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Configure, extend, or contribute to Hermes Agent.
Install with Codex or Claude Copy this prompt, paste it into Codex, Claude, or another assistant, and let it review the skill page and install it for you.
Based on SOC occupation classification
Guides stable API and interface design. Use when designing APIs, module boundaries, or any public interface. Use when creating REST or GraphQL endpoints, defining type contracts between modules, or establishing boundaries between frontend and backend.
Tests in real browsers. Use when building or debugging anything that runs in a browser. Use when you need to inspect the DOM, capture console errors, analyze network requests, profile performance, or verify visual output with real runtime data via Chrome DevTools MCP.
Automates CI/CD pipeline setup. Use when setting up or modifying build and deployment pipelines. Use when you need to automate quality gates, configure test runners in CI, or establish deployment strategies.
Conducts multi-axis code review. Use before merging any change. Use when reviewing code written by yourself, another agent, or a human. Use when you need to assess code quality across multiple dimensions before it enters the main branch.
Simplifies code for clarity. Use when refactoring code for clarity without changing behavior. Use when code works but is harder to read, maintain, or extend than it should be. Use when reviewing code that has accumulated unnecessary complexity.
Optimizes agent context setup. Use when starting a new session, when agent output quality degrades, when switching between tasks, or when you need to configure rules files and context for a project.
| name | hermes-agent |
| description | Configure, extend, or contribute to Hermes Agent. |
| version | 2.1.0 |
| author | Hermes Agent + Teknium |
| license | MIT |
| metadata | {"hermes":{"tags":["hermes","setup","configuration","multi-agent","spawning","cli","gateway","development"],"homepage":"https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent","related_skills":["claude-code","codex","opencode"]}} |
| origin | original |
| source_repo | kevinnft/ai-agent-skills |
| source_url | https://github.com/kevinnft/ai-agent-skills |
| source_license | MIT |
| language | en |
Hermes Agent is an open-source AI agent framework by Nous Research that runs in your terminal, messaging platforms, and IDEs. It belongs to the same category as Claude Code (Anthropic), Codex (OpenAI), and OpenClaw โ autonomous coding and task-execution agents that use tool calling to interact with your system. Hermes works with any LLM provider (OpenRouter, Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek, local models, and 15+ others) and runs on Linux, macOS, and WSL.
What makes Hermes different:
People use Hermes for software development, research, system administration, data analysis, content creation, home automation, and anything else that benefits from an AI agent with persistent context and full system access.
This skill helps you work with Hermes Agent effectively โ setting it up, configuring features, spawning additional agent instances, troubleshooting issues, finding the right commands and settings, and understanding how the system works when you need to extend or contribute to it.
IMPORTANT: When answering Hermes-related questions, ALWAYS reference the installed knowledge bases first:
~/.hermes/wiki/) โ 37 architecture docs for troubleshooting and optimization~/.hermes/ecosystem-atlas/) โ 111 curated projects for tool recommendationsSee references/hermes-knowledge-base-workflow.md for the mandatory reference workflow.
Docs: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/
# Install
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
# Interactive chat (default)
hermes
# Single query
hermes chat -q "What is the capital of France?"
# Setup wizard
hermes setup
# Change model/provider
hermes model
# Check health
hermes doctor
hermes [flags] [command]
--version, -V Show version
--resume, -r SESSION Resume session by ID or title
--continue, -c [NAME] Resume by name, or most recent session
--worktree, -w Isolated git worktree mode (parallel agents)
--skills, -s SKILL Preload skills (comma-separate or repeat)
--profile, -p NAME Use a named profile
--yolo Skip dangerous command approval
--pass-session-id Include session ID in system prompt
No subcommand defaults to chat.
hermes chat [flags]
-q, --query TEXT Single query, non-interactive
-m, --model MODEL Model (e.g. anthropic/claude-sonnet-4)
-t, --toolsets LIST Comma-separated toolsets
--provider PROVIDER Force provider (openrouter, anthropic, nous, etc.)
-v, --verbose Verbose output
-Q, --quiet Suppress banner, spinner, tool previews
--checkpoints Enable filesystem checkpoints (/rollback)
--source TAG Session source tag (default: cli)
hermes setup [section] Interactive wizard (model|terminal|gateway|tools|agent)
hermes model Interactive model/provider picker
hermes config View current config
hermes config edit Open config.yaml in $EDITOR
hermes config set KEY VAL Set a config value
hermes config path Print config.yaml path
hermes config env-path Print .env path
hermes config check Check for missing/outdated config
hermes config migrate Update config with new options
hermes login [--provider P] OAuth login (nous, openai-codex)
hermes logout Clear stored auth
hermes doctor [--fix] Check dependencies and config
hermes status [--all] Show component status
hermes tools Interactive tool enable/disable (curses UI)
hermes tools list Show all tools and status
hermes tools enable NAME Enable a toolset
hermes tools disable NAME Disable a toolset
hermes skills list List installed skills
hermes skills search QUERY Search the skills hub
hermes skills install ID Install a skill (ID can be a hub identifier OR a direct https://โฆ/SKILL.md URL; pass --name to override when frontmatter has no name)
hermes skills inspect ID Preview without installing
hermes skills config Enable/disable skills per platform
hermes skills check Check for updates
hermes skills update Update outdated skills
hermes skills uninstall N Remove a hub skill
hermes skills publish PATH Publish to registry
hermes skills browse Browse all available skills
hermes skills tap add REPO Add a GitHub repo as skill source
hermes mcp serve Run Hermes as an MCP server
hermes mcp add NAME Add an MCP server (--url or --command)
hermes mcp remove NAME Remove an MCP server
hermes mcp list List configured servers
hermes mcp test NAME Test connection
hermes mcp configure NAME Toggle tool selection
hermes gateway run Start gateway foreground
hermes gateway install Install as background service
hermes gateway start/stop Control the service
hermes gateway restart Restart the service
hermes gateway status Check status
hermes gateway setup Configure platforms
Supported platforms: Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, Email, SMS, Matrix, Mattermost, Home Assistant, DingTalk, Feishu, WeCom, BlueBubbles (iMessage), Weixin (WeChat), API Server, Webhooks. Open WebUI connects via the API Server adapter.
Platform docs: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/messaging/
hermes sessions list List recent sessions
hermes sessions browse Interactive picker
hermes sessions export OUT Export to JSONL
hermes sessions rename ID T Rename a session
hermes sessions delete ID Delete a session
hermes sessions prune Clean up old sessions (--older-than N days)
hermes sessions stats Session store statistics
hermes cron list List jobs (--all for disabled)
hermes cron create SCHED Create: '30m', 'every 2h', '0 9 * * *'
hermes cron edit ID Edit schedule, prompt, delivery
hermes cron pause/resume ID Control job state
hermes cron run ID Trigger on next tick
hermes cron remove ID Delete a job
hermes cron status Scheduler status
hermes webhook subscribe N Create route at /webhooks/<name>
hermes webhook list List subscriptions
hermes webhook remove NAME Remove a subscription
hermes webhook test NAME Send a test POST
hermes profile list List all profiles
hermes profile create NAME Create (--clone, --clone-all, --clone-from)
hermes profile use NAME Set sticky default
hermes profile delete NAME Delete a profile
hermes profile show NAME Show details
hermes profile alias NAME Manage wrapper scripts
hermes profile rename A B Rename a profile
hermes profile export NAME Export to tar.gz
hermes profile import FILE Import from archive
hermes auth add Interactive credential wizard
hermes auth list [PROVIDER] List pooled credentials
hermes auth remove P INDEX Remove by provider + index
hermes auth reset PROVIDER Clear exhaustion status
hermes insights [--days N] Usage analytics
hermes update Update to latest version
hermes pairing list/approve/revoke DM authorization
hermes plugins list/install/remove Plugin management
hermes honcho setup/status Honcho memory integration (requires honcho plugin)
hermes memory setup/status/off Memory provider config
hermes completion bash|zsh Shell completions
hermes acp ACP server (IDE integration)
hermes claw migrate Migrate from OpenClaw
hermes uninstall Uninstall Hermes
Type these during an interactive chat session.
/new (/reset) Fresh session
/clear Clear screen + new session (CLI)
/retry Resend last message
/undo Remove last exchange
/title [name] Name the session
/compress Manually compress context
/stop Kill background processes
/rollback [N] Restore filesystem checkpoint
/background <prompt> Run prompt in background
/queue <prompt> Queue for next turn
/resume [name] Resume a named session
/config Show config (CLI)
/model [name] Show or change model
/personality [name] Set personality
/reasoning [level] Set reasoning (none|minimal|low|medium|high|xhigh|show|hide)
/verbose Cycle: off โ new โ all โ verbose
/voice [on|off|tts] Voice mode
/yolo Toggle approval bypass
/skin [name] Change theme (CLI)
/statusbar Toggle status bar (CLI)
/tools Manage tools (CLI)
/toolsets List toolsets (CLI)
/skills Search/install skills (CLI)
/skill <name> Load a skill into session
/cron Manage cron jobs (CLI)
/reload-mcp Reload MCP servers
/plugins List plugins (CLI)
/approve Approve a pending command (gateway)
/deny Deny a pending command (gateway)
/restart Restart gateway (gateway)
/sethome Set current chat as home channel (gateway)
/update Update Hermes to latest (gateway)
/platforms (/gateway) Show platform connection status (gateway)
/branch (/fork) Branch the current session
/fast Toggle priority/fast processing
/browser Open CDP browser connection
/history Show conversation history (CLI)
/save Save conversation to file (CLI)
/paste Attach clipboard image (CLI)
/image Attach local image file (CLI)
/help Show commands
/commands [page] Browse all commands (gateway)
/usage Token usage
/insights [days] Usage analytics
/status Session info (gateway)
/profile Active profile info
/quit (/exit, /q) Exit CLI
New in v0.12.0 โ Hermes automatically cleans up unused skills to prevent library bloat.
Curator runs in the background every 7 days, tracking which skills are actually loaded and used. Skills that haven't been touched in 30+ days are marked stale; after 90 days they're archived (removed from active library).
Default config:
curator:
enabled: true # On by default
interval_hours: 168 # Run every 7 days
min_idle_hours: 2 # Only analyze skills idle for 2+ hours
stale_after_days: 30 # Mark unused skills as stale
archive_after_days: 90 # Remove skills unused for 90 days
Curator uses an auxiliary model (separate from your main model) for usage analysis. Configure via auxiliary.curator section if needed.
Why it matters:
Curator is fully automatic โ no CLI commands needed. It tracks usage silently and prunes during the 7-day background pass.
~/.hermes/config.yaml Main configuration
~/.hermes/.env API keys and secrets
$HERMES_HOME/skills/ Installed skills
~/.hermes/sessions/ Session transcripts
~/.hermes/logs/ Gateway and error logs
~/.hermes/auth.json OAuth tokens and credential pools
~/.hermes/hermes-agent/ Source code (if git-installed)
Profiles use ~/.hermes/profiles/<name>/ with the same layout.
Edit with hermes config edit or hermes config set section.key value.
| Section | Key options |
|---|---|
model | default, provider, base_url, api_key, context_length |
agent | max_turns (90), tool_use_enforcement |
terminal | backend (local/docker/ssh/modal), cwd, timeout (180) |
compression | enabled, threshold (0.50), target_ratio (0.20) |
display | skin, tool_progress, show_reasoning, show_cost |
stt | enabled, provider (local/groq/openai/mistral) |
tts | provider (edge/elevenlabs/openai/minimax/mistral/neutts) |
memory | memory_enabled, user_profile_enabled, provider |
security | tirith_enabled, website_blocklist |
delegation | model, provider, base_url, api_key, max_iterations (50), reasoning_effort |
checkpoints | enabled, max_snapshots (50) |
curator | enabled (true), interval_hours (168), min_idle_hours (2), stale_after_days (30), archive_after_days (90) |
Full config reference: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/configuration
20+ providers supported. Set via hermes model or hermes setup.
| Provider | Auth | Key env var |
|---|---|---|
| OpenRouter | API key | OPENROUTER_API_KEY |
| Anthropic | API key | ANTHROPIC_API_KEY |
| Nous Portal | OAuth | hermes auth |
| OpenAI Codex | OAuth | hermes auth |
| GitHub Copilot | Token | COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN |
| Google Gemini | API key | GOOGLE_API_KEY or GEMINI_API_KEY |
| DeepSeek | API key | DEEPSEEK_API_KEY |
| xAI / Grok | API key | XAI_API_KEY |
| Hugging Face | Token | HF_TOKEN |
| Z.AI / GLM | API key | GLM_API_KEY |
| MiniMax | API key | MINIMAX_API_KEY |
| MiniMax CN | API key | MINIMAX_CN_API_KEY |
| Kimi / Moonshot | API key | KIMI_API_KEY |
| Alibaba / DashScope | API key | DASHSCOPE_API_KEY |
| Xiaomi MiMo | API key | XIAOMI_API_KEY |
| Kilo Code | API key | KILOCODE_API_KEY |
| AI Gateway (Vercel) | API key | AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY |
| OpenCode Zen | API key | OPENCODE_ZEN_API_KEY |
| OpenCode Go | API key | OPENCODE_GO_API_KEY |
| Qwen OAuth | OAuth | hermes login --provider qwen-oauth |
| Custom endpoint | Config | model.base_url + model.api_key in config.yaml |
| GitHub Copilot ACP | External | COPILOT_CLI_PATH or Copilot CLI |
Full provider docs: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/integrations/providers
Enable/disable via hermes tools (interactive) or hermes tools enable/disable NAME.
| Toolset | What it provides |
|---|---|
web | Web search and content extraction |
browser | Browser automation (Browserbase, Camofox, or local Chromium) |
terminal | Shell commands and process management |
file | File read/write/search/patch |
code_execution | Sandboxed Python execution |
vision | Image analysis |
image_gen | AI image generation |
tts | Text-to-speech |
skills | Skill browsing and management |
memory | Persistent cross-session memory |
session_search | Search past conversations |
delegation | Subagent task delegation |
cronjob | Scheduled task management |
clarify | Ask user clarifying questions |
messaging | Cross-platform message sending |
search | Web search only (subset of web) |
todo | In-session task planning and tracking |
rl | Reinforcement learning tools (off by default) |
moa | Mixture of Agents (off by default) |
homeassistant | Smart home control (off by default) |
Tool changes take effect on /reset (new session). They do NOT apply mid-conversation to preserve prompt caching.
Common "why is Hermes doing X to my output / tool calls / commands?" toggles โ and the exact commands to change them. Most of these need a fresh session (/reset in chat, or start a new hermes invocation) because they're read once at startup.
Hermes auto-redacts strings that look like API keys, tokens, and secrets in all tool output (terminal stdout, read_file, web content, subagent summaries, etc.) so the model never sees raw credentials. If the user is intentionally working with mock tokens, share-management tokens, or their own secrets and the redaction is getting in the way:
hermes config set security.redact_secrets false # disable globally
Restart required. security.redact_secrets is snapshotted at import time โ setting it mid-session (e.g. via export HERMES_REDACT_SECRETS=false from a tool call) will NOT take effect for the running process. Tell the user to run hermes config set security.redact_secrets false in a terminal, then start a new session. This is deliberate โ it prevents an LLM from turning off redaction on itself mid-task.
Re-enable with:
hermes config set security.redact_secrets true
Separate from secret redaction. When enabled, the gateway hashes user IDs and strips phone numbers from the session context before it reaches the model:
hermes config set privacy.redact_pii true # enable
hermes config set privacy.redact_pii false # disable (default)
By default (approvals.mode: manual), Hermes prompts the user before running shell commands flagged as destructive (rm -rf, git reset --hard, etc.). The modes are:
manual โ always prompt (default)smart โ use an auxiliary LLM to auto-approve low-risk commands, prompt on high-riskoff โ skip all approval prompts (equivalent to --yolo)hermes config set approvals.mode smart # recommended middle ground
hermes config set approvals.mode off # bypass everything (not recommended)
Per-invocation bypass without changing config:
hermes --yolo โฆexport HERMES_YOLO_MODE=1Note: YOLO / approvals.mode: off does NOT turn off secret redaction. They are independent.
Some shell-hook integrations require explicit allowlisting before they fire. Managed via ~/.hermes/shell-hooks-allowlist.json โ prompted interactively the first time a hook wants to run.
To keep the model away from network or media tools entirely, open hermes tools and toggle per-platform. Takes effect on next session (/reset). See the Tools & Skills section above.
Voice messages from messaging platforms are auto-transcribed.
Provider priority (auto-detected):
pip install faster-whisperGROQ_API_KEYVOICE_TOOLS_OPENAI_KEYMISTRAL_API_KEYConfig:
stt:
enabled: true
provider: local # local, groq, openai, mistral
local:
model: base # tiny, base, small, medium, large-v3
| Provider | Env var | Free? |
|---|---|---|
| Edge TTS | None | Yes (default) |
| ElevenLabs | ELEVENLABS_API_KEY | Free tier |
| OpenAI | VOICE_TOOLS_OPENAI_KEY | Paid |
| MiniMax | MINIMAX_API_KEY | Paid |
| Mistral (Voxtral) | MISTRAL_API_KEY | Paid |
| NeuTTS (local) | None (pip install neutts[all] + espeak-ng) | Free |
Voice commands: /voice on (voice-to-voice), /voice tts (always voice), /voice off.
Run additional Hermes processes as fully independent subprocesses โ separate sessions, tools, and environments.
delegate_task | Spawning hermes process | |
|---|---|---|
| Isolation | Separate conversation, shared process | Fully independent process |
| Duration | Minutes (bounded by parent loop) | Hours/days |
| Tool access | Subset of parent's tools | Full tool access |
| Interactive | No | Yes (PTY mode) |
| Use case | Quick parallel subtasks | Long autonomous missions |
terminal(command="hermes chat -q 'Research GRPO papers and write summary to ~/research/grpo.md'", timeout=300)
# Background for long tasks:
terminal(command="hermes chat -q 'Set up CI/CD for ~/myapp'", background=true)
Hermes uses prompt_toolkit, which requires a real terminal. Use tmux for interactive spawning:
# Start
terminal(command="tmux new-session -d -s agent1 -x 120 -y 40 'hermes'", timeout=10)
# Wait for startup, then send a message
terminal(command="sleep 8 && tmux send-keys -t agent1 'Build a FastAPI auth service' Enter", timeout=15)
# Read output
terminal(command="sleep 20 && tmux capture-pane -t agent1 -p", timeout=5)
# Send follow-up
terminal(command="tmux send-keys -t agent1 'Add rate limiting middleware' Enter", timeout=5)
# Exit
terminal(command="tmux send-keys -t agent1 '/exit' Enter && sleep 2 && tmux kill-session -t agent1", timeout=10)
# Agent A: backend
terminal(command="tmux new-session -d -s backend -x 120 -y 40 'hermes -w'", timeout=10)
terminal(command="sleep 8 && tmux send-keys -t backend 'Build REST API for user management' Enter", timeout=15)
# Agent B: frontend
terminal(command="tmux new-session -d -s frontend -x 120 -y 40 'hermes -w'", timeout=10)
terminal(command="sleep 8 && tmux send-keys -t frontend 'Build React dashboard for user management' Enter", timeout=15)
# Check progress, relay context between them
terminal(command="tmux capture-pane -t backend -p | tail -30", timeout=5)
terminal(command="tmux send-keys -t frontend 'Here is the API schema from the backend agent: ...' Enter", timeout=5)
# Resume most recent session
terminal(command="tmux new-session -d -s resumed 'hermes --continue'", timeout=10)
# Resume specific session
terminal(command="tmux new-session -d -s resumed 'hermes --resume 20260225_143052_a1b2c3'", timeout=10)
delegate_task for quick subtasks โ less overhead than spawning a full process-w (worktree mode) when spawning agents that edit code โ prevents git conflictshermes chat -q for fire-and-forget โ no PTY needed\r vs \n issues with prompt_toolkitcronjob tool instead of spawning โ handles delivery and retrystt.enabled: true in config.yamlpip install faster-whisper or set API key/restart. In CLI: exit and relaunch.hermes tools โ check if toolset is enabled for your platform.env)/reset after enabling toolshermes doctor โ check config and dependencieshermes login โ re-authenticate OAuth providers.env has the right API keygh auth login tokens do NOT work for Copilot API. You must use the Copilot-specific OAuth device code flow via hermes model โ GitHub Copilot./reset starts a new session with updated toolset/restart. In CLI: exit and relaunch.hermes skills list โ verify installedhermes skills config โ check platform enablement/skill name or hermes -s nameCheck logs first:
grep -i "failed to send\|error" ~/.hermes/logs/gateway.log | tail -20
Common gateway problems:
sudo loginctl enable-linger $USERsystemd=true in /etc/wsl.conf for systemd services to work. Without it, gateway falls back to nohup (dies when session closes).systemctl --user reset-failed hermes-gatewaymessage.channels event. Without it, the bot ignores public channels.config.yaml is saved as UTF-8 without BOM.If auxiliary tasks (vision, compression, session_search) fail silently, the auto provider can't find a backend. Either set OPENROUTER_API_KEY or GOOGLE_API_KEY, or explicitly configure each auxiliary task's provider:
hermes config set auxiliary.vision.provider <your_provider>
hermes config set auxiliary.vision.model <model_name>
Hermes has a rich ecosystem of third-party tools, skills, plugins, and integrations. The main discovery hub is hermesatlas.com (ksimback/hermes-ecosystem on GitHub), which catalogs 80+ quality-filtered repositories across 12 categories.
Browse the ecosystem:
# Clone the ecosystem catalog
mkdir -p ~/.hermes/ecosystem
cd ~/.hermes/ecosystem
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/ksimback/hermes-ecosystem.git atlas
# Or visit online
# https://hermesatlas.com
Analyze repos by category:
Filter by maturity:
Assess relevance:
High-value, low-friction:
tokscale (junhoyeo/tokscale) โ Token usage tracker
npm install -g tokscale
tokscale models # Usage report
tokscale tui # Interactive dashboard
wondelai/skills โ 42 business/product/design skills
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/wondelai/skills.git ~/.hermes/ecosystem/skills
cat ~/.hermes/ecosystem/skills/clean-code/SKILL.md
Agents365-ai/drawio-skill โ Diagram generation
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Agents365-ai/drawio-skill.git ~/.hermes/ecosystem/drawio-skill
# Install draw.io: brew install --cask drawio (macOS)
0xNyk/awesome-hermes-agent โ Curated resource list
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/0xNyk/awesome-hermes-agent.git ~/.hermes/ecosystem/awesome
Advanced (higher setup cost):
vectorize-io/hindsight โ State-of-the-art memory system
hermes-control-interface (xaspx) โ Web admin dashboard
hermes-workspace (outsourc-e) โ Development environment
See references/ecosystem-analysis.md for full 84-repo breakdown with stars, maturity, and relevance scores.
See references/tokscale-integration.md for detailed tokscale setup, usage patterns, and troubleshooting (token usage tracking).
Organize under ~/.hermes/ecosystem/:
mkdir -p ~/.hermes/ecosystem
cd ~/.hermes/ecosystem
# Clone repos
git clone --depth 1 <repo-url> <name>
# Document what you installed
cat > INSTALLED.md << 'EOF'
# Installed Ecosystem Tools
## tokscale v2.1.0
- Location: /home/user/.hermes/node/bin/tokscale
- Purpose: Token usage tracking
- Status: Active
## wondelai/skills
- Location: ~/.hermes/ecosystem/skills/
- Purpose: 42 business/product/design skills
- Status: Ready to use
EOF
Update regularly:
cd ~/.hermes/ecosystem
for repo in */; do
echo "Updating $repo..."
git -C "$repo" pull --ff-only
done
Track token usage:
# Add alias to ~/.bashrc
echo 'alias tokscale="/path/to/tokscale"' >> ~/.bashrc
# Daily check
tokscale models
# Export for analysis
tokscale models --json > ~/token-usage-$(date +%Y%m%d).json
Before installing ecosystem tools, assess:
Immediate value vs. setup complexity:
Decision framework:
Example: hindsight memory system
| Issue | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| npm global install not in PATH | Hermes uses custom node install | Use full path: ~/.hermes/node/bin/<tool> or add to PATH |
| "Why install again? I already have Hermes" | Confusion: GitHub repo โ installed software | Repos are source code or add-ons, not the running Hermes instance |
| "Why not configured?" for cloned tool | Tool cloned but not set up | Check if it needs: API keys, external services, Hermes integration, or dependencies |
| draw.io not found | Desktop app not installed | brew install --cask drawio (macOS) or download from GitHub releases |
| Skills not loading | Wrong directory structure | Skills need SKILL.md with YAML frontmatter |
| Hindsight setup fails | Complex monorepo dependencies | Consider Hindsight Cloud instead of self-hosted |
| Token tracker shows 0 messages | Hermes session DB not detected | Check ~/.hermes/state.db exists and is readable |
| tokscale command not found after npm install | Hermes npm is not in default PATH | Add alias: alias tokscale="$HOME/.hermes/node/bin/tokscale" to ~/.bashrc |
After installing ecosystem tools:
~/.bashrc for convenience~/.hermes/ecosystem/INSTALLED.md| Looking for... | Location |
|---|---|
| Config options | hermes config edit or Configuration docs |
| Available tools | hermes tools list or Tools reference |
| Slash commands | /help in session or Slash commands reference |
| Skills catalog | hermes skills browse or Skills catalog |
| Provider setup | hermes model or Providers guide |
| Platform setup | hermes gateway setup or Messaging docs |
| MCP servers | hermes mcp list or MCP guide |
| Profiles | hermes profile list or Profiles docs |
| Cron jobs | hermes cron list or Cron docs |
| Memory | hermes memory status or Memory docs |
| Env variables | hermes config env-path or Env vars reference |
| CLI commands | hermes --help or CLI reference |
| Gateway logs | ~/.hermes/logs/gateway.log |
| Session files | ~/.hermes/sessions/ or hermes sessions browse |
| Source code | ~/.hermes/hermes-agent/ |
For occasional contributors and PR authors. Full developer docs: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/developer-guide/
hermes-agent/
โโโ run_agent.py # AIAgent โ core conversation loop
โโโ model_tools.py # Tool discovery and dispatch
โโโ toolsets.py # Toolset definitions
โโโ cli.py # Interactive CLI (HermesCLI)
โโโ hermes_state.py # SQLite session store
โโโ agent/ # Prompt builder, context compression, memory, model routing, credential pooling, skill dispatch
โโโ hermes_cli/ # CLI subcommands, config, setup, commands
โ โโโ commands.py # Slash command registry (CommandDef)
โ โโโ config.py # DEFAULT_CONFIG, env var definitions
โ โโโ main.py # CLI entry point and argparse
โโโ tools/ # One file per tool
โ โโโ registry.py # Central tool registry
โโโ gateway/ # Messaging gateway
โ โโโ platforms/ # Platform adapters (telegram, discord, etc.)
โโโ cron/ # Job scheduler
โโโ tests/ # ~3000 pytest tests
โโโ website/ # Docusaurus docs site
Config: ~/.hermes/config.yaml (settings), ~/.hermes/.env (API keys).
1. Create tools/your_tool.py:
import json, os
from tools.registry import registry
def check_requirements() -> bool:
return bool(os.getenv("EXAMPLE_API_KEY"))
def example_tool(param: str, task_id: str = None) -> str:
return json.dumps({"success": True, "data": "..."})
registry.register(
name="example_tool",
toolset="example",
schema={"name": "example_tool", "description": "...", "parameters": {...}},
handler=lambda args, **kw: example_tool(
param=args.get("param", ""), task_id=kw.get("task_id")),
check_fn=check_requirements,
requires_env=["EXAMPLE_API_KEY"],
)
2. Add to toolsets.py โ _HERMES_CORE_TOOLS list.
Auto-discovery: any tools/*.py file with a top-level registry.register() call is imported automatically โ no manual list needed.
All handlers must return JSON strings. Use get_hermes_home() for paths, never hardcode ~/.hermes.
CommandDef to COMMAND_REGISTRY in hermes_cli/commands.pycli.py โ process_command()gateway/run.pyAll consumers (help text, autocomplete, Telegram menu, Slack mapping) derive from the central registry automatically.
run_conversation():
1. Build system prompt
2. Loop while iterations < max:
a. Call LLM (OpenAI-format messages + tool schemas)
b. If tool_calls โ dispatch each via handle_function_call() โ append results โ continue
c. If text response โ return
3. Context compression triggers automatically near token limit
python -m pytest tests/ -o 'addopts=' -q # Full suite
python -m pytest tests/tools/ -q # Specific area
HERMES_HOME to temp dirs โ never touch real ~/.hermes/-o 'addopts=' to clear any baked-in pytest flagstype: concise subject line
Optional body.
Types: fix:, feat:, refactor:, docs:, chore:
get_hermes_home() from hermes_constants for all paths (profile-safe)config.yaml, secrets go in .envcheck_fn so they only appear when requirements are met