hermes-agent/website/docs/user-guide/messaging/discord.md

sidebar_position, title, description

sidebar_position	title	description
3	Discord	Set up Hermes Agent as a Discord bot

Discord Setup

Hermes Agent integrates with Discord as a bot, letting you chat with your AI assistant through direct messages or server channels. The bot receives your messages, processes them through the Hermes Agent pipeline (including tool use, memory, and reasoning), and responds in real time. It supports text, voice messages, file attachments, and slash commands.

Before setup, here's the part most people want to know: how Hermes behaves once it's in your server.

How Hermes Behaves

Context	Behavior
DMs	Hermes responds to every message. No @mention needed. Each DM has its own session.
Server channels	By default, Hermes only responds when you @mention it. If you post in a channel without mentioning it, Hermes ignores the message.
Free-response channels	You can make specific channels mention-free with DISCORD_FREE_RESPONSE_CHANNELS, or disable mentions globally with DISCORD_REQUIRE_MENTION=false.
Threads	Hermes replies in the same thread. Mention rules still apply unless that thread or its parent channel is configured as free-response. Threads stay isolated from the parent channel for session history.
Shared channels with multiple users	By default, Hermes isolates session history per user inside the channel for safety and clarity. Two people talking in the same channel do not share one transcript unless you explicitly disable that.

:::tip If you want a normal bot-help channel where people can talk to Hermes without tagging it every time, add that channel to DISCORD_FREE_RESPONSE_CHANNELS. :::

Discord Gateway Model

Hermes on Discord is not a webhook that replies statelessly. It runs through the full messaging gateway, which means each incoming message goes through:

1. authorization (DISCORD_ALLOWED_USERS)
2. mention / free-response checks
3. session lookup
4. session transcript loading
5. normal Hermes agent execution, including tools, memory, and slash commands
6. response delivery back to Discord

That matters because behavior in a busy server depends on both Discord routing and Hermes session policy.

Session Model in Discord

By default:

• each DM gets its own session
• each server thread gets its own session namespace
• each user in a shared channel gets their own session inside that channel

So if Alice and Bob both talk to Hermes in #research, Hermes treats those as separate conversations by default even though they are using the same visible Discord channel.

This is controlled by config.yaml:

group_sessions_per_user: true

Set it to false only if you explicitly want one shared conversation for the entire room:

group_sessions_per_user: false

Shared sessions can be useful for a collaborative room, but they also mean:

• users share context growth and token costs
• one person's long tool-heavy task can bloat everyone else's context
• one person's in-flight run can interrupt another person's follow-up in the same room

Interrupts and Concurrency

Hermes tracks running agents by session key.

With the default group_sessions_per_user: true:

• Alice interrupting her own in-flight request only affects Alice's session in that channel
• Bob can keep talking in the same channel without inheriting Alice's history or interrupting Alice's run

With group_sessions_per_user: false:

• the whole room shares one running-agent slot for that channel/thread
• follow-up messages from different people can interrupt or queue behind each other

This guide walks you through the full setup process — from creating your bot on Discord's Developer Portal to sending your first message.

Step 1: Create a Discord Application

1. Go to the Discord Developer Portal and sign in with your Discord account.
2. Click New Application in the top-right corner.
3. Enter a name for your application (e.g., "Hermes Agent") and accept the Developer Terms of Service.
4. Click Create.

You'll land on the General Information page. Note the Application ID — you'll need it later to build the invite URL.

Step 2: Create the Bot

1. In the left sidebar, click Bot.
2. Discord automatically creates a bot user for your application. You'll see the bot's username, which you can customize.
3. Under Authorization Flow:
   • Set Public Bot to OFF — this prevents other people from inviting your bot to their servers.
   • Leave Require OAuth2 Code Grant set to OFF.

:::tip You can set a custom avatar and banner for your bot on this page. This is what users will see in Discord. :::

Step 3: Enable Privileged Gateway Intents

This is the most critical step in the entire setup. Without the correct intents enabled, your bot will connect to Discord but will not be able to read message content.

On the Bot page, scroll down to Privileged Gateway Intents. You'll see three toggles:

Intent	Purpose	Required?
Presence Intent	See user online/offline status	Optional
Server Members Intent	Access the member list	Optional
Message Content Intent	Read the text content of messages	Required

Enable Message Content Intent by toggling it ON. Without this, your bot receives message events but the message text is empty — the bot literally cannot see what you typed.

:::warning[This is the #1 reason Discord bots don't work] If your bot is online but never responds to messages, the Message Content Intent is almost certainly disabled. Go back to the Developer Portal, select your application → Bot → Privileged Gateway Intents, and make sure Message Content Intent is toggled ON. Click Save Changes. :::

Regarding server count:

• If your bot is in fewer than 100 servers, you can simply toggle intents on and off freely.
• If your bot is in 100 or more servers, Discord requires you to submit a verification application to use privileged intents. For personal use, this is not a concern.

Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.

Step 4: Get the Bot Token

The bot token is the credential Hermes Agent uses to log in as your bot. Still on the Bot page:

1. Under the Token section, click Reset Token.
2. If you have two-factor authentication enabled on your Discord account, enter your 2FA code.
3. Discord will display your new token. Copy it immediately.

:::warning[Token shown only once] The token is only displayed once. If you lose it, you'll need to reset it and generate a new one. Never share your token publicly or commit it to Git — anyone with this token has full control of your bot. :::

Store the token somewhere safe (a password manager, for example). You'll need it in Step 8.

Step 5: Generate the Invite URL

You need an OAuth2 URL to invite the bot to your server. There are two ways to do this:

Option A: Using the Installation Tab (Recommended)

1. In the left sidebar, click Installation.
2. Under Installation Contexts, enable Guild Install.
3. For Install Link, select Discord Provided Link.
4. Under Default Install Settings for Guild Install:
   • Scopes: select bot and applications.commands
   • Permissions: select the permissions listed below.

Option B: Manual URL

You can construct the invite URL directly using this format:

https://discord.com/oauth2/authorize?client_id=YOUR_APP_ID&scope=bot+applications.commands&permissions=274878286912

Replace YOUR_APP_ID with the Application ID from Step 1.

Required Permissions

These are the minimum permissions your bot needs:

• View Channels — see the channels it has access to
• Send Messages — respond to your messages
• Embed Links — format rich responses
• Attach Files — send images, audio, and file outputs
• Read Message History — maintain conversation context

Recommended Additional Permissions

• Send Messages in Threads — respond in thread conversations
• Add Reactions — react to messages for acknowledgment

Permission Integers

Level	Permissions Integer	What's Included
Minimal	117760	View Channels, Send Messages, Read Message History, Attach Files
Recommended	274878286912	All of the above plus Embed Links, Send Messages in Threads, Add Reactions

Step 6: Invite to Your Server

1. Open the invite URL in your browser (from the Installation tab or the manual URL you constructed).
2. In the Add to Server dropdown, select your server.
3. Click Continue, then Authorize.
4. Complete the CAPTCHA if prompted.

:::info You need the Manage Server permission on the Discord server to invite a bot. If you don't see your server in the dropdown, ask a server admin to use the invite link instead. :::

After authorizing, the bot will appear in your server's member list (it will show as offline until you start the Hermes gateway).

Step 7: Find Your Discord User ID

Hermes Agent uses your Discord User ID to control who can interact with the bot. To find it:

1. Open Discord (desktop or web app).
2. Go to Settings → Advanced → toggle Developer Mode to ON.
3. Close settings.
4. Right-click your own username (in a message, the member list, or your profile) → Copy User ID.

Your User ID is a long number like 284102345871466496.

:::tip Developer Mode also lets you copy Channel IDs and Server IDs the same way — right-click the channel or server name and select Copy ID. You'll need a Channel ID if you want to set a home channel manually. :::

Step 8: Configure Hermes Agent

Option A: Interactive Setup (Recommended)

Run the guided setup command:

hermes gateway setup

Select Discord when prompted, then paste your bot token and user ID when asked.

Option B: Manual Configuration

Add the following to your ~/.hermes/.env file:

# Required
DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=your-bot-token
DISCORD_ALLOWED_USERS=284102345871466496

# Multiple allowed users (comma-separated)
# DISCORD_ALLOWED_USERS=284102345871466496,198765432109876543

Optional behavior settings in ~/.hermes/config.yaml:

discord:
  require_mention: true

group_sessions_per_user: true

• discord.require_mention: true keeps Hermes quiet in normal server traffic unless mentioned
• group_sessions_per_user: true keeps each participant's context isolated inside shared channels and threads

Start the Gateway

Once configured, start the Discord gateway:

hermes gateway

The bot should come online in Discord within a few seconds. Send it a message — either a DM or in a channel it can see — to test.

:::tip You can run hermes gateway in the background or as a systemd service for persistent operation. See the deployment docs for details. :::

Home Channel

You can designate a "home channel" where the bot sends proactive messages (such as cron job output, reminders, and notifications). There are two ways to set it:

Using the Slash Command

Type /sethome in any Discord channel where the bot is present. That channel becomes the home channel.

Manual Configuration

Add these to your ~/.hermes/.env:

DISCORD_HOME_CHANNEL=123456789012345678
DISCORD_HOME_CHANNEL_NAME="#bot-updates"

Replace the ID with the actual channel ID (right-click → Copy Channel ID with Developer Mode on).

Voice Messages

Hermes Agent supports Discord voice messages:

• Incoming voice messages are automatically transcribed using the configured STT provider: local faster-whisper (no key), Groq Whisper (GROQ_API_KEY), or OpenAI Whisper (VOICE_TOOLS_OPENAI_KEY).
• Text-to-speech: Use /voice tts to have the bot send spoken audio responses alongside text replies.
• Discord voice channels: Hermes can also join a voice channel, listen to users speaking, and talk back in the channel.

For the full setup and operational guide, see:

• Voice Mode
• Use Voice Mode with Hermes

Troubleshooting

Bot is online but not responding to messages

Cause: Message Content Intent is disabled.

Fix: Go to Developer Portal → your app → Bot → Privileged Gateway Intents → enable Message Content Intent → Save Changes. Restart the gateway.

"Disallowed Intents" error on startup

Cause: Your code requests intents that aren't enabled in the Developer Portal.

Fix: Enable all three Privileged Gateway Intents (Presence, Server Members, Message Content) in the Bot settings, then restart.

Bot can't see messages in a specific channel

Cause: The bot's role doesn't have permission to view that channel.

Fix: In Discord, go to the channel's settings → Permissions → add the bot's role with View Channel and Read Message History enabled.

403 Forbidden errors

Cause: The bot is missing required permissions.

Fix: Re-invite the bot with the correct permissions using the URL from Step 5, or manually adjust the bot's role permissions in Server Settings → Roles.

Bot is offline

Cause: The Hermes gateway isn't running, or the token is incorrect.

Fix: Check that hermes gateway is running. Verify DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN in your .env file. If you recently reset the token, update it.

"User not allowed" / Bot ignores you

Cause: Your User ID isn't in DISCORD_ALLOWED_USERS.

Fix: Add your User ID to DISCORD_ALLOWED_USERS in ~/.hermes/.env and restart the gateway.

People in the same channel are sharing context unexpectedly

Cause: group_sessions_per_user is disabled, or the platform cannot provide a user ID for the messages in that context.

Fix: Set this in ~/.hermes/config.yaml and restart the gateway:

group_sessions_per_user: true

If you intentionally want a shared room conversation, leave it off — just expect shared transcript history and shared interrupt behavior.

Security

:::warning Always set DISCORD_ALLOWED_USERS to restrict who can interact with the bot. Without it, the gateway denies all users by default as a safety measure. Only add User IDs of people you trust — authorized users have full access to the agent's capabilities, including tool use and system access. :::

For more information on securing your Hermes Agent deployment, see the Security Guide.