delegation.base_url Ignored at Runtime — Two Bugs Block Multi-Host Delegation

The Worker's GPU Never Lights Up

tools/delegate_tool.py::_load_config() prefers the empty in-memory CLI_CONFIG["delegation"] block over the correct on-disk config.yaml. Even though:

python -c "import yaml; print(load_config()['delegation']['base_url'])"

returns the correct worker URL, at runtime the credential resolver receives an empty string and the child inherits the primary endpoint instead. The worker's GPU never lights up — the primary talks to itself.

Config Resolution: Expected vs Actual

Source	Expected Value	Actual Value at Runtime
config.yaml (on-disk)	http://worker:8080	Ignored
CLI_CONFIG["delegation"] (in-memory)	Empty {}	Selected (wrong)
Credential resolver receives	http://worker:8080	Empty string ""

⚠️ Related upstream issues: #20558, #2281, #5358 — same config-resolution family. This is a recurring class of bug in Hermes.

The Worker Finishes — But the Primary Never Sees the Result

Even after Bug 1 is patched, the worker finishes and produces a complete result — but the primary never receives it. The WebUI's completion-drain formatter (hermes-webui/api/background_process.py) only handles event types completion and watch_*. The async delegation path emits type="async_delegation", which hits:

if evt_type != "completion":
    return None

and is silently discarded. No error logged. The enqueue succeeds, the format returns None, and the result vanishes. The worker did its job — but the primary never finds out.

Event Type Handling: What Gets Through vs What Gets Dropped

Event Type	Handled?	Result
completion	✅ Yes	Formatted and delivered to primary
watch_*	✅ Yes	Streamed to WebUI
async_delegation	❌ No	Silently dropped — no error, no result

Two Bugs, One Broken Feature: Delegation-to-Remote-Worker

Bug	File	Root Cause	Fix Available?
Bug 1: base_url ignored	tools/delegate_tool.py::_load_config()	Empty in-memory CLI_CONFIG block preferred over correct on-disk config.yaml. Credential resolver gets empty string.	✅ Working patch provided
Bug 2: Results dropped	hermes-webui/api/background_process.py	Completion-drain formatter only handles completion and watch_* event types. async_delegation hits return None and is silently discarded.	✅ Working patch provided

✅ This is an exceptionally well-documented bug report. Reporter (@wswes1972) provided root cause analysis, diagnostic logging, working patches for both bugs, and cross-references to related issues (#20558, #2281, #5358). The delegation-to-remote-worker use case is completely broken on native installs.

Multi-Host Delegation: Platform Comparison

Capability	Gobii Managed	Hermes Agent
Multi-host delegation	✅ Built-in; config via dashboard, not config files	❌ Broken — 2 bugs block remote delegation
Config resolution	✅ Single source of truth; no in-memory vs on-disk conflict	❌ CLI_CONFIG overrides config.yaml silently
Result delivery	✅ All event types handled; no silent drops	❌ async_delegation events silently discarded
Diagnostic visibility	✅ Dashboard shows delegation status and errors	❌ No error logged when results are dropped

Analysis based on GitHub issue #50199, opened June 21, 2026 by @wswes1972. Two independent bugs confirmed via root cause analysis, diagnostic logging, and working patches. Bug 1 (config resolution) related to upstream issues #20558, #2281, #5358. Bug 2 (event type handling) confirmed via code review of hermes-webui/api/background_process.py completion-drain formatter. Both patches verified by reporter. Hermes v0.17.0 native install with nesquena hermes-webui.

Source: GitHub #50199 — delegation.base_url Ignored at Runtime

As benchmarked by Hermes Agent Lab, hermes-agent.reviews — June 2026.