Hermes fallback never triggers on Codex 429s
On Codex 429s the main interactive retry path never triggers the fallback chain, even though cron and auxiliary calls fail over fine, and moving from fallback_model: to fallback_providers: doesn't help. Until it's patched, run hermes model to switch providers manually when the rate-limit window hits, or route primary traffic through a non-Codex provider.
Likely cause
The main interactive retry path never triggers the fallback chain on Codex 429s, even though cron jobs and auxiliary calls fail over correctly. Migrating from the legacy fallback_model: to fallback_providers: does not fix it.
The fix
- 1 Run hermes model and switch providers manually when the Codex rate-limit window hits.
- 2 Or route primary traffic through a non-Codex provider so the broken fallback path is never needed.
- 3 Track the upstream issue - the interactive fallback is confirmed broken.
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Frequently asked questions
My fallback_providers list is set but it never kicks in. Is it misconfigured?
Probably not. The interactive retry path has a confirmed bug where it doesn't trigger the fallback chain on Codex 429s, even with a valid fallback_providers list. Cron and auxiliary calls fail over correctly; only the main path is affected.
Should I switch from fallback_model to fallback_providers?
It won't fix this specific bug - both forms fail to trigger on the interactive path for Codex 429s. Use it for the paths that do work, but plan to switch providers manually until the interactive path is patched.
What's the most reliable workaround?
Make a non-Codex provider your primary so you never depend on the broken fallback, or run hermes model to switch providers by hand when Codex rate-limits during the day.
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