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https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent

The agent that grows with you
https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent

ai ai-agent ai-agents anthropic chatgpt claude claude-code clawdbot codex hermes hermes-agent llm moltbot nous-research openai openclaw

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The agent that grows with you

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README 

          


  Hermes Agent




# Hermes Agent ☤





  Documentation

  Discord

  License: MIT

  Built by Nous Research




**The self-improving AI agent built by [Nous Research](https://nousresearch.com).** 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](https://portal.nousresearch.com), [OpenRouter](https://openrouter.ai) (200+ models), [z.ai/GLM](https://z.ai), [Kimi/Moonshot](https://platform.moonshot.ai), [MiniMax](https://www.minimax.io), OpenAI, or your own endpoint. 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 laptopSix terminal backends — local, Docker, SSH, Daytona, Singularity, and Modal. 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, Atropos RL environments, trajectory compression for training the next generation of tool-calling models.



---



## Quick Install



```bash

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

```



Works on Linux, macOS, and WSL2. The installer handles everything — Python, Node.js, dependencies, and the `hermes` command. No prerequisites except git.



> **Windows:** Native Windows is not supported. Please install [WSL2](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install) and run the command above.



After installation:



```bash

source ~/.bashrc    # reload shell (or: source ~/.zshrc)

hermes              # start chatting!

```



---



## Getting Started



```bash

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 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 →](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/)**



## 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 `/` | `/skills` or `/` |

| 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](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/cli) and the [Messaging Gateway guide](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/messaging).



---



## Documentation



All documentation lives at **[hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/)**:



| Section | What's Covered |

|---------|---------------|

| [Quickstart](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/getting-started/quickstart) | Install → setup → first conversation in 2 minutes |

| [CLI Usage](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/cli) | Commands, keybindings, personalities, sessions |

| [Configuration](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/configuration) | Config file, providers, models, all options |

| [Messaging Gateway](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/messaging) | Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, Home Assistant |

| [Security](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/security) | Command approval, DM pairing, container isolation |

| [Tools & Toolsets](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/tools) | 40+ tools, toolset system, terminal backends |

| [Skills System](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/skills) | Procedural memory, Skills Hub, creating skills |

| [Memory](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/memory) | Persistent memory, user profiles, best practices |

| [MCP Integration](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/mcp) | Connect any MCP server for extended capabilities |

| [Cron Scheduling](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/cron) | Scheduled tasks with platform delivery |

| [Context Files](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/context-files) | Project context that shapes every conversation |

| [Architecture](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/developer-guide/architecture) | Project structure, agent loop, key classes |

| [Contributing](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/developer-guide/contributing) | Development setup, PR process, code style |

| [CLI Reference](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/reference/cli-commands) | All commands and flags |

| [Environment Variables](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/reference/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:**



```bash

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:

- **SOUL.md** — persona file

- **Memories** — MEMORY.md and USER.md entries

- **Skills** — user-created skills → `~/.hermes/skills/openclaw-imports/`

- **Command allowlist** — approval patterns

- **Messaging settings** — platform configs, allowed users, working directory

- **API keys** — allowlisted secrets (Telegram, OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, ElevenLabs)

- **TTS assets** — workspace audio files

- **Workspace instructions** — AGENTS.md (with `--workspace-target`)



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](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/developer-guide/contributing) for development setup, code style, and PR process.



Quick start for contributors:



```bash

git clone https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent.git

cd hermes-agent

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

uv venv venv --python 3.11

source venv/bin/activate

uv pip install -e ".[all,dev]"

python -m pytest tests/ -q

```



> **RL Training (optional):** To work on the RL/Tinker-Atropos integration:

> ```bash

> git submodule update --init tinker-atropos

> uv pip install -e "./tinker-atropos"

> ```



---



## Community



- 💬 [Discord](https://discord.gg/NousResearch)

- 📚 [Skills Hub](https://agentskills.io)

- 🐛 [Issues](https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/issues)

- 💡 [Discussions](https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/discussions)



---



## License



MIT — see [LICENSE](LICENSE).



Built by [Nous Research](https://nousresearch.com).