NousResearch/hermes-agent

What it is

Hermes Agent is a Python-based AI agent from Nous Research that runs in a terminal or through messaging gateways. Its distinguishing feature is a learning loop: it creates skills from completed tasks, refines them during later use, keeps persistent memory, and searches past sessions to recall context. It supports provider switching across Nous Portal, OpenRouter, OpenAI, and custom endpoints without code changes.

The agent can run locally or on a remote VPS, GPU cluster, or serverless backend. It includes six terminal backends (local, Docker, SSH, Modal, Daytona, Vercel Sandbox), isolated subagents for parallel work, a cron scheduler, and integrations with Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, and email. It is aimed at users who want a persistent, extensible assistant rather than a one-off chat session.

Quick start

On Linux, macOS, or WSL2, run the installer and then reload your shell:

curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash
source ~/.bashrc   # or source ~/.zshrc
hermes

On native Windows, use the PowerShell installer instead: iex (irm https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.ps1). The installer sets up Python 3.14, Node.js, pnpm, ripgrep, FFmpeg, and dependencies; see the installation guide for the MSIX package and update behavior. Android/Termux users should follow the separate Termux guide.

After installation, hermes opens the interactive CLI. Use hermes model to pick a provider and model, hermes tools to configure tools, hermes gateway to connect messaging platforms, and hermes doctor to diagnose problems command reference. If you prefer one subscription covering models, web search, image generation, TTS, and a cloud browser, run hermes setup --portal and authenticate through Nous Portal Tool Gateway.

To migrate from OpenClaw, Claude Code, Codex CLI, or Cursor, run hermes setup and accept the import prompt, or install the agent-importers plugin and use hermes import-agent openclaw (with --dry-run for a preview) migration docs.

Constraints and caveats

• Running the agent requires an LLM provider and credentials. Provider options and per-tool keys are documented in the provider integrations. The one-command Nous Portal setup requires a subscription and OAuth login.
• Windows Defender and Bitdefender may quarantine the bundled uv.exe. The README provides a gh attestation verify + hash comparison procedure and suggests whitelisting the Hermes bin folder; that workaround is only appropriate after you have verified the binary yourself troubleshooting section.
• The project is MIT-licensed LICENSE. Documentation, CLI references, security settings, and environment variables are maintained on the project website docs.
• This is a self-hosted agent with terminal, messaging, and scheduled-task capabilities. Command approval, DM pairing, and container isolation are documented separately security guide.

HotRepo's take

HotRepo's daily records show the repository's GitHub stars rising from about 144k on 2026-05-11 to about 243k on 2026-09-07, with daily gains in the hundreds to low thousands during that window. The project has no recorded best GitHub daily rank in HotRepo's data, so the star history is the primary signal available here.

Two Hacker News threads provide useful context. In August 2026 a commenter observed roughly 23,000 open pull requests and maintainers merging around the clock discussion, which aligns with a fast-moving, highly contributor-driven codebase. A May 2026 thread covered an allegation that Hermes was derivative of EvoMap's Evolver and that the issue was edited and comments removed without a formal response discussion. The project remains active, but readers evaluating it should weigh both the rapid contribution flow and the unresolved attribution controversy.