Hermes 101
Hermes is an open-source AI agent from Nous Research. It combines a language model with tools, memory, and reusable Skills to carry out work on your computer or a server.
Use it when you want an assistant you can configure around a recurring workflow. Official overview.
Start here
- Understand the core concepts
- Try your first workflow
- Choose local or hosted execution
- Set up Hermes
- Organize knowledge and Skills
Understand the pieces
| Piece | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Reasons about the task | Decide which competitor changes matter |
| Tools | Read information and take actions | Search sources and save a report |
| Memory | Keeps useful context across sessions | Remember your audience and preferences |
| Skill | Stores a reusable procedure | Follow your competitor-review method |
| Gateway | Connects Hermes to messaging channels | Receive a brief in Telegram |
| Schedule | Starts work at a chosen time | Run the review every Monday |
Hermes can create and revise Skills from experience. That updates its working instructions; it does not retrain the underlying model. Review a saved method before relying on it. Skills · Memory.
Start with one useful job
A weekly competitor brief is a manageable first workflow:
- Provide your offer summary, audience, and competitor URLs.
- Ask Hermes to collect recent changes with source links.
- Have it explain what matters for your business.
- Review the report and correct the method.
- Save the working procedure as a Skill.
- Schedule it only after a successful trial.
Try this first:
Review these competitor URLs using my offer summary. Create a brief covering recent product, pricing, and messaging changes. Include the source and date for each finding. Separate facts from your interpretation and flag anything you could not verify. Save a draft for my review.
This is a suggested starter workflow, not a measured customer case study.
Choose where it runs
- Your computer: convenient for testing and local files.
- A server or hosted environment: useful when work must continue while your laptop is off.
- A messaging gateway: lets you communicate through a connected channel.
A gateway provides access; it does not keep a sleeping computer running. Scheduled work needs an available host, credentials, and access to its sources. Messaging setup · Scheduled tasks.
Add specialization when needed
Start with one role. Separate research, content, or administration when their instructions, memory, or access requirements differ.
Hermes supports specialist Bots with their own configuration. A named role alone does not create a security boundary; configure the tools and access it actually needs. Bot Mode.
Minimal setup
- Follow the official installation guide for your operating system.
- Choose a supported model provider and connect the tools your first task requires.
- Supply the relevant source files and one clear outcome.
- Run the task, inspect the output, and refine it.
- Add a Skill, schedule, or messaging connection when useful.
The software is open source. Models, hosting, and external tools can carry separate costs. Choose your setup around the work rather than a fixed monthly-price claim.
Keep the system organized
Keep business knowledge in maintained reference files, procedures in Skills, and current records in the apps that own them. Link these sources instead of copying them into every prompt.
Before relying on a recurring run, check source freshness, output quality, delivery, and what happens when access fails. Require review before external publishing or outreach.
Want this set up for your business?
We turn these workflows into working marketing and sales systems.