Evidence record / hermes-agent
A dated record of one change, kept so the writing that cites it can be checked. Compiled from the sources listed below by the research run, not written for reading. The judgment lives in the issues that cite it, below.
2026-09-21-hermes-agent-agent-max-turns-default-flipped-from-500-to-unlimited-in-v2026-8
agent.max_turns default flipped from 500 to unlimited in v2026.8.19. The parent agent no longer has a turn ceiling by default. Subagents keep their own 250-iteration cap (item 7). The only default bound on a runaway parent is now gateway_timeout (inactivity, 1800s) and spend.
Channel: tagged-release. Half: both. Date: commit 2026-08-20; tagged 2026-08-21.
Operator consequence: Upgrading from v2026.8.18 or earlier removes a cap you may have been relying on without knowing it. If you run Hermes unattended, set agent.max_turns or agent.run_budget_seconds explicitly. This saves attention on long tasks (no more silent truncation at 500) and creates a spend-watching obligation.
Receipt
Finding metadata
Run: 2026-09-21-weekly-digest-2026-08-20_2026-09-21-frontier-v0
Finding ID: 2026-09-21-hermes-agent-agent-max-turns-default-flipped-from-500-to-unlimited-in-v2026-8
Profile citations
- Hermes Agent / claim / turn-cap-unlimited
Source links
Primary links, including exact changelog lines when available.
Versioned source: run artifact