diff --git a/platform/hermes/config.yaml b/platform/hermes/config.yaml
index f14b96a..07a5f28 100644
--- a/platform/hermes/config.yaml
+++ b/platform/hermes/config.yaml
@@ -38,6 +38,14 @@ web:
   keyless_fallback: true
   keyless_rescue: true
 
+# Hermes discovers MCP servers in the background.  Athena has several remote
+# servers and the Home Assistant relay can finish just after the short upstream
+# default, leaving its tools absent from the first agent turn until a manual
+# reload.  Wait long enough to build the initial tool snapshot completely;
+# completed discovery returns immediately, so this does not add a fixed delay.
+mcp_discovery_timeout: 15.0
+mcp_single_query_discovery_timeout: 30.0
+
 agent:
   max_turns: 500
   gateway_timeout: 3600