# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Memory char limit enforcement and overflow handling

## Open now

- 1 issue, 3 PRs open on GitHub.
- #123569: \[Bug\]: hermes import-agent writes MEMORY.md up to 20,000 chars, past memory.memory_char_limit; every later memory add is refused
- PR #123570: fix(import-agent): merge memory entries within memory.memory_char_limit, not a hardcoded 20,000
- PR #123643: fix(import-agent): merge MEMORY.md against the profile's memory.memory_char_limit (#123569)
- PR #127318: fix(memory): evict oldest entries on add-overflow, archiving them

These items address a bug where import-agent wrote MEMORY.md up to a hardcoded 20,000-character limit instead of respecting the configured memory_char_limit, and a related change to evict oldest entries when memory overflows on add.

## TL;DR

- 4 member(s): 1 open issue(s), 0 closed issue(s), 3 open PR(s), 0 merged PR(s), 0 PR(s) closed without merging.
- No fix has been merged to main; one or more PRs were attempted (see below).
- **Recommended:** review the prior/competing PR(s) below. A fix was attempted but not merged; your case may extend or revive that work.

## Maintainer resolution verdict

- Internal-tracker verdict over this cluster's issue members: `unresolved`. This is distinct from the fix status above. Weigh it yourself.

## How this cluster was grouped

- Link evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.
- Pairwise link density `0.50`: the share of member pairs that carry a link, counting a structural link in full and a relevance-only link at 0.36. `1.00` means every pair is linked.

## Open related issues

- #123569: \[Bug\]: hermes import-agent writes MEMORY.md up to 20,000 chars, past memory.memory_char_limit; every later memory add is refused

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#123570: fix(import-agent): merge memory entries within memory.memory_char_limit, not a hardcoded 20,000**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `uncategorized`; implication `needs_llm`; refs `6287208a45fe01d09bd85a86f5f7fc502671fcf7`
  - files: `hermes_cli/agent_import.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_agent_import.py`, `website/docs/user-guide/import-from-other-agents.md`
- **#123643: fix(import-agent): merge MEMORY.md against the profile's memory.memory_char_limit (#123569)**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `uncategorized`; implication `needs_llm`
  - files: `hermes_cli/agent_import.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_agent_import.py`
- **#127318: fix(memory): evict oldest entries on add-overflow, archiving them**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `uncategorized`; implication `needs_llm`; refs `#103419`
  - files: `tests/tools/test_memory_add_overflow_evicts.py`, `tests/tools/test_memory_tool.py`, `tools/memory_tool_store.py`, `website/docs/user-guide/features/memory.md`

## Fix status

- No merged fix on record.
- Subsystem: `agent`