# witcheer's Wingtips #71: hermes -z --resume, one-shot calls that keep the thread

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

Canonical: https://hermeswatcher.com/wingtips/71  
Published: 2026-09-13  
[Original](https://notwitcheer.github.io/hermes-recipes/wingtips/71-oneshot-resume/) · [On X](https://x.com/witcheer/status/2099034806466015383) · [Full collection](https://notwitcheer.github.io/hermes-recipes/) · [Official docs](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/reference/cli-commands#hermes--z-prompt--scripted-one-shot)

[Source Markdown](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/notwitcheer/hermes-recipes/8653fb699a137a32e81936fa33cabacd3f4f2095/docs/wingtips/71-oneshot-resume.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--z-prompt--scripted-one-shot)


you call Hermes Agent from a script or a cron job with `hermes -z`: one prompt in, the final answer out, nothing else printed.

the next call can continue that same conversation. add `--resume latest` and the earlier turns come back with it, so a second prompt can build on the first answer. a session id or a session title works in place of `latest`.

it is the same agent, the same tools and the same skills as your normal chat, with the interactive layer stripped off.

```
hermes -z "summarise the open pull requests on this repo"

hermes -z "now list the three that touch the gateway" --resume latest
```

the prompt goes straight after `-z`; put `--resume` before `-z` or after the prompt. `-z` also reads stdin (`hermes -z "summarise this" < notes.txt`), and `--usage-file report.json` writes tokens, api calls and an estimated cost after the run. tool output stays out of the answer; `hermes chat --oneshot -q "..."` keeps it in the transcript.

docs: [hermes -z, scripted one-shot](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/reference/cli-commands#hermes--z-prompt--scripted-one-shot)

hand this to your agent: "write me a shell script that asks you three follow-up questions about this repo with hermes -z, each call resuming the previous one, and prints the three answers. show it before saving."