# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Windows MSYS brace-stripping breaks stash restore on update

## Open now

- Nothing open on GitHub.

A bug where MSYS on Windows strips braces from stash@{N} arguments causes auto-stash to never be re-applied during updates and plugin installs. Members cover the issue report, a targeted fix, and related plugin update reliability improvements.

## 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 #118838. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #118838 (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-118838`. 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #87542: Windows: git strips braces from stash@{N} argv (MSYS re-parse) — update never drops its auto-stash, and plugins update silently fails to restore local edits

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#118838: plugins: subdir installs stay updatable, stash re-apply works on MSYS, doctor unloads before teardown, pack seeds checked deep**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`
  - files: `contributors/emails/[redacted:email]`, `hermes_cli/plugin_dev.py`, `hermes_cli/plugin_packs.py`, `hermes_cli/plugins_cmd.py`, `hermes_cli/update_cmd_stash.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_plugin_doctor_unload.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_plugin_packs.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_plugins_cmd.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_update_autostash.py`
- **#87571: fix(update,plugins): stop MSYS stripping braces from stash@{N} selectors on Windows (#87542)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `92e6cc189b`, `#87542`, `#118838`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #118838 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-09-22`.
- Subsystem: `apps/bootstrap-installer`