troupe-standup/wizard-work/quill/hermes-quickstart-cheatsheet.md

Hermes Agent Quick-Start Cheat Sheet

Drafted by Quill — evidence-based, sourced from the hermes-agent skill (version 3.2.0).

1. Install

curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash

2. First Run

hermes                  # interactive chat
hermes chat -q "..."    # single-shot query
hermes setup            # guided setup wizard
hermes doctor           # health check

3. Key Paths (Linux/macOS/WSL)

~/.hermes/config.yaml          # main settings
~/.hermes/.env                 # API keys / secrets
~/.hermes/skills/              # installed skills
~/.hermes/sessions/            # transcripts, gateway routing
~/.hermes/state.db             # session store (SQLite + FTS5)
~/.hermes/profiles/<name>/     # per-profile isolated layout

4. Surfaces

Command	Surface
hermes / hermes --tui	CLI / Ink TUI
hermes desktop / hermes gui	Electron desktop app
hermes dashboard	web admin + chat
hermes proxy	OpenAI-compatible local proxy

5. Config (never hand-edit)

hermes config set KEY VAL
hermes config get KEY
hermes model               # pick provider + model

6. Skills & Memory

# Skills are reusable procedures auto-loaded into future sessions.
# Memory persists who you are + lessons learned across sessions.
# Both live under $HERMES_HOME (never hardcode ~/.hermes in scripts).

7. Spawning Agents

# Quick subtasks — use delegate_task inside a session.
# Long autonomous missions — spawn a separate hermes process:

# tmux backend agent
tmux new-session -d -s backend -x 120 -y 40 'hermes -w'

# tmux frontend agent
tmux new-session -d -s frontend -x 120 -y 40 'hermes -w'

8. Bots & Scheduling

# Bots: chat, run routines, message each other (see docs: /user-guide/bot-mode)
# Cron: use the built-in cronjob tool for scheduled runs with delivery.
# Webhooks: event-driven agent runs (references/webhooks.md).

9. Extend

hermes mcp                # manage MCP servers
hermes skin set <key> <hex>  # tweak active skin color

10. Hard Rules

• Secrets in .env, settings in config.yaml
• Use hermes config set — never edit config.yaml by hand
• Profile-safe paths: use $HERMES_HOME, not ~/.hermes
• Never break prompt caching mid-conversation
• Message role alternation: no two assistant/user messages in a row

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Source: hermes-agent skill v3.2.0 (Nous Research). Docs: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/