded`
  - files: `agent/auxiliary_client.py`, `hermes_cli/config_defaults.py`, `scripts/release.py`, `tests/agent/test_auxiliary_client.py`
- **#96298: fix(agent): explicit :free OpenRouter models survive auxiliary.free_only; policy skips stop poisoning provider health (salvage #85336, #85315)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`; implication `superseded`
  - files: `agent/auxiliary_client.py`, `tests/agent/test_auxiliary_client.py`
- **#75819: fix(agent): 修复辅助 OpenRouter 回退静默使用付费模型的问题**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `#96298`, `#75803`
- **#75838: fix(agent): auxiliary auto-chain free-only fallback (#75803)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `merged_via`; implication `superseded`; refs `#76635`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #76635 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-08-27`.
- Subsystem: `agent`