# witcheer's Wingtips #31: see what every message costs before you send it

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

Canonical: https://hermeswatcher.com/wingtips/31  
Published: 2026-07-26  
[Original](https://notwitcheer.github.io/hermes-recipes/wingtips/31-see-what-every-message-costs-before-you-send-it/) · [On X](https://x.com/witcheer/status/2081381590488568218) · [Full collection](https://notwitcheer.github.io/hermes-recipes/) · [Official docs](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/reference/cli-commands)

[Source Markdown](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/notwitcheer/hermes-recipes/8653fb699a137a32e81936fa33cabacd3f4f2095/docs/wingtips/31-see-what-every-message-costs-before-you-send-it.md): use this file as the base for relative links in the verbatim text below.

Sources: [Hermes docs: Cli Commands](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/reference/cli-commands)


Hermes Wingtips #31: see what every message costs before you send it

`hermes prompt-size`

it prints the fixed budget of a fresh session: the full system prompt, the skills index, your MEMORY.md and USER.md snapshots, the prompt tiers, and the JSON schemas for every enabled tool.

if you want to manage it:

- `hermes tools` turns off toolsets you never use 
- `hermes skills` uninstalls what you don't need
- AGENTS.md in your working directory count towards the total too