Editing an Agent never changes what's running. Your edits save on their own to a draft, and your Agent carries on with the live version until you click Publish.
The bar above every Build page shows where you are, so it follows you between Instructions, Integrations, and Knowledge.
How do my edits get saved?
On their own. Hercules saves your draft a couple of seconds after you stop typing, when you click away from the editor, and before you leave the page. There is no Save button.
The bar tells you where your edits stand:
| The bar says | What it means |
|---|---|
| Saving… | Your latest edit is on its way |
| Saved | Your draft is stored |
| Couldn't save. Retrying… | The save didn't go through. Hercules keeps your edits and tries again |
Press Cmd + S / Ctrl + S to save right away instead of waiting.
How do I know if I'm looking at the live version?
Look at the version button in the bar:
| The button says | What it means |
|---|---|
| v3 Live | What's in the editor is what your Agent is running |
| Draft and 3 changes | The editor holds a draft with that many changes not yet live |
How do I publish?
Click Publish
A review opens. It lists what your draft changes since the live version: Instructions, Model, Integrations, Tools, Files, Skills, and Settings.
Check the changes
Click Instructions to read the exact text that changed.Name the version
This is optional. A name like "Shorter replies" makes the version easier to find later.
Click Publish again
The button names the version you're creating, such as Publish v4. Your draft goes live and is saved as that version.
Publish is grayed out when there's nothing to publish.
Who else can see my draft?
Your teammates. An Agent has one draft, and everyone in your Organization who edits the Agent works on it. Your users never see it: the live version keeps running until someone publishes.
Hercules keeps teammates from writing over each other:
- If a teammate saves while you're typing, nothing changes under your cursor.
- If your next save would write over theirs, Hercules stops and tells you who saved and when. Pick Use theirs to load their draft and drop your unsaved edits, or Keep mine to save yours over it.
Where is the version history?
Click the version button in the bar → View version history. It's one list, newest first and grouped by day, of everything your Agent has been:
| The row | What it is |
|---|---|
| Draft | Your draft as it stands now |
| The parts that changed, such as Instructions, Model | A snapshot: your draft as it was saved at that time |
| A version number, such as v3, and its name if it has one | A published version. Live marks the one your Agent is running |
A snapshot saved by a teammate shows their name. A snapshot marked Discarded or Before a restore is a draft that was thrown away or replaced.
How do I look at an earlier version?
Open the version history and click any row. The Build pages show that snapshot or version, and a strip above them says what you're viewing, such as Viewing v2.
Looking doesn't change anything. You can read every page but not edit it, your draft stays as it was, and your Agent keeps running the live version. Click Back to draft when you're done.
The version button's menu also lists the published versions, so you can open one straight from there.
How do I go back to an earlier version?
Open it
Click the version button in the bar → View version history, then click the snapshot or version you want.
Click Restore as draft
It becomes your draft. If your draft has changes, Hercules asks first, and keeps that draft in the version history.
Publish it
Click Publish, check the changes, and publish.
To do it in one go, click Publish v2 again (or Publish this snapshot) in place of Restore as draft. Hercules restores it as your draft and opens the same review as any other publish, so you see what will change before it goes live.
Restoring never makes anything live. Only Publish does.
How do I throw a draft away?
Click the version button in the bar → Discard draft… and confirm. The draft is removed for everyone, and the editor goes back to the live version.
A discarded draft isn't lost. It stays in the version history as a snapshot, so you can open it and click Restore as draft to bring it back.
What's saved in a version?
Everything that makes the Agent what it is: its instructions, model, integrations and which of their tools it can use, skills, subagents, and issue access. These go into your draft, and you'll see them in the version history.
Everything else saves the moment you change it, and doesn't create a version: triggers, channels, guardrails, run limits, description, tags, and starter prompts.
Additional FAQ
Can I see what changed between versions?
Yes. Open a version from the version history, then click Changes since under the list. It compares the version with the one before it: the exact text that changed in the instructions, and a summary line for everything else.
What is a snapshot?
Your draft as it was saved at a point in time. Hercules keeps one for each stretch of editing, not one for every edit, and keeps the 50 most recent. A snapshot isn't a version: your Agent never runs one unless you publish it.
Is a saved draft safe?
Your draft is stored with the Agent, not in your browser, so closing the tab doesn't lose it, and the version history keeps snapshots of it as you work. A draft isn't a version, though: it changes whenever you or a teammate edit it, and old snapshots are removed as new ones are added. If it matters, publish it.
What if the Agent changed after I started my draft?
Publishing keeps a newer live change wherever your draft didn't touch the same thing. If both changed the same part, such as the model, Hercules names the parts and asks before it replaces the live change. Click Publish anyway to go ahead.
What if I lose my connection while editing?
Hercules keeps your edits in your browser and retries until the save goes through. The bar says Couldn't save. Retrying… in the meantime.
What happens to runs already going when I publish?
A run finishes with the version it started on. Publishing only affects runs that start afterwards.
Can I compare versions?
Yes, that's what a baseline is for. An evaluation lets you pick which version answers, so you can run the same questions against two versions and compare them.