Bug Description

2026-04-30 21:29:36,163 ERROR gateway.platforms.email: [Email] IMAP fetch error: 'int' object has no attribute 'decode'

2026-04-30 21:24:42,963 INFO gateway.platforms.email: [Email] Adapter initialized for <email>@icloud.com
2026-04-30 21:24:42,964 INFO gateway.run: Connecting to email...
2026-04-30 21:24:44,094 INFO gateway.platforms.email: [Email] IMAP connection test passed. 3 existing messages skipped.
2026-04-30 21:24:45,351 INFO gateway.platforms.email: [Email] SMTP connection test passed.

... later ...

2026-04-30 20:42:39,102 ERROR gateway.platforms.email: [Email] IMAP fetch error: 'int' object has no attribute 'decode'
2026-04-30 20:46:02,329 ERROR gateway.platforms.email: [Email] IMAP fetch error: _ssl.c:1012: The handshake operation timed out
2026-04-30 20:47:22,904 ERROR gateway.platforms.email: [Email] IMAP fetch error: 'int' object has no attribute 'decode'

Steps to Reproduce

• Setup an IMAP and SMTP server. In this case it's for an iCloud email address.
• Restart the gateway
• Wait for it to fail

Expected Behavior

Email Messaging works as outlined in the documentation: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/messaging/email

Actual Behavior

Email messaging does not work due to the error.

Affected Component

Gateway (Telegram/Discord/Slack/WhatsApp)

Messaging Platform (if gateway-related)

N/A (CLI only)

Debug Report

Impacted lines included above as these pastes included private information.

Operating System

Ubuntu 22.04.5 LTS

Python Version

Python 3.14.4

Hermes Version

0.11.0

Additional Logs / Traceback (optional)

Root Cause Analysis (optional)

No response

Proposed Fix (optional)

No response

Are you willing to submit a PR for this?

• I'd like to fix this myself and submit a PR