Finding / hermes-agent
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.