# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Skip compression when output would inflate context

## Open now

- 1 issue, 2 PRs open on GitHub.
- #23811: ContextCompressor inflates small sessions, causing rapid re-compression and splits
- PR #21470: fix(compressor): skip compression when summary would inflate context
- PR #25413: fix: skip ineffective compression, add macOS lock stale detection

These members address a bug where the ContextCompressor produces summaries larger than the original input, causing unnecessary or counterproductive compression. The fixes add logic to detect and skip compression when it would not reduce context size.

## TL;DR

- 3 member(s): 1 open issue(s), 0 closed issue(s), 2 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_SPANNING`): every member is connected by structural evidence: shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference.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 `0.67`: 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

- #23811: ContextCompressor inflates small sessions, causing rapid re-compression and splits

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#21470: fix(compressor): skip compression when summary would inflate context**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `stale_abandoned`; implication `active`
  - files: `agent/context_compressor.py`, `tests/agent/test_context_compressor.py`
- **#25413: fix: skip ineffective compression, add macOS lock stale detection**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `superseded_by_pr`; implication `superseded`
  - files: `agent/context_compressor.py`, `tests/agent/test_context_compressor.py`

## Fix status

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