# NousResearch/hermes-agent · delegate_task spawn limits and concurrency controls

## Open now

- 1 issue, 1 PR open on GitHub.
- #52484: \[Bug\]: Token Incinerator - Endless Recursive Loop in delegate_task without Max Depth Limit
- PR #59233: fix(delegate): cap total subagent children per parent session

These issues and pull requests concern unbounded or runaway subagent spawning via delegate_task, including bugs around pool exhaustion and recursive loops, and proposed fixes or features to cap spawn depth, per-turn creation, and concurrent children.

## TL;DR

- 5 member(s): 1 open issue(s), 1 closed issue(s), 1 open PR(s), 0 merged PR(s), 2 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evidence (`STRUCTURAL_PARTIAL`): some members are connected by structural evidence (shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference); the rest are joined by an automated relevance judgement over their text.
- Members outside that structural core may belong to a different underlying problem.
- Pairwise link density `0.34`: 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

- #52484: \[Bug\]: Token Incinerator - Endless Recursive Loop in delegate_task without Max Depth Limit

## Closed / duplicate issues

- #52868: \[Bug\] delegate_task Pool Exhaustion Causes Silent Token Explosion via Unbounded Sequential Session Creation

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#52557: fix(delegation): add per-turn spawn cap to prevent runaway delegate_task loops**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `silent_close`; implication `active`
- **#54420: fix(delegation): add per-turn spawn cap to prevent runaway delegate_task loops**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `uncategorized`; implication `needs_llm`; refs `9be292f1e`
- **#59233: fix(delegate): cap total subagent children per parent session**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `wontfix_bydesign`; implication `wontfix`; refs `fc2e2c555`, `#52484`
  - files: `cli-config.yaml.example`, `hermes_cli/config_defaults.py`, `hermes_cli/config_defaults_delegation.py`, `hermes_state_maintenance.py`, `hermes_state_sessions.py`, `skills/autonomous-ai-agents/hermes-agent/references/configuration.md`, `tests/agent/test_subagent_stop_hook.py`, `tests/hermes_state/test_delegate_budget_cleanup.py`, `tests/hermes_state/test_hermes_state.py`, `tests/tools/test_delegate.py`, `tests/tools/test_delegate_batch_tag.py`, `tests/tools/test_delegate_session_budget.py`, `tools/delegate_tool.py`, `tools/delegate_tool_config.py`, `website/docs/user-guide/configuration.md`, `website/docs/user-guide/features/delegation.md`

## Fix status

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