diff --git a/.gitmodules b/.gitmodules
index 1fe5c04e2a3f395cf28265b7b4c9ea1e8c8a4dc1..3487bb38daa04c556c5b1acdae65bf17d25cc9ed 100644
--- a/.gitmodules
+++ b/.gitmodules
@@ -1,6 +1,3 @@
-[submodule "external/hermes"]
-	path = external/hermes
-	url = https://github.com/gekkofs/hermes.git
 [submodule "tests/scripts/bats"]
 	path = tests/scripts/bats
 	url = https://github.com/bats-core/bats-core.git
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index ebd19b8d7bec72efaeebd0ccffbcc6b091206673..76a5607d845c249898978c754ecaa350bf3287b6 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ message(STATUS "[${PROJECT_NAME}] Build type: ${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}")
 # Compiler flags for various cmake build types
 set(WARNINGS_FLAGS "-Wall -Wextra --pedantic -Wno-unused-parameter -Wno-missing-field-initializers")
 set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE} -DNDEBUG -O3")
-set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG} ${WARNINGS_FLAGS} -g -O0 -DGKFS_DEBUG_BUILD -DHERMES_DEBUG_BUILD")
+set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG} ${WARNINGS_FLAGS} -g -O0 -DGKFS_DEBUG_BUILD")
 set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_MEMCHECK "${WARNINGS_FLAGS} -g -O0 -fsanitize=address -fno-omit-frame-pointer")
 set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_MAINTAINER "${WARNINGS_FLAGS} -g -O0 -pg -no-pie")
 set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS_RELEASE "${CMAKE_C_FLAGS_RELEASE} -DNDEBUG -O3")
@@ -334,15 +334,6 @@ endif ()
 
 configure_file(include/common/cmake_configure.hpp.in include/common/cmake_configure.hpp)
 
-if (GKFS_ENABLE_CLIENT_LOG)
-    option(HERMES_LOGGING "" ON)
-    option(HERMES_LOGGING_FMT_USE_BUNDLED "" OFF)
-    option(HERMES_LOGGING_FMT_HEADER_ONLY "" OFF)
-endif ()
-
-option(HERMES_MARGO_COMPATIBLE_RPCS "" ON)
-add_subdirectory(external/hermes)
-target_include_directories(hermes INTERFACE external/hermes/include)
 
 set(INCLUDE_DIR "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/include")
 
diff --git a/CMakePresets.json b/CMakePresets.json
index 1177583438cec2e121262f91455b25b61b0f6baf..ae1a7f3b05534c4cfecaa9ea180869b574f19c4b 100644
--- a/CMakePresets.json
+++ b/CMakePresets.json
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
       "hidden": true,
       "cacheVariables": {
         "CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE": "Debug",
-        "CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS": "-Wall -Wextra -fdiagnostics-color=always --pedantic -Wno-unused-parameter -Wno-missing-field-initializers -DGKFS_DEBUG_BUILD -DHERMES_DEBUG_BUILD"
+        "CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS": "-Wall -Wextra -fdiagnostics-color=always --pedantic -Wno-unused-parameter -Wno-missing-field-initializers -DGKFS_DEBUG_BUILD"
       }
     },
     {
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c48f77ceada2abd8da06c6f2930f15a8d05417e5..3898baf13bf7beb8207e349a0e941dd144088676 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -662,6 +662,7 @@ Using two environment variables
 ### Daemon
 #### Core
 - `GKFS_DAEMON_CREATE_CHECK_PARENTS` - Enable checking parent directory for existence before creating children.
+- `GKFS_DAEMON_CREATE_EXIST_CHECK` - Check for existence of file metadata before create in RocksDB.
 - `GKFS_DAEMON_SYMLINK_SUPPORT` - Enable support for symbolic links.
 - `GKFS_DAEMON_RENAME_SUPPORT` - Enable support for rename.
 #### Logging
diff --git a/docs/sphinx/devs/coverage.md b/docs/sphinx/devs/coverage.md
index 29070570dc9e63c8be825b9bd18acd10ca422527..b4c5657fc8c53975e26b6e99e9d2dc29b6b58740 100644
--- a/docs/sphinx/devs/coverage.md
+++ b/docs/sphinx/devs/coverage.md
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ Preset CMake variables:
 
   CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="Coverage"
   CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER="/usr/bin/g++"
-  CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="-Wall -Wextra -fdiagnostics-color=always --pedantic -Wno-unused-parameter -Wno-missing-field-initializers -DGKFS_DEBUG_BUILD -DHERMES_DEBUG_BUILD"
+  CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="-Wall -Wextra -fdiagnostics-color=always --pedantic -Wno-unused-parameter -Wno-missing-field-initializers -DGKFS_DEBUG_BUILD"
   CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_COVERAGE="-Og -g --coverage -fkeep-static-functions"
   CMAKE_C_COMPILER="/usr/bin/gcc"
   CMAKE_C_FLAGS_COVERAGE="-Og -g --coverage -fkeep-static-functions"
diff --git a/external/hermes b/external/hermes
deleted file mode 160000
index 072c033225057aefdbdcc852ba0a360706668800..0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
--- a/external/hermes
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Subproject commit 072c033225057aefdbdcc852ba0a360706668800
diff --git a/include/client/logging.hpp b/include/client/logging.hpp
index 7d9c7f9c95b041e4f3a5514bcc4f6e0201d72b06..692643a64fed7812af404f2284492cc76363b734 100644
--- a/include/client/logging.hpp
+++ b/include/client/logging.hpp
@@ -65,7 +65,6 @@ enum class log_level : unsigned int {
     print_critical = 1 << 3,
     print_errors = 1 << 4,
     print_warnings = 1 << 5,
-    print_hermes = 1 << 6,
     print_mercury = 1 << 7,
     print_debug = 1 << 8,
     print_trace_reads = 1 << 9,
@@ -73,8 +72,8 @@ enum class log_level : unsigned int {
     // for internal use
     print_none = 0,
     print_all = print_syscalls | print_syscalls_entry | print_info |
-                print_critical | print_errors | print_warnings | print_hermes |
-                print_mercury | print_debug,
+                print_critical | print_errors | print_warnings | print_mercury |
+                print_debug,
     print_most = print_all & ~print_syscalls_entry,
     print_help = 1 << 10
 };
@@ -126,7 +125,6 @@ static const auto constexpr info = log_level::print_info;
 static const auto constexpr critical = log_level::print_critical;
 static const auto constexpr error = log_level::print_errors;
 static const auto constexpr warning = log_level::print_warnings;
-static const auto constexpr hermes = log_level::print_hermes;
 static const auto constexpr mercury = log_level::print_mercury;
 static const auto constexpr debug = log_level::print_debug;
 static const auto constexpr trace_reads = log_level::print_trace_reads;
@@ -138,7 +136,7 @@ static const auto constexpr help = log_level::print_help;
 static const auto constexpr level_names = utils::make_array(
         "syscall",
         "syscall", // sycall_entry uses the same name as syscall
-        "info", "critical", "error", "warning", "hermes", "mercury", "debug",
+        "info", "critical", "error", "warning", "mercury", "debug",
         "trace_reads");
 
 inline constexpr auto
@@ -582,9 +580,6 @@ destroy_global_logger() {
 #define LOG_CRITICAL(...)                                                      \
     do {                                                                       \
     } while(0);
-#define LOG_HERMES(...)                                                        \
-    do {                                                                       \
-    } while(0);
 #define LOG_MERCURY(...)                                                       \
     do {                                                                       \
     } while(0);
@@ -632,14 +627,6 @@ destroy_global_logger() {
         }                                                                      \
     } while(0);
 
-#define LOG_HERMES(...)                                                        \
-    do {                                                                       \
-        if(gkfs::log::get_global_logger()) {                                   \
-            gkfs::log::get_global_logger()->log(gkfs::log::hermes, __func__,   \
-                                                __LINE__, __VA_ARGS__);        \
-        }                                                                      \
-    } while(0);
-
 #define LOG_MERCURY(...)                                                       \
     do {                                                                       \
         if(gkfs::log::get_global_logger()) {                                   \
diff --git a/include/config.hpp b/include/config.hpp
index 1eac9404082dfdb5a4e06136342ff9b3924e069e..47f7b6b8b836ad3d13568b49b38361327e279678 100644
--- a/include/config.hpp
+++ b/include/config.hpp
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ constexpr auto implicit_data_removal = true;
 // metadata logic
 // Check for existence of file metadata before create. This done on RocksDB
 // level
-constexpr auto create_exist_check = true;
+inline bool create_exist_check = true;
 // Verify that a parent directory exists before creating new files or
 // directories
 inline bool create_check_parents = true;
diff --git a/include/daemon/env.hpp b/include/daemon/env.hpp
index 4e141a5283c46e83239d391d607b9c9520351573..42fbbf6a7449516b30c6e5ed55e53151f23c0ce0 100644
--- a/include/daemon/env.hpp
+++ b/include/daemon/env.hpp
@@ -56,6 +56,8 @@ static constexpr auto USE_DIRENTS_COMPRESSION =
 static constexpr auto HOSTS_FILE = ADD_PREFIX("HOSTS_FILE");
 static constexpr auto DAEMON_CREATE_CHECK_PARENTS =
         ADD_PREFIX("DAEMON_CREATE_CHECK_PARENTS");
+static constexpr auto DAEMON_CREATE_EXIST_CHECK =
+        ADD_PREFIX("DAEMON_CREATE_EXIST_CHECK");
 static constexpr auto DAEMON_SYMLINK_SUPPORT =
         ADD_PREFIX("DAEMON_SYMLINK_SUPPORT");
 static constexpr auto DAEMON_RENAME_SUPPORT =
diff --git a/src/client/preload_util.cpp b/src/client/preload_util.cpp
index a0a728837c807797a3a6bac47ee2f0a196aec7e0..a9aeba4dfe701de06e1dc521698314eec8958032 100644
--- a/src/client/preload_util.cpp
+++ b/src/client/preload_util.cpp
@@ -69,18 +69,12 @@ using namespace std;
 
 namespace {
 
+
 /**
- * Looks up a host endpoint via Hermes
- * @param uri
- * @param max_retries
- * @return hermes endpoint, if successful
- * @throws std::runtime_error
- */
-/**
- * Looks up a host endpoint via Hermes
+ * Looks up a host endpoint via thallium
  * @param uri
  * @param max_retries
- * @return hermes endpoint, if successful
+ * @return thallium endpoint, if successful
  * @throws std::runtime_error
  */
 thallium::endpoint
@@ -486,7 +480,7 @@ read_hosts_file() {
 }
 
 /**
- * Connects to daemons and lookup Mercury URI addresses via Hermes
+ * Connects to daemons and lookup Mercury URI addresses via Thallium
  * @param hosts vector<pair<hostname, Mercury URI address>>
  * @throws std::runtime_error through lookup_endpoint()
  */
@@ -590,7 +584,7 @@ check_for_proxy() {
 }
 
 /**
- * Lookup proxy address via hermes RPC client
+ * Lookup proxy address via Thallium RPC client
  * @throws runtime_error
  */
 void
diff --git a/src/daemon/daemon.cpp b/src/daemon/daemon.cpp
index 6d10c6305a2aaa707d4505a08a3e0e72f95284d3..2fc5e21ef246b21affd5451f827020d476ce9f17 100644
--- a/src/daemon/daemon.cpp
+++ b/src/daemon/daemon.cpp
@@ -381,6 +381,11 @@ init_environment() {
                                gkfs::config::metadata::create_check_parents
                                        ? "ON"
                                        : "OFF") == "ON";
+    gkfs::config::metadata::create_exist_check =
+            gkfs::env::get_var(gkfs::env::DAEMON_CREATE_EXIST_CHECK,
+                               gkfs::config::metadata::create_exist_check
+                                       ? "ON"
+                                       : "OFF") == "ON";
     gkfs::config::metadata::symlink_support =
             gkfs::env::get_var(gkfs::env::DAEMON_SYMLINK_SUPPORT,
                                gkfs::config::metadata::symlink_support
@@ -393,10 +398,11 @@ init_environment() {
                                        : "OFF") == "ON";
 
     GKFS_DATA->spdlogger()->info(
-            "{}() Inline data: {} / Dirents compression: {} / Create check parents: {} / Symlink support: {} / Rename support: {}",
+            "{}() Inline data: {} / Dirents compression: {} / Create check parents: {} / Create exist check: {} / Symlink support: {} / Rename support: {}",
             __func__, gkfs::config::metadata::use_inline_data,
             gkfs::config::rpc::use_dirents_compression,
             gkfs::config::metadata::create_check_parents,
+            gkfs::config::metadata::create_exist_check,
             gkfs::config::metadata::symlink_support,
             gkfs::config::metadata::rename_support);
 
@@ -1066,6 +1072,9 @@ main(int argc, const char* argv[]) {
 #else
         cout << "Create check parents: OFF" << endl;
 #endif
+        cout << "Create exist check: "
+             << (gkfs::config::metadata::create_exist_check ? "ON" : "OFF")
+             << endl;
         cout << "Chunk size: " << gkfs::config::rpc::chunksize << " bytes"
              << endl;
         return EXIT_SUCCESS;
diff --git a/src/daemon/ops/metadentry.cpp b/src/daemon/ops/metadentry.cpp
index 5f7b504b6ab8a7700868f26f659908174ca3e864..47c82c37990432bdaa92381c01efc904d37fda9c 100644
--- a/src/daemon/ops/metadentry.cpp
+++ b/src/daemon/ops/metadentry.cpp
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ void
 create(const std::string& path, Metadata& md) {
 
     // update metadata object based on what metadata is needed
-    if constexpr(gkfs::config::metadata::create_exist_check) {
+    if(gkfs::config::metadata::create_exist_check) {
         GKFS_DATA->mdb()->put_no_exist(path, md.serialize());
     } else {
         GKFS_DATA->mdb()->put(path, md.serialize());
diff --git a/tests/integration/directories/test_backend_cleanup.py b/tests/integration/directories/test_backend_cleanup.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..dcb293794a6e7339d05f74d85ebe789b0a8fb13f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/integration/directories/test_backend_cleanup.py
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+import harness
+from pathlib import Path
+import errno
+import stat
+import os
+import pytest
+from harness.logger import logger
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("client_fixture", ["gkfs_client", "gkfs_clientLibc"])
+def test_backend_cleanup(client_fixture, request, gkfs_daemon):
+    gkfs_client = request.getfixturevalue(client_fixture)
+    mountdir = gkfs_daemon.mountdir
+    rootdir = gkfs_daemon.rootdir
+    
+    file_path = mountdir / "cleanup_file"
+    dir_path = mountdir / "cleanup_dir"
+    
+    # 1. Create a directory
+    ret = gkfs_client.mkdir(dir_path, stat.S_IRWXU | stat.S_IRWXG | stat.S_IRWXO)
+    assert ret.retval == 0
+    
+    # 2. Create a file
+    ret = gkfs_client.open(file_path, os.O_CREAT | os.O_WRONLY, stat.S_IRWXU | stat.S_IRWXG | stat.S_IRWXO)
+    assert ret.retval != -1
+    
+    # 3. Write some data to generate chunks
+    ret = gkfs_client.write_validate(file_path, 600000)
+    assert ret.retval == 0
+    
+    # Let's see what's in the backend rootdir
+    # Usually chunks are in `chunks` directory
+    # We will just walk the rootdir and count files/directories to see what exists
+    def get_backend_contents(directory):
+        contents = []
+        for root, dirs, files in os.walk(directory):
+            for d in dirs:
+                contents.append(os.path.join(root, d))
+            for f in files:
+                contents.append(os.path.join(root, f))
+        return contents
+        
+    contents_before = get_backend_contents(rootdir)
+    logger.info(f"Backend contents before deletion: {contents_before}")
+    
+    # Check that chunks exist somewhere in rootdir
+    # GekkoFS stores chunks typically in `<rootdir>/chunks/`
+    chunk_dir = rootdir / "chunks"
+    
+    # Ensure properties exist
+    assert chunk_dir.exists()
+    
+    # Count chunks in chunk_dir
+    chunks_before = get_backend_contents(chunk_dir)
+    assert len(chunks_before) > 0, f"Expected chunks in {chunk_dir}, but found none. Total backend: {contents_before}"
+    
+    # 4. Remove file and directory
+    ret = gkfs_client.unlink(file_path)
+    assert ret.retval == 0
+    
+    ret = gkfs_client.rmdir(dir_path)
+    assert ret.retval == 0
+    
+    # 5. Check backend again
+    contents_after = get_backend_contents(rootdir)
+    logger.info(f"Backend contents after deletion: {contents_after}")
+    
+    chunks_after = get_backend_contents(chunk_dir)
+    # The chunk directory corresponding to the file should be deleted or empty
+    assert len(chunks_after) == 0, f"Expected data directory to be empty, but found: {chunks_after}"