# NousResearch/hermes-agent · CLI env fallback to ~/.hermes/.env for secrets

## Open now

- 1 issue, 2 PRs open on GitHub.
- #99604: \[Feature\]: Desktop-SSH headless backend can't see secrets: secret readers use raw \`os.getenv\` / \`${VAR}\` (process env only) instead of the \`.env\`-aware helpers — provider keys, MCP tokens, and every other env-backed secret fail in Desktop SSH mode
- PR #99616: fix(cli): fall back to ~/.hermes/.env in runtime provider key resolution
- PR #128781: fix(cli): fall back to ~/.hermes/.env in runtime provider key resolution

A feature request and related fixes address secret resolution failures when running in Desktop-SSH headless mode, where provider keys, MCP tokens, and other env-backed secrets are read via raw process environment instead of the .env-aware helpers. The fix adds a fallback to ~/.hermes/.env during runtime provider key resolution.

## TL;DR

- 3 member(s): 1 open issue(s), 0 closed issue(s), 2 open PR(s), 0 merged PR(s), 0 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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

- #99604: \[Feature\]: Desktop-SSH headless backend can't see secrets: secret readers use raw \`os.getenv\` / \`${VAR}\` (process env only) instead of the \`.env\`-aware helpers — provider keys, MCP tokens, and every other env-backed secret fail in Desktop SSH mode

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#99616: fix(cli): fall back to ~/.hermes/.env in runtime provider key resolution**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `implemented_elsewhere`; implication `superseded`; refs `a7caf0ddb6`
  - files: `hermes_cli/runtime_provider.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_runtime_provider_resolution.py`
- **#128781: fix(cli): fall back to ~/.hermes/.env in runtime provider key resolution**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `uncategorized`; implication `needs_llm`; refs `#99604`
  - files: `hermes_cli/runtime_provider.py`, `hermes_cli/runtime_provider_backends.py`, `hermes_cli/runtime_provider_custom.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_runtime_provider_resolution.py`

## Fix status

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