diff --git a/hermes_cli/commands.py b/hermes_cli/commands.py
index 03e3df81b9b..be1da354bbb 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/commands.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/commands.py
@@ -508,6 +508,64 @@ def telegram_bot_commands() -> list[tuple[str, str]]:
     return result
 
 
+_TELEGRAM_MENU_PRIORITY = (
+    "debug",
+    "restart",
+    "update",
+    "verbose",
+    "commands",
+    "help",
+    "new",
+    "stop",
+    "status",
+    "resume",
+    "sessions",
+    "approve",
+    "deny",
+    "queue",
+    "steer",
+    "background",
+    "model",
+    "reasoning",
+    "usage",
+    "platforms",
+    "platform",
+    "profile",
+    "whoami",
+)
+"""Built-in commands that should stay visible in Telegram's capped menu.
+
+Telegram only displays a small BotCommand menu in practice.  The full Hermes
+registry is still dispatchable when typed manually, but operational commands
+need to survive the visible menu cap ahead of lower-priority built-ins.
+"""
+
+
+def _prioritize_telegram_menu_commands(
+    commands: list[tuple[str, str]],
+) -> list[tuple[str, str]]:
+    priority = {
+        _sanitize_telegram_name(name): index
+        for index, name in enumerate(_TELEGRAM_MENU_PRIORITY)
+    }
+    return [
+        command
+        for _index, command in sorted(
+            enumerate(commands),
+            key=lambda item: (
+                0,
+                priority[item[1][0]],
+                item[0],
+            )
+            if item[1][0] in priority
+            else (
+                1,
+                item[0],
+            ),
+        )
+    ]
+
+
 _CMD_NAME_LIMIT = 32
 """Max command name length shared by Telegram and Discord."""
 
@@ -721,11 +779,12 @@ def telegram_menu_commands(max_commands: int = 100) -> tuple[list[tuple[str, str
 
     Returns:
         (menu_commands, hidden_count) where hidden_count is the number of
-        skill commands omitted due to the cap.
+        commands omitted due to the cap.
     """
-    core_commands = list(telegram_bot_commands())
+    core_commands = _prioritize_telegram_menu_commands(list(telegram_bot_commands()))
     reserved_names = {n for n, _ in core_commands}
     all_commands = list(core_commands)
+    hidden_core_count = max(0, len(all_commands) - max_commands)
 
     remaining_slots = max(0, max_commands - len(all_commands))
     entries, hidden_count = _collect_gateway_skill_entries(
@@ -737,7 +796,7 @@ def telegram_menu_commands(max_commands: int = 100) -> tuple[list[tuple[str, str
     )
     # Drop the cmd_key — Telegram only needs (name, desc) pairs.
     all_commands.extend((n, d) for n, d, _k in entries)
-    return all_commands[:max_commands], hidden_count
+    return all_commands[:max_commands], hidden_count + hidden_core_count
 
 
 def discord_skill_commands(
diff --git a/tests/hermes_cli/test_commands.py b/tests/hermes_cli/test_commands.py
index 6de778347e1..7324adbe430 100644
--- a/tests/hermes_cli/test_commands.py
+++ b/tests/hermes_cli/test_commands.py
@@ -951,6 +951,30 @@ class TestTelegramMenuCommands:
                 f"Command '{name}' is {len(name)} chars (limit {_TG_NAME_LIMIT})"
             )
 
+    def test_operational_builtins_survive_thirty_command_cap(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        (tmp_path / "config.yaml").write_text(
+            "display:\n  tool_progress_command: true\n"
+        )
+        monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_HOME", str(tmp_path))
+
+        menu, hidden = telegram_menu_commands(max_commands=30)
+        names = [name for name, _desc in menu]
+
+        assert len(names) == 30
+        assert hidden > 0
+        for name in (
+            "debug",
+            "restart",
+            "update",
+            "verbose",
+            "commands",
+            "help",
+            "new",
+            "stop",
+            "status",
+        ):
+            assert name in names
+
     def test_includes_plugin_commands_via_lazy_discovery(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
         """Telegram menu generation should discover plugin slash commands on first access."""
         from unittest.mock import patch