| name | stasis-detection |
| description | Use when deciding whether an agent or cron job should exit early due to inactivity. Governs the stasis detection pattern — cost-saving mechanism for idle agents/projects that suppresses cron runs when no progress has been made for 5+ consecutive days. |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| author | Hermes Agent |
| license | MIT |
| metadata | {"hermes":{"tags":["home-assistant","rocha-family","platform","cost-optimization","cron","governance"],"related_skills":["platform-manager","cron-patterns","hermes-governance","context-auditor"]}} |
Stasis Detection
Overview
The stasis detection pattern prevents idle agents from consuming tokens unnecessarily. When a project, agent, or task domain has no new inputs, no progress, and no open work items for 5+ consecutive days, the agent logs the stasis event, increments a counter, and exits within ≤2 turns without doing work.
When to Use
- Any cron-driven agent that checks a project or domain
- Evaluating whether to skip a heartbeat run
- Platform manager nightly reflection — filter out stale agents
- Cost review — identify agents accumulating idle runs
Stasis Trigger Conditions
All of the following must be true:
stasis_consecutive_days >= 5- No new user input for the domain
- No open tasks with approaching deadlines
- No external events (API changes, alerts, calendar triggers)
If ANY condition is false → run normally.
Stasis Protocol (When Triggered)
1. Log: "Stasis day N — no new input. Skipping."
2. Append to events.log: {timestamp, agent, event_type: "stasis", stasis_day: N}
3. Increment stasis_consecutive_days in working.md
4. EXIT (≤2 turns total)
5. Do NOT send Telegram notification (silent skip)
Working Memory Format
Add this section to any domain's working.md:
## Stasis Tracking
- stasis_consecutive_days: 0
- last_active: YYYY-MM-DD
- stasis_triggered: false
- last_reset_reason: [brief description]
Reset Conditions
Reset stasis_consecutive_days = 0 when:
- New user message received for this domain
- External event triggers (bill due, appointment, etc.)
- Manual override from Hector
- Scheduled forced-run day (e.g., monthly reviews always run)
Agent File Format
Add this section to any agent's definition file:
## Stasis Detection
- Trigger: stasis_consecutive_days >= 5 AND no new input
- Action: log → increment → EXIT (≤2 turns)
- Reset: any new input or external event
- Never: send Telegram on stasis skip (silent)
Known Stasis Agents (Source Reference)
From htekdev/copilot-home-assistant standing-orders:
carplay — 21+ days stasismilk-mama — 14+ days stasis
Hermes Application
Hermes should apply stasis detection to:
teacher domain — formal curriculum suspended during Paula's recoverycontent-awareness — only active when OG flags content opportunity- Any working.md with no updates in 7+ days → flag in context-auditor scan
Common Pitfalls
- ❌ Triggering stasis on family-critical domains (health, twins, Bella) — these always run
- ❌ Resetting counter without logging the reset reason
- ❌ Sending Telegram on stasis skip — it should be completely silent
- ❌ Applying stasis to heartbeat/mesh check-in — these always run regardless
- ❌ Counting weekends as stasis days for work-calendar agents
Verification Checklist
