0c54da8aaf
* feat(gateway): live-stream /update output + forward interactive prompts Adds real-time output streaming and interactive prompt forwarding for the gateway /update command, so users on Telegram/Discord/etc see the full update progress and can respond to prompts (stash restore, config migration) without needing terminal access. Changes: hermes_cli/main.py: - Add --gateway flag to 'hermes update' argparse - Add _gateway_prompt() file-based IPC function that writes .update_prompt.json and polls for .update_response - Modify _restore_stashed_changes() to accept optional input_fn parameter for gateway mode prompt forwarding - cmd_update() uses _gateway_prompt when --gateway is set, enabling interactive stash restore and config migration prompts gateway/run.py: - _handle_update_command: spawn with --gateway flag and PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1 for real-time output flushing - Store session_key in .update_pending.json for cross-restart session matching - Add _update_prompt_pending dict to track sessions awaiting update prompt responses - Replace _watch_for_update_completion with _watch_update_progress: streams output chunks every ~4s, detects .update_prompt.json and forwards prompts to the user, handles completion/failure/timeout - Add update prompt interception in _handle_message: when a prompt is pending, the user's next message is written to .update_response instead of being processed normally - Preserve _send_update_notification as legacy fallback for post-restart cases where adapter isn't available yet File-based IPC protocol: - .update_prompt.json: written by update process with prompt text, default value, and unique ID - .update_response: written by gateway with user's answer - .update_output.txt: existing, now streamed in real-time - .update_exit_code: existing completion marker Tests: 16 new tests covering _gateway_prompt IPC, output streaming, prompt detection/forwarding, message interception, and cleanup. * feat: interactive buttons for update prompts (Telegram + Discord) Telegram: Inline keyboard with ✓ Yes / ✗ No buttons. Clicking a button answers the callback query, edits the message to show the choice, and writes .update_response directly. CallbackQueryHandler registered on the update_prompt: prefix. Discord: UpdatePromptView (discord.ui.View) with green Yes / red No buttons. Follows the ExecApprovalView pattern — auth check, embed color update, disabled-after-click. Writes .update_response on click. All platforms: /approve and /deny (and /yes, /no) now work as shorthand for yes/no when an update prompt is pending. The text fallback message instructs users to use these commands. Raw message interception still works as a fallback for non-command responses. Gateway watcher checks adapter for send_update_prompt method (class-level check to avoid MagicMock false positives) and falls back to text prompt with /approve instructions when unavailable. * fix: block /update on non-messaging platforms (API, webhooks, ACP) Add _UPDATE_ALLOWED_PLATFORMS frozenset that explicitly lists messaging platforms where /update is permitted. API server, webhook, and ACP platforms get a clear error directing them to run hermes update from the terminal instead. ACP and API server already don't reach _handle_message (separate codepaths), and webhooks have distinct session keys that can't collide with messaging sessions. This guard is belt-and-suspenders.
Hermes Agent ☤
The self-improving AI agent built by Nous Research. 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, OpenRouter (200+ models), z.ai/GLM, Kimi/Moonshot, MiniMax, OpenAI, or your own endpoint. Switch with hermes model — no code changes, no lock-in.
| A real terminal interface | Full TUI with multiline editing, slash-command autocomplete, conversation history, interrupt-and-redirect, and streaming tool output. |
| Lives where you do | Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, and CLI — all from a single gateway process. Voice memo transcription, cross-platform conversation continuity. |
| A closed learning loop | Agent-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 automations | Built-in cron scheduler with delivery to any platform. Daily reports, nightly backups, weekly audits — all in natural language, running unattended. |
| Delegates and parallelizes | Spawn 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 laptop | Six 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-ready | Batch trajectory generation, Atropos RL environments, trajectory compression for training the next generation of tool-calling models. |
Quick Install
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 and run the command above.
After installation:
source ~/.bashrc # reload shell (or: source ~/.zshrc)
hermes # start chatting!
Getting Started
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
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 /<skill-name> |
/skills or /<skill-name> |
| 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 and the Messaging Gateway guide.
Documentation
All documentation lives at hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs:
| Section | What's Covered |
|---|---|
| Quickstart | Install → setup → first conversation in 2 minutes |
| CLI Usage | Commands, keybindings, personalities, sessions |
| Configuration | Config file, providers, models, all options |
| Messaging Gateway | Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, Home Assistant |
| Security | Command approval, DM pairing, container isolation |
| Tools & Toolsets | 40+ tools, toolset system, terminal backends |
| Skills System | Procedural memory, Skills Hub, creating skills |
| Memory | Persistent memory, user profiles, best practices |
| MCP Integration | Connect any MCP server for extended capabilities |
| Cron Scheduling | Scheduled tasks with platform delivery |
| Context Files | Project context that shapes every conversation |
| Architecture | Project structure, agent loop, key classes |
| Contributing | Development setup, PR process, code style |
| CLI Reference | All commands and flags |
| 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:
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 for development setup, code style, and PR process.
Quick start for contributors:
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:
git submodule update --init tinker-atropos uv pip install -e "./tinker-atropos"
Community
- 💬 Discord
- 📚 Skills Hub
- 🐛 Issues
- 💡 Discussions
License
MIT — see LICENSE.
Built by Nous Research.