# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Desktop updater respawn causes infinite update loop

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

These items address a bug where the desktop updater incorrectly identifies its own respawned backend process as a virtual environment blocker, causing the in-app update process to loop indefinitely on Windows. Fixes involve excluding respawned backends from the venv-blocker scan and gating respawn logic on update state.

## TL;DR

- 7 member(s): 0 open issue(s), 1 closed issue(s), 0 open PR(s), 5 merged PR(s), 1 PR(s) closed without merging.
- A fix was merged to main in PR #73928. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #73928 (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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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 `0.29`: 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

- #77277: Desktop in-app update loops forever on Windows: updater reports its own respawning backend as the venv blocker

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#73928: fix(desktop): gate backend respawns on updateInFlight, not just the update marker (#73822)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`; implication `superseded`
  - files: `apps/desktop/electron/main.ts`, `apps/desktop/electron/update-gate.test.ts`, `apps/desktop/electron/update-gate.ts`
- **#91869: fix(update): Windows venv-holder guard names holders correctly and can see the gateway it must pause (#90778, #87594 — proven live on windows-latest)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`; implication `superseded`
  - files: `.github/workflows/windows-venv-e2e.yml`, `hermes_cli/update_cmd.py`, `tests/gateway/test_goal_resume_restart.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_venv_holder_classifier.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_venv_holder_windows_live.py`
- **#92013: fix(update): ZIP fallback no longer destroys user work or the desktop build (#87331, #91962, #87304, #70337 — salvage #87878 + #70477)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`; implication `superseded`
  - files: `hermes_cli/update_cmd.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_cmd_update.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_update_zip_fallback_guards.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_update_zip_release_preserve.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_update_zip_symlink_reject.py`
- **#92447: feat(gateway): fleet consumers now ask the gateway itself — control socket with identify/status (#92091 step 1)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`; implication `superseded`
  - files: `gateway/control_socket.py`, `gateway/run.py`, `hermes_cli/update_inventory.py`, `hermes_cli/update_receipt.py`, `tests/gateway/test_control_socket.py`, `tests/gateway/test_control_socket_windows_live.py`, `website/docs/getting-started/updating.md`
- **#92617: fix(update): a contended Windows venv is never mutated — failed shim quarantine refuses instead of warning (#87331)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`; implication `superseded`
  - files: `hermes_cli/_install_repair.py`, `hermes_cli/main.py`, `hermes_cli/update_cmd.py`, `tests/agent/test_bedrock_adapter.py`, `tests/agent/test_bedrock_integration.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_bedrock_model_picker.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_shim_fail_closed_windows_live.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_update_shim_fail_closed.py`, `tests/run_agent/test_streaming.py`
- **#77772: fix(desktop): exclude respawned backends from venv-blocker scan (#77277)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `#91277`, `#73822`, `#92617`, `#92013`, `#91869`, `#77277`, `#92091`, `#92447`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #73928 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-08-23`.
- Subsystem: `apps/desktop`