# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Delegation and delegate_task behavior improvements

## Open now

- 1 issue, 1 PR open on GitHub.
- #85648: Delegation timing: let a ready dependency affect unfinished parent work
- PR #104434: feat(delegation): minimal #76230 inject policy over #104299

These items cover several related changes to delegation mechanics: injecting policy, controlling how subagent results are grouped and returned, surfacing ready dependencies earlier, and preserving completed child results after a mid-unit crash.

## TL;DR

- 5 member(s): 1 open issue(s), 0 closed issue(s), 1 open PR(s), 2 merged PR(s), 1 PR(s) closed without merging.
- A fix was merged to main in PR #104373. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #104373 (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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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 `0.40`: 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.

## Open related issues

- #85648: Delegation timing: let a ready dependency affect unfinished parent work

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#104299: delegate_task: ungrouped subagents return as they finish; per-task \`group\` joins results**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `tests/tools/test_async_delegation.py`, `tools/AGENTS.md`, `tools/async_delegation.py`, `tools/delegate_tool.py`, `tools/delegate_tool_dispatch.py`, `tools/process_registry_notifications.py`, `website/docs/user-guide/features/delegation.md`
- **#104373: delegate_task: a crash mid-unit no longer loses the children that already finished (follow-up to #104299)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `tests/tools/test_async_delegation.py`, `tools/async_delegation.py`, `tools/delegate_tool_dispatch.py`
- **#76230: feat(delegation): surface ready dependencies before the next decision**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `superseded_by_pr`; implication `superseded`; refs `#104434`, `#85648`, `#76230`, `#76228`, `#76229`, `#104299`, `#104373`, `#104419`, `#104426`, `#74378`
- **#104434: feat(delegation): minimal #76230 inject policy over #104299**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `superseded_by_pr`; implication `superseded`; refs `89616021d6647ebd5e7c6bde81ff79eaab4fbb81`, `c5594ec4b34097cafbe24deb6dfd9ac4b21d411d`, `#104299`, `#104373`, `#85648`, `#76230`, `#74378`, `#104426`, `#104419`, `#104233`
  - files: `agent/conversation_loop.py`, `agent/delegation_inject.py`, `agent/runtime_session_compression.py`, `agent/runtime_session_store.py`, `agent/session_persistence.py`, `agent/tool_executor.py`, `agent/turn_finalizer.py`, `gateway/run_notifications.py`, `gateway/session_worker_delegation.py`, `hermes_cli/cli_stream_mixin.py`, `hermes_state_errors.py`, `hermes_state_messages.py`, `hermes_state_runtime.py`, `hermes_state_worker_compression.py`, `run_agent.py`, `tests/agent/test_delegation_delivery.py`, `tests/gateway/test_completion_delivery.py`, `tests/gateway/test_relay_delivery_followups.py`, `tests/gateway/test_worker_delegation_inject.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_cli_async_delegation_delivery.py` (+14 more)

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #104373 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-09-06`.
- Subsystem: `agent`