NousResearch/hermes-agent · error · RuntimeError

Cron database corrupted: expected {'jobs': [...]}, got {type

Error message

Cron database corrupted: expected {'jobs': [...]}, got {type(data).__name__}

What it means

Error "Cron database corrupted: expected {'jobs': [...]}, got {type(data).__name__}" thrown in NousResearch/hermes-agent.

Source

Thrown at cron/jobs.py:1120

    # down the whole cron subsystem.
    if isinstance(data, dict):
        jobs = data.get("jobs", [])
        if _strict_retry and jobs:
            # Hit control-character corruption — rewrite with proper escaping.
            save_jobs(jobs)
            logger.warning("Auto-repaired jobs.json (had invalid control characters)")
        _record_load_stamp(pre_read_stamp)
        return jobs
    if isinstance(data, list):
        # Bare array — likely saved/edited outside save_jobs(). Wrap it back
        # into the expected {"jobs": [...]} structure.
        if data:
            save_jobs(data)
            logger.warning("Auto-repaired jobs.json (bare list wrapped as dict)")
        _record_load_stamp(pre_read_stamp)
        return data

    raise RuntimeError(
        f"Cron database corrupted: expected {{'jobs': [...]}}, got {type(data).__name__}"
    )


def _peek_jobs_unlocked() -> Optional[List[Dict[str, Any]]]:
    """Best-effort read of on-disk jobs without repair side-effects.

    Caller must hold ``_jobs_lock()``. Returns ``[]`` when the file is
    missing, ``None`` when the payload is unreadable/corrupt (caller should
    not attempt a shrink-merge against an unknown baseline). Never calls
    ``save_jobs`` — the repair-free property is what keeps the save path
    re-entrancy-safe (a repairing read here would recurse through
    ``_save_jobs_unlocked``).
    """
    jobs_file = _current_cron_store().jobs_file
    if not jobs_file.exists():
        return []
    try:

View on GitHub (pinned to c896c09c42)

Solutions

1. Restore the cron database from backup; its top-level shape is invalid.
2. Delete the corrupted database and recreate jobs.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cron/jobs.py:1120 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/26e049b5c41aa4e6. Report an issue: GitHub.