# Sessions and recovery — community wiki

Zdroj: https://hermes-ai.cz/en/wiki/features/sessions/
Ověřeno proti oficiální dokumentaci: 16. 10. 2026
Oficiální stránka: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/sessions
Language: English. AI version — paste the whole text into your agent.

## What a session is
One conversation = one session, saved automatically (tool calls included).
Storage: ~/.hermes/state.db (full-text search, WAL mode).
Memory (memories/) is something else — short durable notes.

## Resuming
hermes -c · hermes -c "title" · hermes --resume <id> · hermes --resume latest --in ./project
-c is terminal-aware: each pane keeps its own conversation; breadcrumbs older than 30 days fall back
to the latest. Disable with session.terminal_continue: false

## Naming
Automatic 3-7 words after the first exchange; your own: /title website fix or
hermes sessions rename <id> "website fix". Unique, max 100 characters, accents and emoji fine.

## Overview and housekeeping
hermes sessions list [--limit 50] [--source telegram] [--workspace <folder>] · sessions stats ·
sessions pin <id> / pinned · sessions export --format md --session-id <id> ·
sessions prune --older-than 30 --dry-run (show first) · sessions import --from claude|codex

## Searching history
The agent has a full-text search tool over all conversations (no model calls).
Memory = short and always at hand; history search = deep, finds what never fit into memory.

## Long conversations
Context overflow -> compression and continuation as a new session in the same lineage
(title, title #2, #3). /compress to do it manually · /new for a clean start (memory re-read,
history stays searchable). Resuming by title picks the newest continuation.

## Platforms
/handoff telegram transfers the conversation to chat on your phone. On messaging platforms every
chat (DM, group, thread) has its own session.

## Automatic housekeeping
sessions.auto_prune (on by default) · sessions.retention_days (90) · sessions.min_interval_hours (24).
The file only shrinks when there is something to reclaim. A nonsensical value (negative days) skips
the sweep with a warning instead of deleting everything.

## Pitfalls from our systems
1. Lost details in a long conversation = context compression; details stay in history (just ask).
2. Assuming the agent remembers a month-old detail -> it belonged in memory, otherwise search history.
3. state.db grew to hundreds of MB (pruning off, platforms, cron) -> sessions stats, pin, prune.
4. Two terminal panes: -c is terminal-aware, a brand-new pane starts a new conversation.

## Tips
Pin/name important conversations · a new task gets /new · export before cleanup · search history
instead of trying to remember.