NousResearch/hermes-agent · error · RuntimeError

failed to invoke bws: {exc}

Error message

failed to invoke bws: {exc}

What it means

Error "failed to invoke bws: {exc}" thrown in NousResearch/hermes-agent.

Source

Thrown at agent/secret_sources/bitwarden.py:705

    # the copy above) so manual overrides keep working too.
    if server_url:
        env["BWS_SERVER_URL"] = server_url

    try:
        proc = subprocess.run(  # noqa: S603 — bws path is trusted
            cmd,
            env=env,
            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:

View on GitHub (pinned to c896c09c42)

Solutions

1. Check the bws binary path and that it is executable.
2. Review the invocation error and fix environment or permissions, then retry.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at agent/secret_sources/bitwarden.py:705 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/23ac3642353dbf5b. Report an issue: GitHub.