hermes - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug] Windows Scheduled Task defaults cause gateway crash every ~24-72h (ExecutionTimeLimit, battery settings)

Summary

The Windows Scheduled Task created by hermes gateway install uses bare schtasks /Create with minimal flags (/SC ONLOGON /RL LIMITED). This relies on Windows defaults that are hostile to a long-running gateway process, causing the gateway to die every ~24-72 hours and making cron jobs unreliable.

Affected File

hermes_cli/gateway_windows.py — function _install_scheduled_task()

Problem

The bare schtasks approach cannot override most task scheduler settings. The defaults that kill the gateway:

Evidence

• Gateway exit diagnostics showed it dying every ~24h with signal-initiated shutdown
• Cron jobs scheduled for 4 AM were being missed because the gateway was in a restart gap
• The ExecutionTimeLimit PT72H was the primary cause - Windows hard-terminating the process

Fix

Replace the bare schtasks /Create approach with either:

1. COM interface (Schedule.Service) via win32com.client or PowerShell subprocess, or
2. XML task registration via schtasks /Create /XML

The correct settings should be:

<Settings>
  <ExecutionTimeLimit>PT0S</ExecutionTimeLimit>
  <StopIfGoingOnBatteries>false</StopIfGoingOnBatteries>
  <DisallowStartIfOnBatteries>false</DisallowStartIfOnBatteries>
  <StartWhenAvailable>true</StartWhenAvailable>
  <WakeToRun>true</WakeToRun>
  <AllowHardTerminate>false</AllowHardTerminate>
  <MultipleInstancesPolicy>StopExisting</MultipleInstancesPolicy>
</Settings>

Workaround (manual, requires elevated PowerShell)

Delete and recreate the task via the COM interface with full XML definition. Important: Windows stubbornly resets ExecutionTimeLimit to PT72H on UPDATE operations. Only a full DELETE + CREATE via RegisterTask() with explicit PT0S in the XML worked.

Impact

• Severity: High - makes cron jobs unreliable on Windows, gateway silently dies
• Platform: Windows only
• Component: hermes gateway install