fix(gateway): stop loading hermes repo AGENTS.md into gateway sessions (~10k wasted tokens)#2891
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…s cwd The gateway process runs from the hermes-agent install directory, so os.getcwd() picks up the repo's AGENTS.md (16k chars) and other dev context files — inflating input tokens by ~10k on every gateway message. Fix: use TERMINAL_CWD (which the gateway sets to MESSAGING_CWD or $HOME) as the cwd for build_context_files_prompt(). In CLI mode, TERMINAL_CWD is the user's actual project directory, so behavior is unchanged. Before: gateway 15-20k input tokens, CLI 6-8k After: gateway ~6-8k input tokens (same as CLI) Reported by keri on Discord.
angelburgosrosado
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Apr 27, 2026
…gateway-context fix(gateway): stop loading hermes repo AGENTS.md into gateway sessions (~10k wasted tokens)
02356abc
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May 14, 2026
…gateway-context fix(gateway): stop loading hermes repo AGENTS.md into gateway sessions (~10k wasted tokens)
olympus-terminal
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May 16, 2026
…gateway-context fix(gateway): stop loading hermes repo AGENTS.md into gateway sessions (~10k wasted tokens)
gweeteve
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Jun 2, 2026
…gateway-context fix(gateway): stop loading hermes repo AGENTS.md into gateway sessions (~10k wasted tokens)
Egavasyug
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Jun 10, 2026
…gateway-context fix(gateway): stop loading hermes repo AGENTS.md into gateway sessions (~10k wasted tokens)
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Problem
Gateway sessions use ~15-20k input tokens vs CLI's ~6-8k. The extra ~10k comes from the hermes-agent repo's own
AGENTS.md(16k chars, 390 lines) being loaded as project context.Root cause:
build_context_files_prompt()usesos.getcwd()to find context files. The gateway process runs from the hermes-agent install directory, so it finds and loads the repo'sAGENTS.md,.cursorrules, etc. — none of which are relevant to the user's conversation.Fix
One-line change: pass
TERMINAL_CWD(which the gateway sets toMESSAGING_CWDor$HOME) as thecwdfor context file discovery instead of letting it default toos.getcwd().$HOME) — no more hermes repo junkTERMINAL_CWDis set to the user's actual project directoryImpact
~2x reduction in gateway input token usage per message.
Reported by keri on Discord.