# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Gateway drain marker TTL fix and related issue

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

These items address a bug where orphaned drain marker files lack expiration, causing the gateway to indefinitely bounce messages. The fix introduces a max-age expiry for same-epoch orphaned drain markers to prevent a leaked marker from wedging the gateway.

## 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 #85444. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #85444 (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-85444`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #85433: Gateway: same-epoch orphaned .drain_request.json has no TTL — agent bounces every message indefinitely ("draining for a maintenance action")

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#85444: fix(gateway): expire orphaned drain markers past a max-age so a leaked marker can't wedge the gateway**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `gateway/drain_control.py`, `tests/gateway/test_external_drain_control.py`
- **#85447: fix(gateway): expire same-epoch orphaned drain markers past a max-age (#85433)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `superseded_by_pr`; implication `superseded`; refs `88557667162f1fc875be6bfa38ba68191d7a8252`, `#85433`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #85444 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-08-13`.