hermes - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Feature Request] Configurable memory character limit (currently hardcoded at 2,200) [1 participants]

Problem

The Hermes memory tool has a hardcoded character limit of 2,200 for the short-term context memory that is injected into every session. This limit is too restrictive for users managing multiple projects or complex environments with many persistent facts.

Current Workarounds (and why they are insufficient)

Users currently work around this by:

1. Project-specific .md files -- Good for static knowledge, but not dynamically searchable/injectable like memory
2. Honcho -- Excellent for long-term facts, but requires explicit queries; does not provide the automatic per-session injection that memory offers
3. Skills -- Great for workflows, not for raw facts

The short-term memory is uniquely valuable because it is automatically injected into every turn without requiring explicit search calls. Hitting the 2,200 cap forces users to constantly prune facts that are still relevant.

Proposed Solution

Add a configurable limit in config.yaml:

memory:
  max_chars: 2200  # default, backward compatible

Or ideally, allow a soft/hard limit pair:

memory:
  max_chars: 5000        # hard ceiling
  warning_threshold: 80  # warn at 80% usage

Suggested Behavior

• Default: Keep 2,200 as the default to avoid surprising existing users
• Range: Allow values between 1,000 and 10,000 (or unlimited with null / 0)
• Validation: Reject unreasonable values (< 500 or > 50,000) to prevent token flooding
• Display: Show current / limit in the memory header

Use Case

As a power user managing multiple projects (e.g., vocational training projects, infrastructure configs, client-specific deployment rules), I need to keep ~20-30 concise facts in short-term memory. With the current 2,200 limit, I hit the ceiling after ~10-12 entries and must constantly decide which facts to sacrifice, even though they are all relevant to ongoing work.

Additional Context

• Honcho is already enabled as the long-term backend, but it does not replace the convenience of auto-injected short-term memory
• Memory is currently at 99% usage (2,197/2,200) with only 10 entries, most of which are single-line project facts

Thank you for considering this!