# witcheer's Wingtips #77: display.bell_on_complete + bell_on_prompt, a bell when Hermes finishes or needs you

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

Canonical: https://hermeswatcher.com/wingtips/77  
Published: 2026-09-19  
[Original](https://notwitcheer.github.io/hermes-recipes/wingtips/77-bell-keys/) · [On X](https://x.com/witcheer/status/2101229280185270718) · [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/77-bell-keys.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)


you give Hermes Agent a long task in the CLI and switch to something else. while you are away it either finishes, or it stops to ask you something, an approval, a clarifying question, a sudo password, and waits.

either way you find out when you come back and look.

these two keys tell you instead. 

`bell_on_complete` rings the terminal bell when a turn finishes. `bell_on_prompt` rings it the moment a blocking prompt opens. both work over SSH, so a Hermes running on a server rings in the terminal on your desk. in Ghostty, iTerm2, Kitty and WezTerm the same keys also raise a desktop notification.

hermes config set display.bell_on_complete true
hermes config set display.bell_on_prompt true

both are off by default and read at startup, so restart the CLI after setting them.

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