hermes sessions Command — Complete Reference & Examples

Overview

hermes sessions views and manages the SQLite session store. You can list, browse, export, delete, prune, archive, repair, and optimize the conversations that Hermes keeps.

hermes sessions <list|browse|export|delete|prune|archive|optimize|clean-markers|optimize-storage|repair|recover|stats|rename|retitle-skills>

Subcommands

list — List recent sessions

hermes sessions list
hermes sessions list --limit 20
hermes sessions list --source telegram
hermes sessions list --workspace /path/to/project

browse — Interactive session picker

hermes sessions browse
hermes sessions browse --limit 100

export — Export sessions to file

hermes sessions export --format md ./exports
hermes sessions export --session-id abc123 --format jsonl -
hermes sessions export --older-than 30d --format md --yes

Formats: jsonl, md, qmd, html, trace. Many filters are available (title, source, model, cost, tokens, tool calls, etc.).

delete — Delete a specific session

hermes sessions delete abc123
hermes sessions delete abc123 --yes

prune — Delete old sessions by filters

hermes sessions prune
hermes sessions prune --older-than 90d
hermes sessions prune --source cli --keep 50 --dry-run

Default age threshold is 90 days if no filters are given.

archive — Soft-hide sessions without deleting them

hermes sessions archive --older-than 30d --dry-run
hermes sessions archive --title "legacy" --yes

optimize — Reclaim disk space (no data change)

hermes sessions optimize

Merges FTS5 segments and VACUUMs the database. No conversation data is changed.

clean-markers — Fix stale tool-call markers

hermes sessions clean-markers --dry-run
hermes sessions clean-markers --yes

optimize-storage — Rebuild the search index to the compact v23 layout

hermes sessions optimize-storage --yes
hermes sessions optimize-storage --no-vacuum

repair — Repair a malformed state.db schema

hermes sessions repair --check-only
hermes sessions repair --no-backup

recover — Offline recovery for a damaged database

hermes sessions recover --source state.db --output recovered.db
hermes sessions recover --source state.db --inspect-only

Flags: --source, --output, --inspect-only, --work-dir, --chunk-size, --allow-partial, --report.

stats — Show session store statistics

hermes sessions stats

rename — Set or change a session title

hermes sessions rename abc123 "API Design Session"

retitle-skills — Regenerate titles for /skill sessions

hermes sessions retitle-skills --dry-run
hermes sessions retitle-skills --apply --limit 200

Common Scenarios

Find and export a session

hermes sessions list --limit 50
hermes sessions export --session-id abc123 --format md ./exports

Regular cleanup

hermes sessions prune --older-than 90d --yes
hermes sessions optimize

Repair a database that shows no sessions

hermes sessions repair --check-only
hermes sessions repair

Recover from a damaged backup

hermes sessions recover --source ~/.hermes/backups/state.db --output ~/.hermes/recovered.db --allow-partial

Tips

• export defaults to jsonl; use md for human-readable archives and trace for Claude Code trace viewer.
• prune without filters deletes sessions older than 90 days by default; use --dry-run to preview.
• archive hides sessions but does not free as much space as delete or prune.
• repair and recover both make backups by default; use --no-backup only when you accept the risk.
• retitle-skills is useful when many sessions were auto-titled from the body of a /skill rather than the user’s actual request.