Hermes Cost Audit

Hermes Cost Audit

Find where this Hermes install spends tokens and propose the cuts with the best payoff, backed by measurements taken on this machine.

When to Use

• The user asks why Hermes is expensive, where tokens go, or how to spend less.
• As a weekly cron job that reports spend and new savings opportunities.

Procedure

Run every command with the terminal tool. Read, measure, and report. Do not change any setting until the user approves the specific change.

1. Measure the fixed prefix that every model call carries, per surface actually in use:

   bashCopy code
   hermes tools --summary                      # which platforms have which toolsets
   hermes prompt-size --json                   # CLI
   hermes prompt-size --platform telegram --json   # repeat for each platform in use
   

   Record system prompt bytes, skills index bytes, tool schema bytes, and the three largest toolsets per platform.

2. Measure real spend over time:

   bashCopy code
   hermes insights --days 7
   hermes insights --days 30
   

3. Read the settings that drive cost. auto on an auxiliary task means the main model:

   bashCopy code
   hermes config get model
   hermes config get auxiliary.compression.model
   hermes config get auxiliary.title_generation.model
   hermes config get auxiliary.approval.model
   hermes config get auxiliary.background_review.model
   hermes config get delegation.model
   hermes config get cron.model
   hermes config get agent.disabled_toolsets
   hermes config get prompt_caching.cache_ttl
   

4. Check for these patterns and estimate the saving of each from the step 1 numbers (roughly 4.2–4.5 bytes per token):

   Pattern	Proposal
   Auxiliary tasks on auto while the main model is expensive	Route compression, titles, approvals, and background review to a cheap model. Leave auxiliary.vision unset when the main model can see images: an explicit vision backend makes every image go through a text description.
   A toolset enabled on a platform that never uses it (for example browser or tts on a chat bot)	hermes tools disable --platform <platform> <toolset>
   Heavy delegation with delegation.model unset	A cheaper model for subagents
   Several cron jobs with cron.model unset	A cheap default for unpinned cron jobs
   A large project context file where the user usually works	Shorten it. Move detail into subdirectory files or skills.
   Long pauses between turns on a Claude model with cache_ttl: 5m	Consider 1h (cache writes cost 2x, but pauses stop re-reading at full price)

5. Report a table ordered by estimated impact: finding, current value, proposed value, estimated tokens saved per call (or per day), and the exact command. Ask which changes to apply.

6. After approval, apply each change with hermes config set or hermes tools disable, then re-run step 1 and show the before and after.

Verification

• hermes prompt-size shows fewer bytes after toolset changes.
• hermes doctor reports no unresolvable auxiliary routes. An unresolvable route silently falls back to the main model and saves nothing.

Pitfalls

• image_gen and computer_use are already deferred behind tool search by default. Disabling them does not shrink the prompt.
• Model switches and tool changes break the prompt cache for the running session. Apply changes, then start a new session.
• Don't propose capping agent.max_turns as a cost fix. It is unlimited by design, and loop guardrails already stop runaway loops in unattended runs.
• Don't quote model prices from memory. Point the user at the provider's current pricing page.