| name | hermes-bot-team-design |
| description | Use this skill when an agent needs to design a team of specialist Hermes bots from a project specification. Covers role assignment, SOUL.md authoring, MCP wiring, and group chat setup.
|
| version | 1.0.0 |
| author | Hermes Agent |
| license | MIT |
| platforms | ["macos","linux"] |
| metadata | {"hermes":{"tags":["bot-mode","team","design","profiles","soul","mcp","orchestration"],"related_skills":["hermes-multi-profile-ops","openclaw-to-hermes-adoption","hermes-agent"]}} |
Hermes Bot Team Design
Design a team of specialized Hermes bots from a project specification. Each bot gets a SOUL.md with identity, behavior rules, handoff protocols, shared Memory section, and group chat integration. MCP servers (MeMex Zero RAG, HermesVault) are wired by default.
When to use
- A new project needs a team of specialist bots
- You are expanding an existing fleet
- You are migrating an OpenClaw workflow to Hermes Bot Mode
The team design workflow
1. Read the project spec
Understand the full pipeline before deciding roles. Identify: pipeline phases, which need deep reasoning (expensive model) vs high-volume/mechanical (cheap model), outputs, and handoffs.
2. Decide team size and roles
Map each phase to a bot role:
- Discovery / Research — high-volume, cheap model (DeepSeek V4 Flash)
- Improvement / Creation — deep reasoning, expensive model (DeepSeek V4 Pro)
- Validation / Publishing — mechanical, cheap model (DeepSeek V4 Flash)
- Strategy / Direction — deep reasoning, expensive model (DeepSeek V4 Pro)
- Content / Copy — creative, expensive model (DeepSeek V4 Pro)
- UX / Design — creative, expensive model (DeepSeek V4 Pro)
- Frontend / Backend — implementation, cheap model (DeepSeek V4 Flash)
- Commerce / Marketplace — mechanical, cheap model (DeepSeek V4 Flash)
3. Create a group chat directory
mkdir -p ~/workspace/MeMex-Zero-RAG/wiki/agentforge/group-chat/<project-name>/
Write a README.md with: protocol (file-based messaging), team roster (bot name, role, phase, model), pipeline flow, and communication rules.
4. For each bot, create the profile
~/.hermes/profiles/<name>/
├── SOUL.md # Identity, Memory, behavior, handoffs
├── config.yaml # model, provider, inherit_mcp_toolsets: true
SOUL.md sections: Frontmatter (name, description, role, teammates) → Identity → Memory (shared across all profiles — MeMex + HermesVault) → Group Chat → Browser verification → Behavior → Handoffs → Agent Inbox Protocol.
config.yaml:
model:
default: <provider>/<model>
provider: <provider>
platforms:
telegram:
enabled: false
5. Wire MCP servers (mandatory)
Set inherit_mcp_toolsets: true to inherit MeMex Zero RAG (wiki_search, wiki_read, wiki_query, wiki_ingest, wiki_lint) and HermesVault (read_file, search_files, list_directory, read_file_header) from global config.
6. Write roster + drop initial message
Add the roster to the group chat README. Write a message from the director introducing the team, pipeline, and first task.
7. Verify
ls ~/.hermes/profiles/<name>/ — SOUL.md + config.yaml existhermes gateway list — gateway loads the new profile- Group chat has README.md + first message
Pitfalls
- Do NOT create a bot without a SOUL.md
- Do NOT skip the Memory section (shared brain between all bots)
- Do NOT use expensive models for mechanical work — Scout (discovery) and Overseer (publishing) are cheap
- Do NOT wire Telegram to team bots — they communicate via the group chat
- Do NOT suggest UI buttons that don't exist — if the user says "there's no such button," find an alternative
- Verify catalog files after rebase — conflict resolution can silently drop sibling rows
References
references/skill-foundry-example.md — full team design example (11 bots, Skill Foundry pipeline)
