How do I install the Hermes Self Update skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add jajabong/hermes-self-update in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

What does the Hermes Self Update skill do?

Update Hermes Agent and repair Node/npm version drift. It is listed under AI & ML on SkillMD.

Is Hermes Self Update safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: makes network calls, reads secrets. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Hermes Self Update?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Hermes Self Update free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free. This skill is licensed under MIT.

Who published Hermes Self Update?

jajabong (@jajabong) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Hermes Self Update by jajabong — Agent Skill

Name: Hermes Self Update
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: jajabong

File contents

Hermes Self-Update

Pull a new Hermes release, fix the toolchain when hermes update reports npm EBADENGINE, verify the install.

When to Use

User says "update hermes", "upgrade hermes", "跑 hermes update".
hermes update exits 0 but prints npm error code EBADENGINE / Web UI npm install failed / Desktop dependency install failed.
After a major version bump (0.19 -> 0.20) - Node engine requirement often rises with it.

Don't use for: plugin / skill / cron / OAuth-only changes (those don't need a full update).

Prerequisites

macOS with Homebrew (Linux: see "Linux variant" below).
~/.hermes/hermes-agent/ is a git checkout.
A working git and brew on PATH.

How to Run

hermes update                        # auto: pull, reinstall Python deps, refresh model catalog
hermes doctor                        # confirm green
hermes doctor 2>&1 | tail -25        # compact summary

If hermes update reports any of the warnings below, jump to the matching Procedure.

Quick Reference

Symptom	Fix
`npm error code EBADENGINE` (Node too old)	Update Node via Homebrew, see Procedure 1
`Web UI npm install failed`	Same root cause - Node version
`Desktop dependency install failed`	Same root cause - Node version
`npm install failed in repo root`	Same root cause - Node version
`Local changes detected - stashing`	Expected; review `git stash list` after update
`Gateway PID ... still running after 0.0s`	Normal; launchd forces restart
`~1 user-modified (kept)` for bundled skills	Intentional - see `hermes skills list-modified`

Procedure 1 - Repair Node/npm version drift on macOS

Trigger: hermes update shows EBADENGINE against hermes-agent@1.0.0 requiring node >=22.22.0 (or whatever the package.json declares). Cause: Homebrew installed a newer Node but /usr/local/bin/node (often the legacy node@16 installer) shadows it on PATH.

Check first:

which node && node -v && which npm && npm -v
/opt/homebrew/bin/node -v          # what Homebrew actually installed

If which node returns /opt/homebrew/bin/node and version is already >= required, the hermes update warning was stale - re-run hermes update. Otherwise pick one fix.

Option A - Brew link only (no sudo)

Works only if no legacy /usr/local/bin/node shadows PATH.

brew unlink node && brew link node
hash -r
node -v && npm -v                   # should now report Homebrew version

If which node still shows /usr/local/bin/node, fall through to Option B.

Option B - Replace root-owned legacy binary (needs sudo)

The legacy node install from https://nodejs.org/dist/ (the .pkg installer) writes to /usr/local/bin/ as root and stays on PATH ahead of Homebrew. brew link --overwrite cannot remove it.

Give the user the exact commands to run themselves (do NOT run sudo in Queen - it blocks on password):

sudo rm -f /usr/local/bin/node /usr/local/bin/npm /usr/local/bin/npx /usr/local/bin/corepack
sudo ln -sf /opt/homebrew/bin/node    /usr/local/bin/node
sudo ln -sf /opt/homebrew/bin/npm     /usr/local/bin/npm
sudo ln -sf /opt/homebrew/bin/npx     /usr/local/bin/npx
sudo ln -sf /opt/homebrew/bin/corepack /usr/local/bin/corepack
hash -r
node -v   # should print the Homebrew version, e.g. v26.7.0

After the user confirms:

hermes update

---name: hermes-self-updatedescription: Update Hermes Agent and repair Node/npm version drift.license: MIT---# Hermes Self-Update> Pull a new Hermes release, fix the toolchain when `hermes update` reports `npm EBADENGINE`, verify the install.## When to Use- User says "update hermes", "upgrade hermes", "跑 hermes update".- `hermes update` exits 0 but prints `npm error code EBADENGINE` / `Web UI npm install failed` / `Desktop dependency install failed`.- After a major version bump (0.19 -> 0.20) - Node engine requirement often rises with it.Don't use for: plugin / skill / cron / OAuth-only changes (those don't need a full update).## Prerequisites- macOS with Homebrew (Linux: see "Linux variant" below).- `~/.hermes/hermes-agent/` is a git checkout.- A working `git` and `brew` on PATH.## How to Run```bashhermes update # auto: pull, reinstall Python deps, refresh model cataloghermes doctor # confirm greenhermes doctor 2>&1 | tail -25 # compact summary```If `hermes update` reports any of the warnings below, jump to the matching Procedure.## Quick Reference| Symptom | Fix ||---|---|| `npm error code EBADENGINE` (Node too old) | Update Node via Homebrew, see Procedure 1 || `Web UI npm install failed` | Same root cause - Node version || `Desktop dependency install failed` | Same root cause - Node version || `npm install failed in repo root` | Same root cause - Node version || `Local changes detected - stashing` | Expected; review `git stash list` after update || `Gateway PID ... still running after 0.0s` | Normal; launchd forces restart || `~1 user-modified (kept)` for bundled skills | Intentional - see `hermes skills list-modified` |## Procedure 1 - Repair Node/npm version drift on macOS**Trigger:** `hermes update` shows `EBADENGINE` against `hermes-agent@1.0.0` requiring `node >=22.22.0` (or whatever the package.json declares). Cause: Homebrew installed a newer Node but `/usr/local/bin/node` (often the legacy node@16 installer) shadows it on PATH.**Check first:**```bashwhich node && node -v && which npm && npm -v/opt/homebrew/bin/node -v # what Homebrew actually installed```If `which node` returns `/opt/homebrew/bin/node` and version is already >= required, the `hermes update` warning was stale - re-run `hermes update`. Otherwise pick one fix.### Option A - Brew link only (no sudo)Works only if no legacy `/usr/local/bin/node` shadows PATH.```bashbrew unlink node && brew link nodehash -rnode -v && npm -v # should now report Homebrew version```If `which node` still shows `/usr/local/bin/node`, fall through to Option B.### Option B - Replace root-owned legacy binary (needs sudo)The legacy `node` install from `https://nodejs.org/dist/` (the .pkg installer) writes to `/usr/local/bin/` as root and stays on PATH ahead of Homebrew. `brew link --overwrite` cannot remove it.Give the user the exact commands to run themselves (do NOT run sudo in Queen - it blocks on password):```bashsudo rm -f /usr/local/bin/node /usr/local/bin/npm /usr/local/bin/npx /usr/local/bin/corepacksudo ln -sf /opt/homebrew/bin/node /usr/local/bin/nodesudo ln -sf /opt/homebrew/bin/npm /usr/local/bin/npmsudo ln -sf /opt/homebrew/bin/npx /usr/local/bin/npxsudo ln -sf /opt/homebrew/bin/corepack /usr/local/bin/corepackhash -rnode -v # should print the Homebrew version, e.g. v26.7.0```After the user confirms:```bashhermes update

Frequently asked questions

Hermes Self Update