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hermes - 💡(How to fix) Fix Bug: delegate_task subagents can idle-timeout without completing

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When using delegate_task to spawn subagents for longer-running tasks (e.g., code review, research synthesis), the subagent session can time out due to idle inactivity before completing its work. The subagent appears to hang or stop making progress, and eventually the session is terminated without returning useful results.

Error Message

  1. Call delegate_task with a goal that requires 10+ tool calls or extended reasoning (e.g., debugging a complex error, reviewing a large diff)
  2. Better error reporting: When a subagent times out, include the partial progress/output in the result so the parent can pick up where it left off

Root Cause

When using delegate_task to spawn subagents for longer-running tasks (e.g., code review, research synthesis), the subagent session can time out due to idle inactivity before completing its work. The subagent appears to hang or stop making progress, and eventually the session is terminated without returning useful results.

Fix Action

Workaround

Set max_iterations higher and break complex tasks into smaller, focused sub-tasks that each complete quickly.

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Description

When using delegate_task to spawn subagents for longer-running tasks (e.g., code review, research synthesis), the subagent session can time out due to idle inactivity before completing its work. The subagent appears to hang or stop making progress, and eventually the session is terminated without returning useful results.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Call delegate_task with a goal that requires 10+ tool calls or extended reasoning (e.g., debugging a complex error, reviewing a large diff)
  2. The subagent starts executing but may idle between tool calls (e.g., waiting for a terminal command, thinking through a problem)
  3. After a period of inactivity, the subagent session times out
  4. The parent agent receives a partial or empty result

Expected Behavior

The subagent should remain active until it completes its task or explicitly hits an iteration limit (max_iterations). Idle time between tool calls should not cause premature termination.

Actual Behavior

Subagent sessions can time out during periods of inactivity (e.g., while waiting for a long-running terminal command to finish, or during extended reasoning). This is particularly problematic for:

  • Research tasks that involve waiting for web requests
  • Code review tasks that require reading many files
  • Debugging tasks where the subagent needs to think between tool calls

Suggested Fixes

  1. Configurable idle timeout: Allow the parent to specify a idle_timeout parameter (or increase the default) for tasks expected to take longer
  2. Heartbeat mechanism: Have the subagent emit periodic heartbeat signals during long operations (e.g., while a terminal command is running)
  3. Longer default timeout for subagents: Since subagents are designed for "reasoning-heavy subtasks", the default idle timeout should be generous (e.g., 5-10 minutes)
  4. Better error reporting: When a subagent times out, include the partial progress/output in the result so the parent can pick up where it left off

Workaround

Set max_iterations higher and break complex tasks into smaller, focused sub-tasks that each complete quickly.

Environment

  • Hermes Agent v0.10.0
  • Transport: ACP (Ollama cloud models)
  • OS: macOS

extent analysis

TL;DR

Implement a configurable idle timeout or a heartbeat mechanism to prevent subagent sessions from timing out due to idle inactivity.

Guidance

  • Consider increasing the default idle timeout for subagents to a more generous value (e.g., 5-10 minutes) to accommodate longer-running tasks.
  • Implement a heartbeat mechanism where the subagent emits periodic signals during long operations to prevent timeouts.
  • Break complex tasks into smaller, focused sub-tasks that each complete quickly to work around the current timeout issue.
  • Review the max_iterations parameter and adjust it according to the task requirements to prevent premature termination.

Example

No code snippet is provided as the issue does not contain specific code references.

Notes

The suggested fixes and workarounds are based on the provided issue description and may require further testing and validation to ensure they fully address the problem.

Recommendation

Apply a workaround by breaking complex tasks into smaller sub-tasks and adjusting the max_iterations parameter until a more permanent solution, such as a configurable idle timeout or heartbeat mechanism, can be implemented. This approach allows for immediate mitigation of the issue while a more robust solution is developed.

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hermes - 💡(How to fix) Fix Bug: delegate_task subagents can idle-timeout without completing