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docs: add persistent shell section to configuration and env-vars reference

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Documents terminal.persistent_shell config option, per-backend env var
overrides, precedence table, and what state persists across commands.
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teknium1 2026-03-15 21:01:50 -07:00
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website/docs/user-guide/configuration.md
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@ -462,6 +462,9 @@ terminal:
container_memory: 5120 # MB (default 5GB)
container_disk: 51200 # MB (default 50GB)
container_persistent: true # Persist filesystem across sessions
# Persistent shell — keep a long-lived bash process across commands
persistent_shell: true # Enabled by default for SSH backend
```
### Common Terminal Backend Issues
@ -517,6 +520,46 @@ This is useful for:
Can also be set via environment variable: `TERMINAL_DOCKER_VOLUMES='["/host:/container"]'` (JSON array).
### Persistent Shell
By default, each terminal command runs in its own subprocess — working directory, environment variables, and shell variables reset between commands. When **persistent shell** is enabled, a single long-lived bash process is kept alive across `execute()` calls so that state survives between commands.
This is most useful for the **SSH backend**, where it also eliminates per-command connection overhead. Persistent shell is **enabled by default for SSH** and disabled for the local backend.
```yaml
terminal:
persistent_shell: true # default — enables persistent shell for SSH
```
To disable:
```bash
hermes config set terminal.persistent_shell false
```
**What persists across commands:**
- Working directory (`cd /tmp` sticks for the next command)
- Exported environment variables (`export FOO=bar`)
- Shell variables (`MY_VAR=hello`)
**Precedence:**
| Level | Variable | Default |
|-------|----------|---------|
| Config | `terminal.persistent_shell` | `true` |
| SSH override | `TERMINAL_SSH_PERSISTENT` | follows config |
| Local override | `TERMINAL_LOCAL_PERSISTENT` | `false` |
Per-backend environment variables take highest precedence. If you want persistent shell on the local backend too:
```bash
export TERMINAL_LOCAL_PERSISTENT=true
```
:::note
Commands that require `stdin_data` or sudo automatically fall back to one-shot mode, since the persistent shell's stdin is already occupied by the IPC protocol.
:::
See [Code Execution](features/code-execution.md) and the [Terminal section of the README](features/tools.md) for details on each backend.
## Memory Configuration