Files
hermes-agent/website/docs/user-guide/features/plugins.md
Teknium 8da410ed95 feat(plugins): add slash command registration for plugins (#2359)
Plugins can now register slash commands via ctx.register_command()
in their register() function. Commands automatically appear in:
- /help and COMMANDS_BY_CATEGORY (under 'Plugins' category)
- Tab autocomplete in CLI
- Telegram bot menu
- Slack subcommand mapping
- Gateway dispatch

Handler signature: handler(args: str) -> str | None
Async handlers are supported in gateway context.

Changes:
- commands.py: add register_plugin_command() and rebuild_lookups()
- plugins.py: add register_command() to PluginContext, track in
  PluginManager._plugin_commands and LoadedPlugin.commands_registered
- cli.py: dispatch plugin commands in process_command()
- gateway/run.py: dispatch plugin commands before skill commands
- tests: 5 new tests for registration, help, tracking, handler, gateway
- docs: update plugins feature page and build guide
2026-03-21 16:00:30 -07:00

3.3 KiB

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Plugins

Hermes has a plugin system for adding custom tools, hooks, slash commands, and integrations without modifying core code.

Build a Hermes Plugin — step-by-step guide with a complete working example.

Quick overview

Drop a directory into ~/.hermes/plugins/ with a plugin.yaml and Python code:

~/.hermes/plugins/my-plugin/
├── plugin.yaml      # manifest
├── __init__.py      # register() — wires schemas to handlers
├── schemas.py       # tool schemas (what the LLM sees)
└── tools.py         # tool handlers (what runs when called)

Start Hermes — your tools appear alongside built-in tools. The model can call them immediately.

Project-local plugins under ./.hermes/plugins/ are disabled by default. Enable them only for trusted repositories by setting HERMES_ENABLE_PROJECT_PLUGINS=true before starting Hermes.

What plugins can do

Capability How
Add tools ctx.register_tool(name, schema, handler)
Add hooks ctx.register_hook("post_tool_call", callback)
Add slash commands ctx.register_command("mycommand", handler)
Ship data files Path(__file__).parent / "data" / "file.yaml"
Bundle skills Copy skill.md to ~/.hermes/skills/ at load time
Gate on env vars requires_env: [API_KEY] in plugin.yaml
Distribute via pip [project.entry-points."hermes_agent.plugins"]

Plugin discovery

Source Path Use case
User ~/.hermes/plugins/ Personal plugins
Project .hermes/plugins/ Project-specific plugins (requires HERMES_ENABLE_PROJECT_PLUGINS=true)
pip hermes_agent.plugins entry_points Distributed packages

Available hooks

Hook Fires when
pre_tool_call Before any tool executes
post_tool_call After any tool returns
pre_llm_call Before LLM API request
post_llm_call After LLM API response
on_session_start Session begins
on_session_end Session ends

Slash commands

Plugins can register slash commands that work in both CLI and messaging platforms:

def register(ctx):
    ctx.register_command(
        name="greet",
        handler=lambda args: f"Hello, {args or 'world'}!",
        description="Greet someone",
        args_hint="[name]",
        aliases=("hi",),
    )

The handler receives the argument string (everything after /greet) and returns a string to display. Registered commands automatically appear in /help, tab autocomplete, Telegram bot menu, and Slack subcommand mapping.

Parameter Description
name Command name without slash
handler Callable that takes args: str and returns `str
description Shown in /help
args_hint Usage hint, e.g. "[name]"
aliases Tuple of alternative names
cli_only Only available in CLI
gateway_only Only available in messaging platforms

Managing plugins

/plugins              # list loaded plugins in a session
hermes config set display.show_cost true  # show cost in status bar

See the full guide for handler contracts, schema format, hook behavior, error handling, and common mistakes.