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fix(matrix): warn on clock-skew silent message drops (#12614) (#27330)

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The 5-second startup-grace filter in _on_room_message silently drops
events where event_ts < startup_ts - 5. When the host clock is set
ahead of real time, the comparison flips against every live event and
the bot 'connects but never replies' — exactly the symptom in #12614.

Reporter Schnurzel700 chased this for several weeks before tracing it
to their Debian VM's clock being out of sync. The current /1000.0
millisecond->second conversion is correct (mautrix returns ms); the
failure mode is purely environmental.

Add a one-shot WARNING that fires when:
  - we are >30s past startup (initial-sync replay window closed), AND
  - 3 consecutive drops share the same skew within 60s (a constant
    clock offset, not varied-age backfill from an invited room).

State is reset in connect() so reconnects after fixing NTP rearm the
detector. Includes the NTP fix instruction in the warning message
itself and a new Troubleshooting entry in the Matrix docs.

5 new tests cover the happy path, initial-sync backfill, under-
threshold drops, varied-age backfill, and the reconnect rearm path.
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kshitij 2026-05-17 00:28:24 -07:00 • committed by GitHub
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17
website/docs/user-guide/messaging/matrix.md
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@ -357,6 +357,23 @@ To find a Room ID: in Element, go to the room → **Settings** → **Advanced**
**Fix**: Invite the bot to the room — it auto-joins on invite. Verify your User ID is in `MATRIX_ALLOWED_USERS` (use the full `@user:server` format). Restart the gateway.
### Bot joins rooms but silently drops every message (clock skew)
**Cause**: The host's system clock is set ahead of real time. The Matrix adapter applies a 5-second startup-grace filter (`event_ts < startup_ts - 5`) to ignore events replayed from initial sync. When the wall clock is ahead, every incoming event looks "older than startup" and is dropped before reaching the message handler — the bot appears connected but never replies. See [#12614](https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/issues/12614).
**Symptom**: Gateway log shows `Matrix: dropped N live events as 'too old' more than 30s after startup`.
**Fix**: Sync the host clock with NTP and restart the bot:
```bash
# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo timedatectl set-ntp true
timedatectl status # confirm "System clock synchronized: yes"
# macOS
sudo sntp -sS time.apple.com
```
### "Failed to authenticate" / "whoami failed" on startup
**Cause**: The access token or homeserver URL is incorrect.