hermes-agent README

The project's README from github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent. As one markdown file: README.md.

Hermes Agent

Hermes Agent ☤

Hermes Agent | Hermes Desktop

Documentation Discord License: MIT Built by Nous Research 中文 اردو Español

The self-improving AI agent built by Nous Research. It's the only agent with a built-in learning loop — it creates skills from experience, improves them during use, nudges itself to persist knowledge, searches its own past conversations, and builds a deepening model of who you are across sessions. Run it on a $5 VPS, a GPU cluster, or serverless infrastructure that costs nearly nothing when idle. It's not tied to your laptop — talk to it from Telegram while it works on a cloud VM.

Use any model you want — Nous Portal, OpenRouter, OpenAI, your own endpoint, and many others. Switch with hermes model — no code changes, no lock-in.

A real terminal interfaceFull TUI with multiline editing, slash-command autocomplete, conversation history, interrupt-and-redirect, and streaming tool output.
Lives where you doTelegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, and CLI — all from a single gateway process. Voice memo transcription, cross-platform conversation continuity.
A closed learning loopAgent-curated memory with periodic nudges. Autonomous skill creation after complex tasks. Skills self-improve during use. FTS5 session search with LLM summarization for cross-session recall. Honcho dialectic user modeling. Compatible with the agentskills.io open standard.
Scheduled automationsBuilt-in cron scheduler with delivery to any platform. Daily reports, nightly backups, weekly audits — all in natural language, running unattended.
Delegates and parallelizesSpawn isolated subagents for parallel workstreams. Write Python scripts that call tools via RPC, collapsing multi-step pipelines into zero-context-cost turns.
Runs anywhere, not just your laptopSeven terminal backends — local, Docker, SSH, Singularity, Modal, Daytona, and Vercel Sandbox. Daytona and Modal offer serverless persistence — your agent's environment hibernates when idle and wakes on demand, costing nearly nothing between sessions. Run it on a $5 VPS or a GPU cluster.
Research-readyBatch trajectory generation, trajectory compression for training the next generation of tool-calling models.

Quick Install

Linux, macOS, WSL2

curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash

Windows (native, PowerShell)

Heads up: Native Windows runs Hermes without WSL — CLI, gateway, TUI, and tools all work natively. If you'd rather use WSL2, the Linux/macOS one-liner above works there too. Found a bug? Please file issues.

Run this in PowerShell:

iex (irm https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.ps1)

The source installer delegates Python 3.14, Node.js, npm, ripgrep, FFmpeg, and Python dependencies to PM. If Git is absent, it stages the verified Git for Windows archive in Hermes' tool store. It does not replace your system Git. See installation methods for the separate MSIX/App Installer package and its update ownership.

Android / Termux: A signed APT repository is available for aarch64 devices, with a stable channel (tagged releases) and a prerelease canary channel. The package includes Python, Node.js, and the TUI. Use the Termux guide, not the desktop/server installer script.

Windows: Native Windows is fully supported — the PowerShell one-liner above installs everything. If you'd rather use WSL2, the Linux command works there too. Native Windows install lives under %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes; WSL2 installs under ~/.hermes as on Linux.

After installation:

source ~/.bashrc    # reload shell (or: source ~/.zshrc)
hermes              # start chatting!

Troubleshooting

Windows Defender or antivirus flags uv.exe as malware

If your antivirus (Bitdefender, Windows Defender, etc.) quarantines uv.exe from the Hermes bin folder (%LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\bin\uv.exe), this is a false positive. The file is Astral's uv — the Rust Python package manager Hermes bundles to manage its Python environment. ML-based antivirus engines commonly flag unsigned Rust binaries that download and install packages.

To verify your copy is authentic:

# Install GitHub CLI if needed
winget install --id GitHub.cli

# Login to GitHub
gh auth login

# Run verification
$uv = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\hermes\bin\uv.exe"
$ver = (& $uv --version).Split(' ')[1]
[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12
$zip = "$env:TEMP\uv.zip"
Invoke-WebRequest "https://github.com/astral-sh/uv/releases/download/$ver/uv-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip" -OutFile $zip -UseBasicParsing
gh attestation verify $zip --repo astral-sh/uv
Expand-Archive $zip "$env:TEMP\uv_x" -Force
(Get-FileHash "$env:TEMP\uv_x\uv.exe").Hash -eq (Get-FileHash $uv).Hash

If attestation says "Verification succeeded" and the last line prints True, you're good.

To whitelist Hermes:

For more context, see the upstream Astral reports: astral-sh/uv#13553, astral-sh/uv#15011, astral-sh/uv#10079.

Getting Started

hermes              # Interactive CLI — start a conversation
hermes model        # Choose your LLM provider and model
hermes tools        # Configure which tools are enabled
hermes config set   # Set individual config values
hermes config get   # Print individual config values
hermes gateway      # Start the messaging gateway (Telegram, Discord, etc.)
hermes setup        # Run the full setup wizard (configures everything at once)
hermes claw migrate # Migrate from OpenClaw (if coming from OpenClaw)
hermes update       # Update to the latest version
hermes doctor       # Diagnose any issues

📖 Full documentation →

Skip the API-key collection — Nous Portal

Hermes works with whatever provider you want — that's not changing. But if you'd rather not collect five separate API keys for the model, web search, image generation, TTS, and a cloud browser, Nous Portal covers all of them under one subscription:

One command from a fresh install:

hermes setup --portal

That logs you in via OAuth, sets Nous as your provider, and turns on the Tool Gateway. Check what's wired up any time with hermes portal info. Full details on the Tool Gateway docs page.

You can still bring your own keys per-tool whenever you want — the gateway is per-backend, not all-or-nothing.

CLI vs Messaging Quick Reference

Hermes has two entry points: start the terminal UI with hermes, or run the gateway and talk to it from Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, or Email. Once you're in a conversation, many slash commands are shared across both interfaces.

Action CLI Messaging platforms
Start chatting hermes Run hermes gateway setup + hermes gateway start, then send the bot a message
Start fresh conversation /new or /reset /new or /reset
Change model /model [provider:model] /model [provider:model]
Set a personality /personality [name] /personality [name]
Retry or undo the last turn /retry, /undo /retry, /undo
Compress context / check usage /compress, /usage, /insights [--days N] /compress, /usage, /insights [days]
Browse skills /skills or /<skill-name> /<skill-name>
Interrupt current work Ctrl+C or send a new message /stop or send a new message
Platform-specific status /platforms /status, /sethome

For the full command lists, see the CLI guide and the Messaging Gateway guide.

Documentation

All documentation lives at hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs:

Section What's Covered
Quickstart Install → setup → first conversation in 2 minutes
CLI Usage Commands, keybindings, personalities, sessions
Configuration Config file, providers, models, all options
Messaging Gateway Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, Home Assistant
Security Command approval, DM pairing, container isolation
Tools & Toolsets 40+ tools, toolset system, terminal backends
Skills System Procedural memory, Skills Hub, creating skills
Memory Persistent memory, user profiles, best practices
MCP Integration Connect any MCP server for extended capabilities
Cron Scheduling Scheduled tasks with platform delivery
Context Files Project context that shapes every conversation
Architecture Project structure, agent loop, key classes
Contributing Development setup, PR process, code style
CLI Reference All commands and flags
Environment Variables Complete env var reference

Migrating from OpenClaw

If you're coming from OpenClaw, Hermes can automatically import your settings, memories, skills, and API keys.

During first-time setup: The setup wizard (hermes setup) automatically detects ~/.openclaw and offers to migrate before configuration begins.

Anytime after install:

hermes claw migrate              # Interactive migration (full preset)
hermes claw migrate --dry-run    # Preview what would be migrated
hermes claw migrate --preset user-data   # Migrate without secrets
hermes claw migrate --overwrite  # Overwrite existing conflicts

What gets imported:

See hermes claw migrate --help for all options, or use the openclaw-migration skill for an interactive agent-guided migration with dry-run previews.

Contributing

We welcome contributions! See the Contributing Guide for development setup, code style, and PR process.

Start with the PM developer workflow for activation, daily use, dependency changes, and leaving the environment. Development Setup covers the separate test environment and verification commands.

Community

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Built by Nous Research.

hermes-agent (NousResearch/hermes-agent)

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254.8K ·GitHub
Hermes-agent
Что это?Hermes Agent — это самосовершенствующийся ИИ-агент от Nous Research, который создаёт и улучшает собственные навыки на основе опыта, сохраняет память о вас между сессиями и может управляться из терминала или из чат-приложений вроде Telegram и Discord.
Это CLI-инструмент или что-то, что запускается как фоновый сервис?И то, и другое: полноценный терминальный интерфейс (hermes) для локальной работы в интерактивном режиме, а также один процесс-шлюз, который позволяет общаться с тем же агентом через Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal или email, пока он работает удалённо на VPS или облачной виртуальной машине.
Нужно ли собирать отдельные API-ключи для каждого провайдера моделей?Нет: можно использовать собственные ключи любого провайдера (OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, свои эндпоинты) или подписаться на Nous Portal, который объединяет 300+ моделей, веб-поиск, генерацию изображений, TTS и облачный браузер под одним логином.
Есть ли подводные камни при установке, о которых стоит знать?Антивирусы вроде Windows Defender или Bitdefender иногда помещают встроенный uv.exe (менеджер пакетов Python на Rust от Astral) в карантин как вредоносное ПО; в README подтверждено, что это известное ложное срабатывание, и описано, как добавить файл в исключения.
Может ли он работать на дешёвом сервере вместо моего ноутбука?Да: его можно запустить на VPS за $5, в кластере GPU или на серверлес-инфраструктуре вроде Modal или Daytona, которая почти ничего не стоит в простое, и вы продолжаете общаться с ним через мессенджеры независимо от того, где он работает.
Чем его «цикл обучения» отличается от обычного агента?Он самостоятельно создаёт навыки после сложных задач, улучшает их в процессе использования, сам себе напоминает сохранять знания и ищет по своим прошлым разговорам с помощью поиска по сессиям FTS5, чтобы постепенно строить модель пользователя.
Может ли он выполнять автоматические задачи по расписанию?Да, у него есть встроенный планировщик cron, который может присылать ежедневные отчёты, ночные резервные копии или еженедельные проверки в любую подключённую платформу; расписание задаётся на естественном языке.
Можно ли перенести данные из OpenClaw?Да: при запуске команды «hermes setup» обнаруживается существующая установка в ~/.openclaw и предлагается автоматически импортировать ваш персонаж, память, навыки, список разрешённых команд, API-ключи и инструкции для рабочей области.
Как он изолирует и распараллеливает работу?Он может запускать изолированных субагентов для параллельных потоков работы и выполнять задачи на семи терминальных бэкендах: локальном, Docker, SSH, Singularity, Modal, Daytona или Vercel Sandbox.
What are similar projects?brigade, Raven, hive, CowAgent, opensquilla, hermes-desktop, tinyagi, EvoQuant
Which topics is it in?nous-research, self-improving, hermes, subagents, whatsapp, cron, vps, hermes-agent, slack, discord, telegram, autonomous-agents
Creator
NousResearch
Size
1.2 GB
Stars
254.8K
Updated
CommitOct 18Releasev0.22.2Oct 15
Age
1y
Commits · 90 Days