diff --git a/gateway/platforms/api_server.py b/gateway/platforms/api_server.py
index e4ebd27146..18ab1fab97 100644
--- a/gateway/platforms/api_server.py
+++ b/gateway/platforms/api_server.py
@@ -3488,7 +3488,7 @@ class APIServerAdapter(OpenAICompatRoutesMixin, BasePlatformAdapter):
                 task = asyncio.create_task(asyncio.to_thread(fire_fn, *fire_args, adapters=adapters, loop=loop))
                 reservation["detached"] = True
                 task.add_done_callback(lambda _task: _release_pending_api_work(self, reservation))
-                self._track_background_task(task)
+                self._track_background_task(task, tolerate_missing=True)
                 return web.json_response({"status": "accepted", "job_id": job_id}, status=202)
 
             if not provider_supports_split_fire(provider):
@@ -3508,9 +3508,16 @@ class APIServerAdapter(OpenAICompatRoutesMixin, BasePlatformAdapter):
 
     # -- Agent execution --------------------------------------------------------------
 
-    def _track_background_task(self, task) -> None:
-        """Register a task in ``_background_tasks`` (tolerates test doubles) with auto-discard."""
-        with suppress(TypeError, AttributeError):
+    def _track_background_task(self, task, *, tolerate_missing: bool = False) -> None:
+        """Register a task in ``_background_tasks`` (tolerates test doubles) with auto-discard.
+        ``tolerate_missing`` (cron fire paths) also swallows AttributeError from the whole
+        registration; the run/sweep paths only tolerate an unhashable task."""
+        if tolerate_missing:
+            with suppress(TypeError, AttributeError):
+                self._background_tasks.add(task)
+                task.add_done_callback(self._background_tasks.discard)
+            return
+        with suppress(TypeError):
             self._background_tasks.add(task)
         if hasattr(task, "add_done_callback"):
             task.add_done_callback(self._background_tasks.discard)
diff --git a/hermes_cli/update_cmd_fleet.py b/hermes_cli/update_cmd_fleet.py
index eebb6732a6..f81bf0b4d8 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/update_cmd_fleet.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/update_cmd_fleet.py
@@ -33,8 +33,9 @@ _LIST_GATEWAY_UNITS = ["list-units", "hermes-gateway*", "hermes-serve*", "--plai
 
 def _write_gateway_update_exit_code(ok: bool) -> None:
     from hermes_cli.update_cmd import get_hermes_home
+    path = get_hermes_home() / ".update_exit_code"
     with suppress(OSError):
-        (get_hermes_home() / ".update_exit_code").write_text("0" if ok else "1", encoding="utf-8")
+        path.write_text("0" if ok else "1", encoding="utf-8")
 
 
 def _fleet_restart_pending_marker_path() -> Path:
diff --git a/tools/patch_parser.py b/tools/patch_parser.py
index 74ce9fe331..86fc16ae98 100644
--- a/tools/patch_parser.py
+++ b/tools/patch_parser.py
@@ -298,11 +298,12 @@ def apply_v4a_operations(operations: List[PatchOperation], file_ops: Any) -> 'Pa
 def _write_file_accepts_pre_content(file_ops: Any) -> bool:
     """Whether ``file_ops.write_file`` accepts ``pre_content`` — read from the signature, not by
     catching TypeError around the call, so a TypeError raised *inside* it can't double-write."""
-    with contextlib.suppress(TypeError, ValueError):
+    try:
         params = inspect.signature(file_ops.write_file).parameters
-        return "pre_content" in params or any(
-            p.kind is inspect.Parameter.VAR_KEYWORD for p in params.values())
-    return False
+    except (TypeError, ValueError):
+        return False
+    return "pre_content" in params or any(
+        p.kind is inspect.Parameter.VAR_KEYWORD for p in params.values())
 
 
 def _apply_add(op: PatchOperation, file_ops: Any) -> ApplyResult:
diff --git a/tools/skills_sync.py b/tools/skills_sync.py
index c6f842a547..cb1f2b21af 100644
--- a/tools/skills_sync.py
+++ b/tools/skills_sync.py
@@ -19,8 +19,9 @@ from typing import Dict, Iterator, List, Optional, Set, Tuple
 # Force UTF-8 stdout/stderr: GBK-style Windows locales can't encode the glyphs
 # printed here (✓ ↑ →), and install.ps1 parses this script's stdout as UTF-8.
 for _stream in (sys.stdout, sys.stderr):
-    with suppress(AttributeError, ValueError, TypeError):
-        _stream.reconfigure(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace")
+    if hasattr(_stream, "reconfigure"):
+        with suppress(ValueError, TypeError):
+            _stream.reconfigure(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace")
 from hermes_constants import get_bundled_skills_dir, get_hermes_home, get_optional_skills_dir
 from agent.skill_utils import ESSENTIAL_SKILLS, is_excluded_skill_path
 from tools.skill_usage import _read_skill_name, read_suppressed_names  # noqa: F401  (re-exported)