# Hermes Agent memory not carrying over between sessions

> Check the actual write, profile and session boundary before adding more reminders to the prompt.

Canonical: https://hermeswatcher.com/troubleshoot/memory-did-not-persist  
Section: Troubleshooting · Memory & context  
Last reviewed: Oct 19, 2026  
Basis: Explained from the official Hermes Agent docs and repository (Nous Research). Steps follow the linked official sources.

## Find the missing evidence

Start with one concrete fact and the session in which it was supposedly saved. The official guide distinguishes a memory tool write from a conversational confirmation. Inspect the relevant memory file or tool result: if the entry is absent, the save has not been established. Ask for the specific memory write and verify the resulting entry.

If the entry exists, compare the profile used by the writing session with the profile used by the reading session. A named profile has its own memory. Also inspect whether write approval has staged the change and whether memory is enabled. Use the documented pending-memory review flow when appropriate; do not assume a staged entry is already persistent state.

## Test the smallest recovery

Once the entry is confirmed, start a fresh session and ask for that fact without supplying it again. Current documentation describes memory as a snapshot loaded at session start, so an already-running conversation is a poor test of a new write. Retain the profile name, saved entry and recovery answer together.

If the answer remains wrong, check whether an older project instruction or a contradictory source record supplies the competing value. Ask the agent to identify the origin of its answer. Correct the authoritative record rather than piling several incompatible reminders into memory. For detailed project knowledge, store the evidence in files and use memory to point toward them.

## Expected result and limits

Recovery is demonstrated when a fresh session in the intended profile can retrieve the correct fact and identify its source. One successful recovery does not prove all memories are current or complete. This diagnostic is documentation-supported; it has not been run against your installation, and UI details may differ by release.

## Related tools

- [Carry project knowledge into the next session](https://hermeswatcher.com/workflows/project-knowledge.md)
- [Persistent memory: retain compact working knowledge](https://hermeswatcher.com/tools/memory.md)

## Sources

- [Persistent Memory](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/memory)

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