# Skip idle Hermes cron agent runs

> Let a script skip unchanged polls before Hermes starts an agent, with a check you supply.

Source: https://fullbytedeveloper.com/blog/hermes-cron-skip-idle-runs
Keyword: CRONGATE
Published: 2026-11-01

Hermes can skip an agent run when a scheduled script finds nothing new, per its cron docs [1].

## Return the skip signal

Have your pre-check script emit this as its final stdout line when nothing needs processing [1]:

```json
{"wakeAgent": false}
```

The docs say Hermes skips that tick's agent. Omitting `wakeAgent` defaults to waking it. Your script still needs to detect changes [1].

## Attach your pre-check

Ask Hermes to create a job with your script attached. The docs' feed example uses `script="feed-changed.sh"` and `schedule="every 30m"`; its script lives under `~/.hermes/scripts/` [1].

Check the registered job:

```bash
hermes cron list
```

## Check the scheduler

The gateway must be running for scheduled agent jobs. Inspect its status [1]:

```bash
hermes cron status
```

You should see scheduler health and the next scheduled run [1].

For tasks fully handled by a script, the docs also provide `--no-agent`. After supplying `memory-watchdog.sh` and configuring Telegram delivery, their example is [1]:

```bash
hermes cron create "every 5m" \
  --no-agent \
  --script memory-watchdog.sh \
  --deliver telegram \
  --name "memory-watchdog"
```

That job delivers script output directly, without starting an agent [1].

## Sources

1. [Hermes docs: scheduled tasks and pre-run gates](https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/blob/main/website/docs/user-guide/features/cron.md)

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