hermes - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: Update check cache hides commit list until ~/.hermes/.update_check is manually deleted [2 pull requests]

Bug Description

Bug

Hermes appears to cache update-check metadata in ~/.hermes/.update_check, but after the cache file exists, the update banner no longer shows the commits behind. The commit list only appears again if I manually delete the cache file.

Steps to Reproduce

Reproduction steps

hermes update --check
hermes

Observe that update information is shown, but commit details may be missing.

Then:

rm ~/.hermes/.update_check
hermes

Observe that commit details appear again.

Expected Behavior

Expected behavior

Hermes should either:

1. show the commit list consistently while updates are available, or
2. regenerate the commit metadata when the cached .update_check file does not contain commit details, or
3. invalidate/update the cache after fetching from origin/upstream.

The user should not need to manually delete:

~/.hermes/.update_check

to see the commit list.

Actual Behavior

Current behavior

Running:

hermes update --check

shows that updates are available, for example:

→ Fetching from upstream...
→ Fetching from origin...
⚕ Update available: 3 commits behind origin/main.
  Run 'hermes update' to install.

However, when launching/running hermes afterward, the banner no longer lists the specific commits.

If I manually delete the update-check cache:

rm ~/.hermes/.update_check

then run Hermes again, the commit list appears again.

Affected Component

CLI (interactive chat)

Messaging Platform (if gateway-related)

No response

Debug Report

I am not comfortable uploading the full output of `hermes debug share` because it contains sensitive local configuration, filesystem paths, logs, endpoint information, and potentially private infrastructure details.

Relevant environment details:

```text
WSL version: 2.6.3.0
Windows version: 10.0.26200.8246
OS: Ubuntu on WSL2
Shell: bash

Issue reproduction does not appear to depend on private configuration.

Relevant symptom:

Deleting:

rm ~/.hermes/.update_check

causes Hermes to display commit/update details again, suggesting a cache invalidation or stale metadata issue in the update-check subsystem.

### Operating System

WSL version: 2.6.3.0 / Windows version: 10.0.26200.8246

### Python Version

Python: 3.11.7

### Hermes Version

Hermes Agent v0.13.0 (2026.5.7)

### Additional Logs / Traceback (optional)

```shell

Root Cause Analysis (optional)

Suspected cause

The .update_check cache file may be storing only a minimal update state such as “updates available” / “N commits behind,” but not the actual commit list. Once that cache exists, Hermes seems to reuse it instead of regenerating the detailed commit metadata.

Possible problematic logic:

if update_check_cache_exists:
    use_cached_update_status()

instead of something closer to:

if cache_missing_commit_details or cache_expired:
    refresh_update_metadata()

Possibly Related

This may be related to existing update-cache invalidation issues:

• #11007
• #11327
• #6319

However, this issue is specifically about commit/changelog metadata disappearing unless ~/.hermes/.update_check is manually removed.

Proposed Fix (optional)

No response

Are you willing to submit a PR for this?

• I'd like to fix this myself and submit a PR