NousResearch/hermes-agent · warning · Error

Content too large

Error message

Content too large

What it means

writeText deliberately caps content at 1,000,000 characters so the IPC cannot be abused as a bulk-write primitive; a longer string throws 'Content too large'. The cap is checked before path resolution, so it fires regardless of whether the target path is valid.

Solutions

1. Reduce the content below 1,000,000 characters — this API is for small metadata files, not bulk data
2. Move large content to a real file via normal file tools / terminal instead of the writeText IPC
3. Add a client-side length check with a visible counter before submit

Example fix

// before
await ipc.invoke('hermes:fs:writeText', path, text)

// after
if (text.length > 1_000_000) throw new Error('Note too large — trim below 1,000,000 chars')
await ipc.invoke('hermes:fs:writeText', path, text)

const MAX = 1_000_000
if ((content ?? '').length > MAX) { notify(`Content exceeds ${MAX} characters`); return }
await ipc.invoke('hermes:fs:writeText', filePath, content)

function withinWriteTextCap(text: string): boolean { return text.length <= 1_000_000 }

catch (e) { if (e instanceof Error && e.message === 'Content too large') notify('Trim the content below 1,000,000 characters') else throw e }

When it happens

Trigger: Passing text.length > 1_000_000 to hermes:fs:writeText — e.g. pasting a huge document into an IDEA.md editor, or a bug that serializes an entire project/log into the write payload.

Common situations: Users pasting large generated content into a small-file field; code that accidentally passes a full file tree or concatenated logs as 'content'.

Related errors

• Invalid delete
• Invalid path
• Invalid rename
• " " already exists
• Parent directory does not exist

AI-assisted analysis of NousResearch/hermes-agent@c896c09c42 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/545a15c5054008c7. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at apps/desktop/electron/main.ts:11799

  return { path: dst }
})

// Write a small UTF-8 text file (e.g. a project's IDEA.md at creation). The path
// is hardened (resolveRequestedPathForIpc) and the parent must already exist —
// this never creates directory trees or escapes the allowed roots, and content
// is size-capped so it can't be abused as a bulk-write primitive.
ipcMain.handle('hermes:fs:writeText', async (_event, filePath, content) => {
  const raw = String(filePath || '').trim()

  if (!raw) {
    throw new Error('Invalid path')
  }

  const text = String(content ?? '')

  if (text.length > 1_000_000) {
    throw new Error('Content too large')
  }

  const resolved = resolveRequestedPathForIpc(expandUserPath(raw), { purpose: 'Write text file' })

  if (!directoryExists(path.dirname(resolved))) {
    throw new Error('Parent directory does not exist')
  }

  await fs.promises.writeFile(resolved, text, 'utf8')

  return { path: resolved }
})

// Move a file/folder to the OS trash (recoverable) — the VS Code "Delete"
// default. `shell.trashItem` routes to Finder/Explorer/Files trash per platform.
ipcMain.handle('hermes:fs:trash', async (_event, targetPath) => {
  const target = String(targetPath || '').trim()

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