Hermes Agent · Tutorial 16
Multitask in Hermes with /background, /queue, and /steer
Choose whether a new request should run separately now, wait for later, or redirect the work already in progress.
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Last tested and updated: August 25, 2026, with Hermes Agent v0.20.5. Run /version first.
When Hermes is busy, a second request can mean three different things. You may want a separate researcher to start now, a follow-up to wait its turn, or the active job to change direction. Hermes has a command for each case.
| What you mean | Command | Mental model |
|---|---|---|
| “Do this separately now” | /background or /bg | Another Hermes gets a self-contained job |
| “Do this after the current answer” | /queue or /q | A new turn waits in line |
| “Change the job you are doing” | /steer | Guidance enters the current run |
| “What is active?” | /agents or /tasks | A status view, not a task manager |
Try all three in one scenario
Start a normal task:
Plan a three-day Hong Kong itinerary for a first-time visitor.While it is working, send:
/background Compare five rainy-day activities in Hong Kong using current official prices and opening hours. Return a sourced table.
/queue When the itinerary is complete, turn it into a one-page packing and booking checklist.
/steer Keep every journey MTR-friendly and avoid days costing more than HK$500 per person.
/agentsThe background prompt repeats every important requirement because that separate session cannot see the foreground conversation. Its result returns asynchronously while you keep talking to the main Hermes.
The queued request becomes its own complete user turn after current work finishes. Several queued prompts run in first-in, first-out order.
The steer waits for the next safe tool-result boundary and enters the active run. It does not abruptly stop a shell command or tool call. If Hermes is idle—or the run finishes too quickly—the text falls back to the next queued turn.
Which command should I reach for?
Use /background for an independent comparison, source hunt, calculation, or diagnostic. It is a poor choice for a request that depends on details only present in the current chat.
Use /queue when the output of the active task should become the input to a later task. Stable v0.20.5 does not provide selective queue listing or cancellation, so do not pile up speculative prompts.
Use /steer when you notice the active task has the wrong scope, format, budget, audience, or safety boundary. Keep the instruction short and directly related to the current outcome.
Use /agents to see activity. The gateway view is richer than the classic CLI view, and the command does not provide per-item cancellation. Treat it as a dashboard, not a universal background-job manager.
These details come from the stable Hermes CLI guide and command implementation. A community feature request documents the current queue-control limitation.
Why users care
One user, glitch, described parallel isolated Hermes subagents as a way to avoid consuming the parent conversation’s context. That post concerns a custom swarm architecture rather than a controlled /background benchmark, but it captures the practical attraction: independent work should not muddy the main line of thought.
Miss Sentient’s one-week account adds a useful counterweight. She liked 24/7 phone access but found browsing inconsistent and would not connect sensitive Notion or Gmail data. Parallelism multiplies convenience—and makes clear permission boundaries more important.
How to know it worked
/backgroundimmediately acknowledges a separate task, and its answer arrives later./queueconfirms that the prompt will run as the next turn./steeraffects the active answer rather than producing a separate answer./agentsaccurately reflects active work on your chosen surface.
Frequently asked questions
Can /background see this conversation?
No. Repeat all necessary context in its prompt.
What is the shortest difference between queue and steer?
Queue creates the next task. Steer modifies the current one.
Can I queue several prompts?
Yes. They run as separate turns in order, but stable v0.20.5 lacks selective cancellation.
Does /steer stop a running command?
No. It is applied at the next safe boundary after a tool result.
Can /agents cancel work?
No. It is a status view.
What if my follow-up includes an image?
CLI steering is text-only. An attached image is handled as ordinary queued input rather than injected into the active turn.