Community research · last 30 days

Hermes is turning into a small team, not just one bot.

The useful setups are practical separations: one persistent personal agent, one coding agent, one research agent, validators, watchdogs, and scheduled briefings that keep running while you are away.

Steal a setup ideaSee original sources
$ hermes profile create research --clone$ hermes profile create coder --clone$ coder chatSpawn a validation subagent to review this PR.$ research chatEvery morning, check HN and Reddit for AI agent ideas and DM me.

Examples people are sharing

Each card links back to the original article, Reddit thread, docs page, repo, or X/web source.

Parallel build team

12 Hermes instances building Hermes

The official user-story page quotes a builder running 12 Hermes instances in parallel every day to build Hermes itself. The key idea: keep agents separate, then let the human or lead agent synthesize.

Original source
Family agent

One WhatsApp bot for a household

A user set up one Hermes agent for three family members on WhatsApp. Each person uses it for different jobs, making the agent shared household infrastructure rather than a private chatbot.

Original source
Watchdog

Hermes supervising another agent

One recurring idea is using Hermes as the persistent watchdog over a more brittle or specialized agent. Hermes monitors, investigates, nudges, and escalates when the other agent gets stuck.

X sourcePattern article
Docker setup

Thin client + disposable containers

A Reddit user moved from a frustrating OpenClaw setup to Hermes in Docker and described the breakthrough as clean, disposable infrastructure. Reset the worker, keep the durable memory.

Reddit thread
Terminal cockpit

Lucinate for multi-agent chat

Lucinate is a terminal-native chat client that connects to multiple agent backends, including Hermes, OpenClaw, Ollama, and OpenAI-compatible systems. Think of it as a cockpit for switching between agents.

Reddit threadGitHub repo
Coding stack

Hermes + Claude + custom MCPs

A builder used Hermes Agent, Claude, Electron, React, Flask, and custom MCPs to build a native IDE. Hermes becomes the glue between tools, memory, terminal, and MCPs.

Reddit threadGitHub repo
Model harness

Mistral Small through Hermes

A Mistral user said running Mistral Small 4 through a Hermes agent harness plus Open WebUI beat Le Chat for transparent multi-step tool use and prompt control.

Reddit thread
Movie-making agent

Browser-Use + Seedance video agent

The community showcase includes a Hermes setup that uses browser automation and Seedance 2.0 to generate video from mood, action, camera movement, dialogue, and story direction.

Original source
Messaging gateway

Telegram vs Discord vs Slack as front door

A popular r/hermesagent thread asked which messaging channel people use. The pattern: Telegram for personal lightweight use, Discord for communities, Slack for work integration.

Reddit threadGateway docs

Patterns worth copying

Most good setups are boring in the best way: isolated state, explicit roles, cheap workers, stronger validators, and scheduled jobs.

“Multi-agent” mainly means splitting memory, role, tools, and context so the work does not collapse into one giant confused thread.
1
Profiles as agents

Create separate Hermes profiles like coder, research, home, and ops. Each gets its own config, memory, sessions, skills, cron jobs, gateway state, and SOUL.md.

Profiles docs
2
Orchestrator + workers

Keep one lead agent responsible for the goal. Spawn worker agents for research, code, QA, or writing. The lead agent synthesizes.

Pattern source
3
Cheap model + strong validator

Use cheaper models for parallel exploration and a stronger model for final review.

Provider docs
4
Messaging as the control plane

Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, Slack, and email become the dispatch layer for family agents, work agents, and scheduled briefings.

Messaging docs
5
Docker for disposable execution

Run workers in containers so you can reset messy experiments without losing durable Hermes memory and skills.

v0.6 release

Five setups to try

Concrete starting points based on what the community is already doing. The exact commands are in the second tab.

1. Personal ops team

One Hermes for inbox, calendar, reminders, and daily briefings. One research profile for deep dives. One watchdog profile to check jobs and DM you when something fails.

Telegramcronemailresearch

2. Code + review loop

Coder profile implements. Validator profile reviews diffs, runs tests, checks security, and requests fixes. A lead profile decides whether to merge or ask for another pass.

3. Content studio

Research agent finds angles. Writer agent drafts. Visual agent creates image prompts. Publisher agent schedules posts. Validator checks brand voice and hallucinations.

4. Family WhatsApp assistant

One shared household Hermes with memory for family preferences, recurring chores, shopping, travel planning, and recurring household tasks.

5. Agent watchdog

Let Hermes monitor another autonomous agent, a server, or a deployment pipeline. It can inspect logs, restart services, summarize failures, and escalate only when needed.

Starter command shape

hermes profile create coder --clonehermes profile create research --clonehermes -p coder chathermes -p research chathermes mcp serve

Research snapshot

I combined Last30Days Reddit research with Hermes docs, release notes, and web examples.

22Reddit threads
3,102upvotes surfaced
775comments surfaced
5web/doc sources appended
Configuration playbook

Commands to build the setup.

Copy these blocks in order. They use official Hermes commands where possible and leave placeholders for your actual API keys, model choices, and messaging tokens.

Assumption: you want isolated Hermes profiles named lead, coder, research, validator, and watchdog. Profiles isolate state and memory, but they are not filesystem sandboxes.

1. Install and health check

Skip install if you already have Hermes.

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

# Restart shell or source your shell rc, then verify
hermes --version
hermes setup
hermes doctor

2. Enable the toolsets multi-agent work needs

Tool changes usually take effect on a new session or gateway restart.

hermes tools enable delegation
hermes tools enable terminal
hermes tools enable file
hermes tools enable web
hermes tools enable browser
hermes tools enable cronjob
hermes tools enable session_search
hermes tools enable memory
hermes tools enable skills

# Inspect what is enabled
hermes tools list

3. Create isolated profiles

Use --clone to copy config/API setup but start fresh memory and sessions. Use --clone-all only for a full snapshot.

AProfile creation

hermes profile create lead --clone
hermes profile create coder --clone
hermes profile create research --clone
hermes profile create validator --clone
hermes profile create watchdog --clone

hermes profile list

BCustomize each role

mkdir -p ~/.hermes/profiles/{lead,coder,research,validator,watchdog}

cat > ~/.hermes/profiles/lead/SOUL.md <<'EOF'
You are the lead orchestrator. Break goals into subtasks, delegate when work can run independently, synthesize results, and make final decisions.
EOF

cat > ~/.hermes/profiles/coder/SOUL.md <<'EOF'
You are a focused coding agent. Prefer small diffs, tests, and clear verification notes.
EOF

cat > ~/.hermes/profiles/research/SOUL.md <<'EOF'
You are a research agent. Gather evidence, cite sources, separate facts from guesses, and return concise briefs.
EOF

cat > ~/.hermes/profiles/validator/SOUL.md <<'EOF'
You are a validator. Review code, plans, and claims. Look for bugs, security issues, missing tests, and unsupported assumptions.
EOF

cat > ~/.hermes/profiles/watchdog/SOUL.md <<'EOF'
You are a watchdog. Monitor scheduled jobs, logs, deployments, and other agents. Escalate only when action is needed.
EOF

4. Assign models by role

Use cheap/fast models for workers and stronger models for validation. Replace model names with your providers.

# Interactive picker is safest
hermes -p lead model
hermes -p coder model
hermes -p research model
hermes -p validator model
hermes -p watchdog model

# Or set directly after choosing valid model IDs for your account
LEAD_MODEL="anthropic/claude-sonnet-4"
WORKER_MODEL="openrouter/YOUR_FAST_CHEAP_MODEL"
VALIDATOR_MODEL="anthropic/claude-sonnet-4"
WATCHDOG_MODEL="openrouter/YOUR_CHEAP_MODEL"

hermes -p lead config set model.default "$LEAD_MODEL"
hermes -p coder config set model.default "$WORKER_MODEL"
hermes -p research config set model.default "$WORKER_MODEL"
hermes -p validator config set model.default "$VALIDATOR_MODEL"
hermes -p watchdog config set model.default "$WATCHDOG_MODEL"

5. Run the profiles

Use separate terminals, tmux panes, or one-shot commands.

AInteractive sessions

hermes -p lead chat
hermes -p coder chat
hermes -p research chat
hermes -p validator chat
hermes -p watchdog chat

BOne-shot worker calls

hermes -p research chat -q "Research the best examples of Hermes watchdog agents. Return links and a 10-bullet brief."

hermes -p validator chat -q "Review ~/myapp for obvious deployment risks. Do not edit files. Write findings to ~/validator-report.md."

6. Orchestrator prompts to use inside Lead

These are the prompts that turn profiles into a working team.

AParallel research

Spawn three subagents:
1. a research agent to find community examples,
2. a docs agent to extract official commands,
3. a critic agent to identify risks.
Have them work independently, then synthesize their findings into one setup plan.

BCode + validate

Use a coder subagent to implement this feature in a branch.
Use a validator subagent to review the diff, run tests, and check security.
Do not finalize until validator findings are resolved or explicitly waived.

7. Messaging gateway for Telegram / Slack / Discord

Configure each profile that should have its own chat front door. Avoid reusing the same bot token across profiles.

# Configure the platform interactively
hermes -p lead gateway setup
hermes -p watchdog gateway setup

# Start gateway foreground for testing
hermes -p lead gateway run

# Install and start as a background service
hermes -p lead gateway install
hermes -p lead gateway start
hermes -p lead gateway status

# Restart after config/tool changes
hermes -p lead gateway restart

8. Scheduled briefings and watchdog jobs

Create from the profile that should own the schedule. The CLI may prompt you for delivery target and prompt text.

ADaily research brief

hermes -p research cron create "0 9 * * *"
# Prompt to enter:
# Check Hacker News, Reddit, and X for AI agent / Hermes ideas from the last 24 hours.
# Summarize the top 5 with links and send to my Telegram home chat.

BWatchdog check

hermes -p watchdog cron create "*/30 * * * *"
# Prompt to enter:
# Check gateway status, recent logs, and failed background jobs.
# If something is broken, summarize the failure and suggested fix. Otherwise stay quiet.

9. MCP server mode

Expose Hermes sessions/context to MCP-compatible clients like Claude Desktop, Cursor, or VS Code.

hermes -p lead mcp serve

# Manage MCP integrations
hermes -p lead mcp list
hermes -p lead mcp add my-server --command "python /path/to/server.py"
hermes -p lead mcp test my-server
hermes -p lead mcp configure my-server

10. Optional: tmux cockpit for multiple live agents

Useful when you want several agents visible and running at once.

tmux new-session -d -s hermes-team -n lead 'hermes -p lead chat'
tmux new-window -t hermes-team -n coder 'hermes -p coder chat'
tmux new-window -t hermes-team -n research 'hermes -p research chat'
tmux new-window -t hermes-team -n validator 'hermes -p validator chat'
tmux new-window -t hermes-team -n watchdog 'hermes -p watchdog chat'

tmux attach -t hermes-team

11. Verify the setup

Quick checks before relying on it.

hermes profile list
hermes -p lead doctor
hermes -p coder doctor
hermes -p research doctor
hermes -p validator doctor
hermes -p watchdog doctor

hermes -p lead tools list
hermes -p lead gateway status
hermes -p research cron list
hermes -p watchdog cron list

Official docs for the commands

Reference links if you want to go deeper.

ProfilesMessaging gatewayCronMCPCLI referencev0.6 release notes