Hermes agent /busy sets what happens when you message Hermes while it is mid-task: queue the message for after the current turn, steer the work in flight without interrupting it, or interrupt outright and stop the job on the spot. You type /busy followed by one of queue, steer, interrupt or status, and that becomes the standing behaviour for every mid-task message you send. It works in the CLI and through the messaging gateway, and that second part is the bit that matters, because pinging an agent from your phone while it is halfway through a long job is precisely where most people accidentally wreck their own runs.
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I run Hermes every day inside my Agent OS setup, and tuning the busy behaviour changed how I message the agent more than any other single setting. Here is what the command does, what each option actually means in practice, and the defaults I would pick for different kinds of work.
What the Hermes agent /busy command controls
The official slash-commands reference documents /busy as the control for what happens when you message the agent while it is working. There are four options: /busy queue adds your new message to the turn queue, /busy steer injects a mid-turn note without interrupting, /busy interrupt stops the current work immediately, and /busy status shows the current setting. The unofficial Hermes Release Watch cheat sheet from 5 September 2026 files /busy under active-work controls, which is a fair label: the command does no work itself, it decides how your messages interact with work already in motion.
Why does mid-task messaging need a setting at all? Because Hermes is not a chat window you sit and watch. I message mine from my phone constantly, which is exactly why I ranked the options in my guide to the best messaging app for Hermes, and when a message lands mid-task, something has to decide whether it waits, redirects or cancels. Autonomous work sharpens the problem further: goals auto-continue between turns and any real message you send preempts the loop, which I cover in my /goal command guide. Without a deliberate busy policy, a throwaway question like any update yet can carry far more weight than you ever intended it to.
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The four /busy options explained
Each option is a single word after the command. Here is the documented behaviour for each, plus what it means when you are actually running work.
/busy queue
Documented effect: adds the new message to the turn queue. In plain English, /busy queue means Hermes carries on with what it is doing and your message waits its turn rather than disturbing the run. This is the polite default. Nothing gets lost, nothing gets derailed, and a long job finishes the way it started. If you fire off three thoughts in a row while the agent grinds through a task, queue mode means they line up neatly instead of colliding with the work in progress.
/busy steer
Documented effect: injects a mid-turn note without interrupting. Steering is the interesting one. With /busy steer, your message goes into the live turn as a note, so the agent can adjust course while the work continues. Think of shouting directions to someone mid-run rather than making them stop, walk back and start again. When I spot Hermes heading towards the wrong file or the wrong tone halfway through a job, a steer fixes the trajectory without paying the restart cost.
/busy interrupt
Documented effect: stops current work immediately. This is the hard brake. With /busy interrupt set, the current task halts and your message takes over. It is exactly right when the work is genuinely wrong — wrong project, wrong assumption, wrong direction — and exactly wrong when all you wanted was a progress update, which is how people lose forty minutes of perfectly good output to a two-word message.
/busy status
Documented effect: shows the current setting. No drama here, but I use /busy status more than you would expect. Before kicking off anything long, it tells you exactly how your next mid-task message will land. Checking takes a second; guessing wrong can cost you an entire run.
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Choosing a default: my working setup
The Hermes agent /busy choice depends on the kind of work in flight, and my rule of thumb is simple:
- Queue for long grinds. Content batches, big refactors, anything where the job is well defined and my mid-task messages are mostly impatience. The work matters more than my commentary, so my messages wait.
- Steer for course corrections. When I am actively shaping the output and my messages genuinely are directions, I want them landing in the live turn, not queued behind it.
- Interrupt when it is genuinely wrong. If every further second of work is wasted effort, stop it. Otherwise this is the most expensive setting on the list.
Two habits make the busy setting stick. First, when I push long jobs into the background with /bg, I am far more likely to message mid-task, so I check the setting before I start rather than after I have trampled a run. Second, when I am timing agent runs for Goldie Bench, my testing setup, I keep messages queued so nothing I type mid-run contaminates a result. More of my day-to-day defaults live in my Hermes best practices guide.
/busy vs /btw: control the message or ask on the side
These two get confused because they exist for the same moment: you want to talk to a busy agent. The difference is intent. /busy decides what your normal messages do to the current task — wait, redirect or cancel. /btw is for messages that were never meant to touch the task at all: side questions the agent answers without interrupting the main job. If you find yourself setting /busy queue purely so you can ask harmless questions mid-run, what you actually want is the /btw command. Set the busy policy for real instructions, and keep /btw for everything that is just curiosity.
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The /queue and /steer shortcuts
The same reference that documents /busy also lists /queue and /steer as related individual commands. Worth remembering: the two behaviours you will reach for most often exist as standalone commands as well as options inside the /busy policy, so queueing and steering are never more than one short command away.
Where v0.21 steering fits
Steering is not a bolt-on idea. Hermes v0.21 added live subagent steering, which I broke down in my v0.21 guide, and /busy steer is the same philosophy pointed at your own messages: redirect work in flight instead of restarting it. Once you have steered a run mid-turn and watched it correct course without losing any progress, interrupt-by-default stops looking like control and starts looking like waste.
Quick reference: /busy options at a glance
| Option | Documented effect | When I use it |
|---|---|---|
| /busy queue | Adds the new message to the turn queue | Long, well-defined jobs I do not want disturbed |
| /busy steer | Injects a mid-turn note without interrupting | Active sessions where my messages are course corrections |
| /busy interrupt | Stops current work immediately | The work is genuinely wrong and every second is waste |
| /busy status | Shows the current setting | Before starting anything long |
FAQs about the Hermes agent /busy command
What does /busy actually do?
It sets what happens when you message Hermes while it is working. /busy queue adds the message to the turn queue, /busy steer injects a mid-turn note without interrupting, /busy interrupt stops current work immediately, and /busy status shows the current setting.
Does /busy work in the messaging gateway?
Yes. The command works in the CLI and the messaging gateway, and the gateway is honestly where it earns its keep, because phone messages are the ones you send without thinking about what the agent is midway through at the time.
What is the difference between /busy queue and /busy steer?
Queue makes your message wait: it joins the turn queue and the current work continues untouched. Steer pushes your message into the live turn as a note, so the work continues but can adjust. Waiting versus redirecting — and neither one interrupts.
Should I just leave /busy on interrupt?
I would not. Interrupt is the right tool when work is genuinely wrong, but as a standing policy it means every stray message cancels real progress. Queue or steer as the default, interrupt as the deliberate exception.
How do I check my current busy setting?
Run /busy status and it shows the current setting. I do it before long jobs the way you would glance at the handbrake before parking on a hill.
Verdict: small command, big difference
Hermes agent /busy is one line of configuration that decides whether your messages are nudges or grenades. Queue for long grinds, steer for course corrections, interrupt for genuine emergencies, and status whenever you are not sure where you stand. Set it deliberately once and the awkward moment of messaging a busy agent simply disappears, because the message does exactly what you meant it to do.
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