# NousResearch/hermes-agent · approvals.deny incorrectly blocking read-only search commands

## Open now

- 1 issue, 1 PR open on GitHub.
- #94747: approvals.deny blocks read-only search commands when the denied word appears only in the search pattern
- PR #94760: fix(tools): stop approvals.deny from matching grep search patterns

A bug where approvals.deny triggers on words appearing in search patterns rather than actual write operations. Includes a fix to prevent grep and similar read-only search tools from being blocked by denial rules.

## TL;DR

- 3 member(s): 1 open issue(s), 0 closed issue(s), 1 open PR(s), 0 merged PR(s), 1 PR(s) closed without merging.
- No fix has been merged to main; one or more PRs were attempted (see below).
- **Recommended:** review the prior/competing PR(s) below. A fix was attempted but not merged; your case may extend or revive that work.

## 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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 `0.67`: 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.

## Open related issues

- #94747: approvals.deny blocks read-only search commands when the denied word appears only in the search pattern

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#94760: fix(tools): stop approvals.deny from matching grep search patterns**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `uncategorized`; implication `needs_llm`; refs `#94747`
  - files: `tests/tools/test_approval_deny_rules.py`, `tools/approval.py`
- **#94810: fix(approvals): read-only search tools don't trip approvals.deny (#94747)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `duplicate_of`; implication `duplicate`; refs `#94760`

## Fix status

- No merged fix on record.
- Subsystem: `agent`