# witcheer's Wingtips #27: /background

Written by [witcheer](https://x.com/witcheer) at Nous Research. Republished with credit.

Canonical: https://hermeswatcher.com/wingtips/27  
Published: 2026-07-22  
[Original](https://notwitcheer.github.io/hermes-recipes/wingtips/27-background/) · [On X](https://x.com/witcheer/status/2079951218101891530) · [Full collection](https://notwitcheer.github.io/hermes-recipes/) · [Official docs](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/cli)

[Source Markdown](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/notwitcheer/hermes-recipes/8653fb699a137a32e81936fa33cabacd3f4f2095/docs/wingtips/27-background.md): use this file as the base for relative links in the verbatim text below.

Sources: [Hermes docs: Cli](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/cli)


Hermes Wingtips #27: /background

you do not have to wait while your agent grinds through a long task. 

`/background <prompt>` spawns a completely separate agent session that runs in parallel: your chat stays fully interactive, and the result comes back as a panel in your terminal when it finishes.  

(1) as an example: `/background analyse the logs in /var/log and summarise today's errors`. 

you can run several at once, and the status bar shows how many are in flight.  

(2) one thing to know: the background agent starts clean, with no knowledge of your conversation. 

it only gets the prompt you give it, so write it self-contained.  it inherits your model, provider and toolsets, so no setup needed.