# witcheer's Wingtips #52: idle compaction

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

Canonical: https://hermeswatcher.com/wingtips/52  
Published: 2026-08-23  
[Original](https://notwitcheer.github.io/hermes-recipes/wingtips/52-idle-compaction/) · [On X](https://x.com/witcheer/status/2091520019318423801) · [Full collection](https://notwitcheer.github.io/hermes-recipes/) · [Official docs](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/configuration)

[Source Markdown](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/notwitcheer/hermes-recipes/8653fb699a137a32e81936fa33cabacd3f4f2095/docs/wingtips/52-idle-compaction.md): use this file as the base for relative links in the verbatim text below.

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


Hermes Wingtips #52: idle compaction

a long-lived thread carries its whole history back into context every time you come back to it, and you pay for that stale backlog on every turn.

your Hermes Agent has a time-based trigger for exactly this:

`hermes config set compression.idle_compact_after_seconds 1800`

the size-based threshold waits for the context to grow big. this one fires on the time gap since your last message. set it in seconds, 1800 = 30 minutes.

super useful if you keep one long Telegram or Discord thread with your agent, or park a session overnight and pick it up in the morning!