NousResearch/hermes-agent · error · RuntimeError

bws exited {proc.returncode}: {err[:200]}

Error message

bws exited {proc.returncode}: {err[:200]}

What it means

Error "bws exited {proc.returncode}: {err[:200]}" thrown in NousResearch/hermes-agent.

Source

Thrown at agent/secret_sources/bitwarden.py:713

            capture_output=True,
            text=True, encoding='utf-8', errors='replace',
            timeout=_BWS_RUN_TIMEOUT,
            stdin=subprocess.DEVNULL,
        )
    except subprocess.TimeoutExpired as exc:
        raise RuntimeError(
            f"bws timed out after {_BWS_RUN_TIMEOUT}s fetching secrets"
        ) from exc
    except OSError as exc:
        raise RuntimeError(f"failed to invoke bws: {exc}") from exc

    if proc.returncode != 0:
        # bws writes auth/network errors to stderr as a Rust error-report
        # dump (color-eyre): an "Error:" header, indented cause lines, then
        # "Location:" / "Backtrace omitted" noise.  Strip ANSI and boil it
        # down to the meaningful cause line(s) before surfacing.
        err = _summarize_bws_stderr(proc.stderr or proc.stdout or "")
        raise RuntimeError(
            f"bws exited {proc.returncode}: {err[:200]}"
        )

    raw = proc.stdout.strip()
    if not raw:
        return {}, ["bws returned no output (empty project?)"]

    try:
        payload = json.loads(raw)
    except json.JSONDecodeError as exc:
        raise RuntimeError(f"bws returned non-JSON output: {exc}") from exc

    if not isinstance(payload, list):
        raise RuntimeError(
            f"bws returned unexpected shape: {type(payload).__name__}"
        )

    secrets: Dict[str, str] = {}

View on GitHub (pinned to c896c09c42)

Solutions

1. Read the bws stderr in the message and fix the reported problem (auth, project id, network).
2. Re-authenticate bws (access token) and retry.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at agent/secret_sources/bitwarden.py:713 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of NousResearch/hermes-agent@c896c09c42 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ce419d2c949624d7. Report an issue: GitHub.