# Optchat: Hermes Agent plugin

> OptChat-style endless memory for Hermes: an append-only verbatim log plus a binary summary tree, exposed as recall through the MemoryProvider ABC.

Canonical: https://hermeswatcher.com/plugins/optchat  
Tier: Community  
Official page (Nous Research): https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/plugins/optchat  
Last updated in catalog: 2026-10-10

OptChat-style endless memory for Hermes: an append-only verbatim log plus a binary summary tree, exposed as recall through the MemoryProvider ABC. Background compactor builds the tree with a cheap auxiliary model (call_llm task optchat_compact); prefetch returns a fixed-budget view of the whole history; optchat_zoom/optchat_date tools open any line down to the verbatim message.

## Good to know before installing

Every turn's user messages, agent replies, tool calls and tool results (each result capped at 30,000 characters, after Hermes's secret redaction) are appended permanently to unencrypted owner-only files under $HERMES_HOME/optchat/, with no deletion or retention limit; a background compactor sends those messages and the surrounding summary view to your auxiliary model route (task optchat_compact) for summarization; each turn injects up to view_budget_chars (default 16,000) of that history into the model context.

From the plugin's catalog listing.

## How to install

1. Install it. Hermes asks for any API keys it needs, then asks whether to turn it on.

```bash
hermes plugins install optchat
```

2. Said no? Turn it on later:

```bash
hermes plugins enable optchat
```

3. Restart Hermes so it loads the plugin.

Some plugins also need a sign-in or settings: see the official page. Memory plugins ask whether to become your memory provider instead. Steps follow the official plugins guide: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/plugins

## Facts

- Category: Memory & notes
- Maintained by: ahrazzle (Community)
- Needs: No API keys declared
- Adds tools: `optchat_zoom`, `optchat_date`
- Works on: linux, macos, windows
- Requires Hermes: `>=0.21.6`
- Version: 0.1.0
- In the catalog since: 2026-10-10

## Links

- [Full setup and settings (official page)](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/plugins/optchat)
- [Source code](https://github.com/aska-digital/optchat-memory/tree/7b0f3abd65b95996366d0495787c95af981ea587#readme)
- [All plugins](https://hermeswatcher.com/plugins.md)

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