# witcheer's Wingtips #83: approvals.denial_breaker_threshold, the smart-approval denial breaker

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

Canonical: https://hermeswatcher.com/wingtips/83  
Published: 2026-09-25  
[Original](https://notwitcheer.github.io/hermes-recipes/wingtips/83-denial-breaker-threshold/) · [On X](https://x.com/witcheer/status/2103395194963980527) · [Full collection](https://notwitcheer.github.io/hermes-recipes/) · [Official docs](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/configuration#denial-circuit-breaker)

[Source Markdown](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/notwitcheer/hermes-recipes/8653fb699a137a32e81936fa33cabacd3f4f2095/docs/wingtips/83-denial-breaker-threshold.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#denial-circuit-breaker)


when the smart-approval reviewer denies a command, Hermes Agent can try a variation of it.

this key counts those denials in a row, per session. at 3, the deny message tells the agent to stop, report what was blocked, and ask you to run it yourself or /approve it.

lower it to stop sooner, or set 0 to turn it off.

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