# NousResearch/hermes-agent · exclude-newer breaking pinned package installations

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

A bug where the exclude-newer option incorrectly filters out or blocks installation of exactly-pinned packages, including build-system dependencies. Multiple fixes and a bug report address this specific interaction.

## 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 #86694. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #86694 (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-86694`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #78227: \[Bug\] v0.20.0 install/auto-update still broken: exclude-newer filters freshly pinned pillow 12.3.0 & setuptools 83.0.0 (build-system fails too)

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#86694: fix(deps): stop exclude-newer from bricking installs on no-date and exact-pinned packages**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `pyproject.toml`, `scripts/install.sh`, `tests/test_packaging_metadata.py`
- **#78239: fix: keep pinned dependencies installable with exclude-newer**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `uncategorized`; implication `needs_llm`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #86694 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-08-15`.
- Subsystem: `hermes_cli`