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hermes-setup

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Install, authenticate, configure, and connect the Hermes Agent CLI (Nous Research) as a Wayland backend. Covers install, the ACP dependency extra, portal and model auth, memory/tools/MCP setup, and doctor diagnostics. Use when a user wants to set up Hermes or fix why its acp backend will not start.

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/FerroxLabs/wayland/blob/HEAD/src/process/resources/skills/hermes-setup/SKILL.md

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Hermes Setup Expert

You install, authenticate, configure, and connect the Hermes Agent CLI so Wayland can drive it as a backend over ACP.

Documentation freshness

Hermes is actively developed and the PyPI build can lag the main branch, so a few command names drift over time (for example, hermes login is described as removed in the docs but is still present in recent binaries). The commands here were verified against a real install, but when anything is uncertain, check hermes --help, the subcommand --help, and the official docs (https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/ and the repo https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent). Prefer the latest official source over memory. A version nag at startup is informational, not an error.

Step 1: Environment diagnostics (run before responding)

Detect state before changing anything. Prefer a login shell (zsh -i -l -c "...") since Wayland may launch with a trimmed PATH.

which hermes 2>/dev/null || echo "hermes NOT found in PATH"
hermes --version 2>/dev/null
hermes doctor 2>/dev/null || echo "run after install"
hermes acp --check 2>/dev/null || echo "ACP extra likely missing"
python3 --version 2>/dev/null; uv --version 2>/dev/null

Interpret: not on PATH means install first. On PATH but hermes acp --check fails means the [acp] extra is missing (fix before connecting). hermes doctor reports health, auth, and dependency problems in one place.

Install

  • One-liner (recommended). Bootstraps uv, Python, Node 22, ripgrep, and ffmpeg:
    • macOS/Linux/WSL2/Termux: curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
    • Windows PowerShell: iex (irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.ps1)
  • PyPI. pip install hermes-agent then hermes postinstall (the bare pip install does NOT bootstrap node/ripgrep/ffmpeg; postinstall does). Python 3.11+. Update with pip install --upgrade hermes-agent.

Confirm the install with hermes --version, then run hermes doctor.

The ACP extra (do this before connecting to Wayland)

hermes acp needs the optional [acp] dependency extra, which is NOT installed by default.

hermes acp --check
# If it reports the ACP dependencies are not installed:
pip install 'hermes-agent[acp]'
# For a pipx-managed install, inject into the hermes venv instead:
# pipx inject hermes-agent '<acp extra deps>'   # verify exact form against current docs

Re-run hermes acp --check until it passes. Without this, the Wayland backend will not start.

Authenticate

Hermes is OAuth-token based; there is no single API-key environment variable. Pick one path:

  • Fastest: hermes setup --portal (Nous Portal OAuth, also enables the Tool Gateway).
  • Interactive provider/model picker: hermes model (runs OAuth or prompts for a key, then sets the active model).
  • Device-code OAuth: hermes login --provider {nous|openai-codex|xai-oauth} (default nous). Present in recent binaries even though the docs call it removed; prefer hermes setup/hermes auth/hermes model in guidance and use hermes login as a fallback.
  • Pooled credentials: hermes auth add <provider> --api-key <key> (or hermes auth add anthropic --type oauth); manage with hermes auth list|status|remove|logout.
  • Env keys in ~/.hermes/.env: OPENROUTER_API_KEY, DEEPSEEK_API_KEY, XAI_API_KEY, GOOGLE_API_KEY, KIMI_API_KEY, GLM_API_KEY, DASHSCOPE_API_KEY, and others. Have the user paste these into ~/.hermes/.env themselves; do not echo them.

Auth must be set up before hermes acp produces output. Confirm with hermes auth status and hermes doctor.

Configure (the bespoke depth)

  • File locations: secrets in ~/.hermes/.env (hermes config env-path); config in ~/.hermes/config.yaml (hermes config path). Inspect and edit with hermes config show|edit|set|check|migrate.
  • Model and fallbacks: hermes model to set the active model; hermes fallback add|list|remove to build a fallback chain so the agent degrades gracefully when a provider is down.
  • Memory: hermes memory setup chooses one external provider at a time (honcho, openviking, mem0, hindsight, holographic, retaindb, byterover, supermemory). hermes memory status|off|reset. The built-in MEMORY.md and USER.md are always on; external memory is additive and one-at-a-time.
  • Tools: hermes tools [list|enable|disable] to control the 90+ built-in tools.
  • MCP: hermes mcp add|list|test|serve to connect MCP servers (client) or expose Hermes as one (server).
  • Other surfaces (optional): hermes cron, hermes webhook, hermes whatsapp, hermes slack, hermes gateway install, hermes computer-use, hermes dashboard (web UI on port 9119).

Only set up what the user needs. For a Wayland backend, a working provider/model plus the ACP extra is enough; memory/tools/MCP are enhancements.

Connect to Wayland (ACP)

hermes acp is the ACP stdio server Wayland spawns (also exposed as hermes-acp or python -m acp_adapter). Preconditions: auth configured, and the [acp] extra installed (hermes acp --check passes).

Useful flags:

  • --accept-hooks (or HERMES_ACCEPT_HOOKS=1): auto-accept hook prompts for headless/embedded use, so a prompt does not hang the spawn.
  • --setup: run provider/model setup for ACP specifically.
  • --setup-browser: install the computer-use browser (~400MB), only if the user wants computer-use.

Smoke it by hand: confirm hermes acp starts cleanly and waits on stdio without erroring out.

Verify

  • hermes --version
  • hermes doctor (health, auth, dependencies; hermes doctor --fix to auto-repair)
  • hermes status
  • hermes -z "say hello" (one-shot smoke that the model answers)
  • hermes acp --check (ACP readiness)

Top gotchas (in failure-frequency order)

  1. hermes acp dies without the [acp] extra. Pre-flight hermes acp --check; install the extra.
  2. Auth must be configured before hermes acp produces output. Run hermes setup --portal (or hermes model) first.
  3. hermes login is described as removed in the docs but is present in the binary. Prefer hermes setup/hermes auth/hermes model; use login as a fallback.
  4. Headless hook prompts can hang the spawn. Use --accept-hooks or HERMES_ACCEPT_HOOKS=1.
  5. A bare pip install skips node/ripgrep/ffmpeg. Run hermes postinstall.
  6. External memory is one provider at a time, not several.
  7. PyPI lags main; a version nag is informational, not a failure.

Docs