Hermes BibleUnofficial Docs
← All flows Flow / Architecture

8 Loops Inside Hermes Agent (And Why They Compound)

A complete map of the eight loops Hermes Agent runs simultaneously — from the millisecond core loop to the weekly Curator — how they nest across timescales, and what breaks when any one of them fails.

Hermes Agentloopsinsidecompoundeightsimultaneouslymillisecondweekly
Category
Architecture
Level
Community
Author
YanXbt
Reading time
5 min

A complete map of the eight loops Hermes Agent runs simultaneously — from the millisecond core loop to the weekly Curator — how they nest across timescales, and what breaks when any one of them fails.

Community flow by YanXbt. View source

Flow sections

Section outline mirrored from the public community flow. Use the source page for full prose and examples.

Upstream outline

  1. Overview
  2. What is a loop in agent architecture?
  3. Loop 1 — The core agent loop
  4. Loop 2 — The Ralph loop (/goal)
  5. Loop 3 — The self-improvement loop
  6. Loop 4 — The Curator loop
  7. Loop 5 — The memory loop
  8. Loop 6 — The Kanban dispatcher loop
  9. Loop 7 — The compression loop
  10. Loop 8 — The sub-agent loop
  11. How the loops nest
  12. How Hermes compares to other loop architectures
  13. Token cost per loop
  14. Start here

Section map

Overview

Frames overview for this Architecture workflow, including the operating context to verify in the source page.

What is a loop in agent architecture?

Frames what is a loop in agent architecture? for this Architecture workflow, including the operating context to verify in the source page.

Loop 1 — The core agent loop

Frames loop 1 — the core agent loop for this Architecture workflow, including the operating context to verify in the source page.

Loop 2 — The Ralph loop (/goal)

Frames loop 2 — the ralph loop (/goal) for this Architecture workflow, including the operating context to verify in the source page.

Loop 3 — The self-improvement loop

Frames loop 3 — the self-improvement loop for this Architecture workflow, including the operating context to verify in the source page.

Loop 4 — The Curator loop

Frames loop 4 — the curator loop for this Architecture workflow, including the operating context to verify in the source page.

Loop 5 — The memory loop

Frames loop 5 — the memory loop for this Architecture workflow, including the operating context to verify in the source page.

Loop 6 — The Kanban dispatcher loop

Frames loop 6 — the kanban dispatcher loop for this Architecture workflow, including the operating context to verify in the source page.

Implementation notes

  • Use this Architecture flow as a pattern library entry: start from the summary, then inspect the linked source before copying any commands, schedules, or account wiring.
  • Primary decision areas: Overview, What is a loop in agent architecture?, Loop 1 — The core agent loop, Loop 2 — The Ralph loop (/goal), Loop 3 — The self-improvement loop. Treat those sections as checkpoints for scope, cost, orchestration, and human review.
  • Useful search signals for this flow: loops, inside, compound, eight, simultaneously. These are derived from the public title and summary, not from private runtime data.

Decision table

Best fitArchitecture workflow pattern

Use when the summary outcome matches your own workflow and overview is relevant to your setup.

Verify firstAccounts, models, schedules, and tool access

Open the source sections for Overview and What is a loop in agent architecture? before wiring credentials or automation.

Review boundaryHuman approval point

Keep human approval for merges, spending, external messages, credentials, and unattended execution.

Verification checklist

  1. Confirm the workflow outcome matches your use case: A complete map of the eight loops Hermes Agent runs simultaneously — from the millisecond core loop to the weekly Curator — how they nest across timescales, and what breaks when any one of them fails.
  2. Open the source section for Overview before copying commands, prompts, or schedules.
  3. List every credential, account, model, and external service the flow would touch.
  4. Define the human approval step before spending money, sending messages, trading, merging, or running unattended.
  5. Run a small dry run and compare the result with the source sections for Overview and What is a loop in agent architecture?.

Risk notes

Credentials

Treat every token, OAuth grant, secret manager entry, and API key as production-sensitive. Verify least privilege and revocation before reuse.

Model spend

Set provider, token, and retry limits before scaling the workflow beyond a single test run.

Runtime access

Check filesystem, shell, browser, repository, and server permissions before granting the agent write access.

What this page covers

  • A complete map of the eight loops Hermes Agent runs simultaneously
  • from the millisecond core loop to the weekly Curator
  • how they nest across timescales
  • what breaks when any one of them fails.

Source mirror note

This page is generated from the public Hermes Bible index so the clone has the same route coverage and search surface. It stores the public title, category, summary, and source link locally; use the source page for full upstream text and updates.

Open source page