# Hermes Agent > Complete guide to using and extending Hermes Agent — CLI usage, setup, configuration, spawning additional agents, gateway platforms, skills, voice, tools, profiles, and a concise contributor reference. Load this skill when helping users configure Hermes, troubleshoot issues, spawn agent instances, or make code contributions. - Skill: `undermybelt/hermes-agent` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 10 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add undermybelt/hermes-agent` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/undermybelt/hermes-agent/raw - Safety review: WARNING - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: AI & ML - License: MIT - Author: undermybelt (https://skillmd.com/u/undermybelt) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/undermybelt/hermes-agent --- # Hermes Agent ## Consolidated Hermes internals This umbrella also owns former narrow Hermes maintenance skills: - `hermes-routing`: configuring skill-router/project-router/skill-index mappings, especially Chinese trigger aliases and route misses. - `hermes-s6-container-supervision`: modifying or debugging the Docker image s6-overlay supervision tree, gateway/profile services, and Architecture B main-program patterns. Full original packages are preserved under `references/absorbed-skills/` for detailed recipes and support files. 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 — 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: - **Self-improving through skills** — Hermes learns from experience by saving reusable procedures as skills. When it solves a complex problem, discovers a workflow, or gets corrected, it can persist that knowledge as a skill document that loads into future sessions. Skills accumulate over time, making the agent better at your specific tasks and environment. - **Persistent memory across sessions** — remembers who you are, your preferences, environment details, and lessons learned. Pluggable memory backends (built-in, Honcho, Mem0, and more) let you choose how memory works. - **Multi-platform gateway** — the same agent runs on Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, Matrix, Email, and 8+ other platforms with full tool access, not just chat. - **Provider-agnostic** — swap models and providers mid-workflow without changing anything else. Credential pools rotate across multiple API keys automatically. - **Profiles** — run multiple independent Hermes instances with isolated configs, sessions, skills, and memory. - **Extensible** — plugins, MCP servers, custom tools, webhook triggers, cron scheduling, and the full Python ecosystem. 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** — 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. **Docs:** https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/ ## Quick Start ```bash # 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 ``` --- ## CLI Reference ### Global Flags ``` 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`. ### 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) ``` ### Configuration ``` 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 ``` ### Tools & Skills ``` 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 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 ``` ### MCP Servers ``` 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 ``` ### Gateway (Messaging Platforms) ``` 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, API Server, Webhooks, Open WebUI. Platform docs: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/messaging/ ### Sessions ``` 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 ``` ### Cron Jobs ``` 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 ``` ### Webhooks ``` hermes webhook subscribe N Create route at /webhooks/ hermes webhook list List subscriptions hermes webhook remove NAME Remove a subscription hermes webhook test NAME Send a test POST ``` ### Profiles ``` 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 ``` ### Credential Pools ``` 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 ``` Bulk custom-provider key insertion: see `references/custom-provider-credential-pool-bulk-keys.md` for the safe `auth.json` credential_pool merge pattern, including backup, manual source entries, and no-secret verification. Bulk CPA Manager OpenAI-compatible provider key insertion and paced key-pool maintenance: see `references/cpa-openai-compatible-provider-bulk-keys.md` for the `/v0/management/openai-compatibility` API pattern, management-key auth, scheduler cooldown policy, backup, merge, and no-secret verification. ### Other ``` 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 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 ``` --- ## Slash Commands (In-Session) Type these during an interactive chat session. ### Session Control ``` /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 Run prompt in background /queue Queue for next turn /resume [name] Resume a named session ``` ### Configuration ``` /config Show config (CLI) /model [name] Show or change model /provider Show provider info /prompt [text] View/set system prompt (CLI) /personality [name] Set personality /reasoning [level] Set reasoning (none|low|medium|high|xhigh|show|hide) /verbose Cycle: off → new → all → verbose /voice [on|off|tts] Voice mode /yolo Toggle approval bypass /skin [name] Change theme (CLI) /statusbar Toggle status bar (CLI) ``` ### Tools & Skills ``` /tools Manage tools (CLI) /toolsets List toolsets (CLI) /skills Search/install skills (CLI) /skill Load a skill into session /cron Manage cron jobs (CLI) /reload-mcp Reload MCP servers /plugins List plugins (CLI) ``` ### Info ``` /help Show commands /commands [page] Browse all commands (gateway) /usage Token usage /insights [days] Usage analytics /status Session info (gateway) /profile Active profile info ``` ### Exit ``` /quit (/exit, /q) Exit CLI ``` --- ## Key Paths & Config ``` ~/.hermes/config.yaml Main configuration ~/.hermes/.env API keys and secrets ~/.hermes/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//` with the same layout. ### Config Sections 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) | | `tts` | `provider` (edge/elevenlabs/openai/kokoro/fish) | | `memory` | `memory_enabled`, `user_profile_enabled`, `provider` | | `security` | `tirith_enabled`, `website_blocklist` | | `delegation` | `model`, `provider`, `max_iterations` (50) | | `smart_model_routing` | `enabled`, `cheap_model` | | `checkpoints` | `enabled`, `max_snapshots` (50) | Full config reference: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/configuration ### Providers 18 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 login --provider nous` | | OpenAI Codex | OAuth | `hermes login --provider openai-codex` | | GitHub Copilot | Token | `COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN` | | DeepSeek | API key | `DEEPSEEK_API_KEY` | | Hugging Face | Token | `HF_TOKEN` | | Z.AI / GLM | API key | `GLM_API_KEY` | | MiniMax | API key | `MINIMAX_API_KEY` | | Kimi / Moonshot | API key | `KIMI_API_KEY` | | Alibaba / DashScope | API key | `DASHSCOPE_API_KEY` | | Kilo Code | API key | `KILOCODE_API_KEY` | | Custom endpoint | Config | `model.base_url` + `model.api_key` in config.yaml | Plus: AI Gateway, OpenCode Zen, OpenCode Go, MiniMax CN, GitHub Copilot ACP. Full provider docs: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/integrations/providers ### Toolsets 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 | | `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. --- ## Voice & Transcription ### STT (Voice → Text) Voice messages from messaging platforms are auto-transcribed. Provider priority (auto-detected): 1. **Local faster-whisper** — free, no API key: `pip install faster-whisper` 2. **Groq Whisper** — free tier: set `GROQ_API_KEY` 3. **OpenAI Whisper** — paid: set `VOICE_TOOLS_OPENAI_KEY` Config: ```yaml stt: enabled: true provider: local # local, groq, openai local: model: base # tiny, base, small, medium, large-v3 ``` ### TTS (Text → Voice) | Provider | Env var | Free? | |----------|---------|-------| | Edge TTS | None | Yes (default) | | ElevenLabs | `ELEVENLABS_API_KEY` | Free tier | | OpenAI | `VOICE_TOOLS_OPENAI_KEY` | Paid | | Kokoro (local) | None | Free | | Fish Audio | `FISH_AUDIO_API_KEY` | Free tier | Voice commands: `/voice on` (voice-to-voice), `/voice tts` (always voice), `/voice off`. --- ## Spawning Additional Hermes Instances Run additional Hermes processes as fully independent subprocesses — separate sessions, tools, and environments. ### When to Use This vs delegate_task | | `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 | ### One-Shot Mode ``` 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) ``` ### Interactive PTY Mode (via tmux) 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) ``` ### Multi-Agent Coordination ``` # 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) ``` ### Session Resume ``` # 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) ``` ### Tips - **Prefer `delegate_task` for quick subtasks** — less overhead than spawning a full process - **Use `-w` (worktree mode)** when spawning agents that edit code — prevents git conflicts - **Set timeouts** for one-shot mode — complex tasks can take 5-10 minutes - **Use `hermes chat -q` for fire-and-forget** — no PTY needed - **Use tmux for interactive sessions** — raw PTY mode has `\r` vs `\n` issues with prompt_toolkit - **For scheduled tasks**, use the `cronjob` tool instead of spawning — handles delivery and retry --- ## Troubleshooting ### Background process running but no output Full fix reference: `references/background-process-maintenance.md` Quick checks: inspect wrapper and child PIDs with `ps`/`pgrep -P`, use `lsof` for active sockets, and on macOS use `sample 3 1` to distinguish sleep, network wait, and CPU loop. For long-running helpers, restart with `python3 -u` and explicit log-file writes under `~/.hermes/logs/` before every long sleep or request. ### GPT model misroutes `read` instead of `read_file` (loop / hang) Full fix reference: `references/gpt-read-tool-misroute-failure.md` Quick fix: add alias mapping at gateway layer: ```python if tool_name == "read" and "path" in args: tool_name = "read_file" ``` ### Installing external skill repos (Aegis, Superpowers-style) Full reference: `references/aegis-multi-host-install.md` Pattern: clone repo → symlink into the target agent's skills dir only when explicitly requested → restart that agent. Keep Hermes routing/index as the control plane, and prefer direct runtime `SKILL.md` reads over mirrored host skill directories. ### Voice not working 1. Check `stt.enabled: true` in config.yaml 2. Verify provider: `pip install faster-whisper` or set API key 3. Restart gateway: `/restart` ### Tool not available 1. `hermes tools` — check if toolset is enabled for your platform 2. Some tools need env vars (check `.env`) 3. `/reset` after enabling tools ### Third-party MCP server setup in Windsurf / VS Code-family IDEs When a user asks to install or wire an external MCP server into Windsurf, GitHub Copilot in Windsurf, or another VS Code-family IDE, do not assume the same config schema everywhere. Observed working pattern on macOS: - Windsurf reads `~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json` - Windsurf expects top-level key `mcpServers` - HTTP servers use `serverUrl`, not VS Code's `servers -> type: http -> url` - Existing servers in that file should be preserved and merged, not overwritten blindly Example Windsurf entry: ```json { "mcpServers": { "mcp-chat": { "serverUrl": "http://127.0.0.1:8080/mcp" } } } ``` Contrast: - VS Code / GitHub Copilot examples may use `~/.vscode/mcp.json` with: ```json { "servers": { "mcp-chat": { "type": "http", "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8080/mcp" } } } ``` - Do not paste this VS Code schema directly into Windsurf. ### Python interpreter mismatch when launching external MCP/chat servers If a cloned Python MCP/chat server appears to hang or not bind its port even though the process stays alive: - verify which `python3` is actually being used - on macOS, `/usr/bin/python3` may differ from Homebrew Python and lack the installed packages - a shell may resolve `python3` differently from the package-install environment Observed failure pattern: - background process remains running - no port is listening initially - no obvious logs surface - switching from system Python to Homebrew Python fixes startup Practical check: ```bash which python3 python3 -c 'import mcp, websockets; print("ok")' ``` If needed, launch explicitly with the interpreter that has the deps, e.g. `/opt/homebrew/bin/python3 server.py`. ### Streamable HTTP MCP probe gotcha Some streamable HTTP MCP servers require: - `Content-Type: application/json` - `Accept: application/json, text/event-stream` If you POST `initialize` without the combined `Accept` header, the server may reply: - `Not Acceptable: Client must accept both application/json and text/event-stream` Minimal probe: ```bash curl -sS -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8080/mcp \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -H 'Accept: application/json, text/event-stream' \ -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2025-03-26","capabilities":{},"clientInfo":{"name":"probe","version":"1.0"}}}' ``` Use this to distinguish config/schema problems from transport/header problems. ### macOS launchd for third-party local MCP/chat servers When making a third-party local MCP/chat server persistent on macOS, prefer a per-user `LaunchAgent` over ad-hoc background shells. Observed working pattern: - plist at `~/Library/LaunchAgents/