b81d49dc45
* fix(session-db): survive CLI/gateway concurrent write contention Closes #3139 Three layered fixes for the scenario where CLI and gateway write to state.db concurrently, causing create_session() to fail with 'database is locked' and permanently disabling session_search on the gateway side. 1. Increase SQLite connection timeout: 10s -> 30s hermes_state.py: longer window for the WAL writer to finish a batch flush before the other process gives up entirely. 2. INSERT OR IGNORE in create_session hermes_state.py: prevents IntegrityError on duplicate session IDs (e.g. gateway restarts while CLI session is still alive). 3. Don't null out _session_db on create_session failure (main fix) run_agent.py: a transient lock at agent startup must not permanently disable session_search for the lifetime of that agent instance. _session_db now stays alive so subsequent flushes and searches work once the lock clears. 4. New ensure_session() helper + call it during flush hermes_state.py: INSERT OR IGNORE for a minimal session row. run_agent.py _flush_messages_to_session_db: calls ensure_session() before appending messages, so the FK constraint is satisfied even when create_session() failed at startup. No-op when the row exists. * fix(state): release lock between context queries in search_messages The context-window queries (one per FTS5 match) were running inside the same lock acquisition as the primary FTS5 query, holding the lock for O(N) sequential SQLite round-trips. Move per-match context fetches outside the outer lock block so each acquires the lock independently, keeping critical sections short and allowing other threads to interleave. * fix(session): prefer longer source in load_transcript to prevent legacy truncation When a long-lived session pre-dates SQLite storage (e.g. sessions created before the DB layer was introduced, or after a clean deployment that reset the DB), _flush_messages_to_session_db only writes the *new* messages from the current turn to SQLite — it skips messages already present in conversation_history, assuming they are already persisted. That assumption fails for legacy JSONL-only sessions: Turn N (first after DB migration): load_transcript(id) → SQLite: 0 → falls back to JSONL: 994 ✓ _flush_messages_to_session_db: skip first 994, write 2 new → SQLite: 2 Turn N+1: load_transcript(id) → SQLite: 2 → returns immediately ✗ Agent sees 2 messages of history instead of 996 The same pattern causes the reported symptom: session JSON truncated to 4 messages (_save_session_log writes agent.messages which only has 2 history + 2 new = 4). Fix: always load both sources and return whichever is longer. For a fully-migrated session SQLite will always be ≥ JSONL, so there is no regression. For a legacy session that hasn't been bootstrapped yet, JSONL wins and the full history is restored. Closes #3212 * test: add load_transcript source preference tests for #3212 Covers: JSONL longer returns JSONL, SQLite longer returns SQLite, SQLite empty falls back to JSONL, both empty returns empty, equal length prefers SQLite (richer reasoning fields). --------- Co-authored-by: Mibayy <mibayy@hermes.ai> Co-authored-by: kewe63 <kewe.3217@gmail.com> Co-authored-by: Mibayy <mibayy@users.noreply.github.com>
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.