Hermes "session continuation requires API key"
Resuming a Hermes session needs the active provider's API key, and Hermes can't find a valid one. This is often key drift: a stale or missing key in ~/.hermes/.env after switching providers. Open that file, confirm the current provider's key is present, remove leftover keys from other providers, run hermes config show to confirm they match.
Likely cause
Resuming a Hermes session needs the provider API key, and Hermes is not finding a valid one - often a stale or missing key in ~/.hermes/.env after switching providers (key drift).
The fix
- 1 Open ~/.hermes/.env and confirm the API key for your active provider is present (e.g. OPENROUTER_API_KEY).
- 2 Remove stale keys left over from other providers, then run hermes config show to confirm provider and key match.
- 3 Re-run the session.
cat ~/.hermes/.env | grep -i keyHit a different error?
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Frequently asked questions
My key is valid and works in curl. Why does Hermes reject it?
In most auth failures the key is fine but Hermes is sending the wrong one. After a provider switch, a stale key from the old provider can persist in .env and get picked up instead (key drift, issue #14134).
I ran hermes setup to enter a new key but it didn't take. Why?
The setup wizard silently skips the key prompt if any value already exists in ~/.hermes/.env (#16394). Edit the .env file directly or use hermes config edit to replace the old key.
How do I confirm the right key is being used?
Run cat ~/.hermes/.env | grep -i key to see stored keys, then hermes config show to confirm the active provider, model, and key all point to the same service.
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