# witcheer's Wingtips #85: hermes pause, stop your agent starting new work

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

Canonical: https://hermeswatcher.com/wingtips/85  
Published: 2026-09-27  
[Original](https://notwitcheer.github.io/hermes-recipes/wingtips/85-hermes-pause/) · [On X](https://x.com/witcheer/status/2104227606614757460) · [Full collection](https://notwitcheer.github.io/hermes-recipes/) · [Official docs](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/cron#pausing-everything-hermes-pause)

[Source Markdown](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/notwitcheer/hermes-recipes/8653fb699a137a32e81936fa33cabacd3f4f2095/docs/wingtips/85-hermes-pause.md): use this file as the base for relative links in the verbatim text below.

Sources: [Hermes docs: Cron](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/cron#pausing-everything-hermes-pause)


one command stops your Hermes Agent from starting new work. while it is on:

- no cron job fires
- no kanban task is dispatched
- your gateway bots start no new turns

`hermes resume` lifts it.

useful when a scheduled job does something you did not expect, or before you change a skill your cron jobs use!

docs: [https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/cron#pausing-everything-hermes-pause](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/cron#pausing-everything-hermes-pause)