48be2e0e4d
* ci(tests): install ripgrep from prebuilt tarball instead of apt
apt-get update + install of ripgrep takes ~4 min on the GHA Ubuntu
runners (the apt-get update against archive.ubuntu.com is the slow
part; ripgrep itself is small). Switching to the upstream musl
binary tarball cuts the step to a few seconds.
- Pinned to ripgrep 15.1.0 with sha256 verification (same hash as
published in the releases sha256 sidecar file).
- Drops the `rg` binary into /usr/local/bin so it is on PATH for
every subsequent step without GITHUB_PATH manipulation.
- Applied to both the test and e2e jobs in tests.yml.
* fix(cli): compile syntax check to tempdir, not source __pycache__
`_validate_critical_files_syntax` runs `py_compile.compile()` on each
critical bootstrap file after a successful `git pull`. The default
`py_compile` writes the resulting `.pyc` next to the source under
`__pycache__/`, which causes two real problems:
1. Parallel test workers walking the same source tree (e.g. running
the suite under per-file process isolation) can race against each
other on the `__pycache__` write — manifests as flaky 'directory
not empty' errors during teardown.
2. In production, the post-pull syntax check leaves a `.pyc` behind
that the next interpreter run might pick up — fine when the
interpreter version matches, sketchy if it doesn't.
Fix: write the compiled output to a `tempfile.TemporaryDirectory()`
that's discarded on function exit. We only care about the compile-or-not
signal, not the artifact.
* test(runner): per-file process isolation, drop manual state reset + xdist
Replace fragile manual _reset_module_state test fixtures with robust
per-file subprocess isolation. Each test file runs in a fresh
`python -m pytest <file>` subprocess via ThreadPoolExecutor. No xdist,
no custom pytest plugin, no shared worker state.
Key changes:
* scripts/run_tests_parallel.py — new runner: discovers test files,
runs N in parallel via ThreadPoolExecutor, captures stdout per file,
treats exit code 5 (no tests collected) as pass, kills all children
on exit. Change from cpu_count to cpu_count*2. The runner is
I/O-bound (waiting on subprocess.communicate() from pytest children)
The parent process does almost no CPU work, so 2x oversubscription
keeps more pipes full. When a file fails, immediately show the last
30 lines of pytest output (stack traces + FAILED summary) plus a
ready-to-copy repro command:
python -m pytest tests/agent/test_auxiliary_client.py
* scripts/run_tests.sh — delegates to run_tests_parallel.py
* .github/workflows/tests.yml — test step: python
scripts/run_tests_parallel.py
* pyproject.toml — drop pytest-xdist, pytest-split; simplify addopts
* tests/conftest.py — remove ~200 lines of manual state-reset fixtures
* AGENTS.md — update Testing section for per-file design
* test(runner): speed gateway test antipattern scan up
* fix(test): web search provider plugin test missing xai
* fix(tests): make 14 test files pass under per-file subprocess isolation
Tests that relied on cross-file state pollution from xdist workers
fail when run in isolation (per-file subprocess model). Root causes
and fixes:
Tool registry not populated:
- test_video_generation_tool_surface_matrix: add discover_builtin_tools()
- test_web_providers_brave_free/ddgs/searxng/general: autouse fixtures
registering all 8 bundled web providers, reset after each test
- test_website_policy: same provider registration pattern
- test_web_tools_tavily: same pattern across 3 dispatch test classes
- Also add is_safe_url/check_website_access mocks where SSRF check
blocks example.com (DNS resolution fails in isolated envs)
Stale check_fn cache:
- test_kanban_tools: invalidate_check_fn_cache() + _clear_tool_defs_cache()
in both kanban guidance tests (prior test cached False for kanban_show)
- test_discord_tool: cache invalidation in setup/teardown
- test_homeassistant_tool: invalidate_check_fn_cache() before registry queries
Module-level state pollution:
- test_auxiliary_client: autouse fixture clearing _aux_unhealthy_until cache
- test_skill_commands: set_session_vars() instead of patch.dict(os.environ)
(ContextVar takes precedence over os.environ)
- test_dm_topics: overwrite sys.modules + separate telegram.constants mock
+ force-reimport of gateway.platforms.telegram
- test_terminal_tool_requirements: removed duplicate class declaration,
autouse _clear_caches fixture
* change(tests): run_tests.sh explicitly includes env vars
instead of manually dropping some vars, now we just only include some
* fix(tests): 5 more isolation/NixOS fixes
- test_approval_plugin_hooks: isolate HERMES_HOME so real user's
command_allowlist doesn't short-circuit the approval path
- test_google_chat: skipif when Platform.GOOGLE_CHAT not in enum
(feature not merged on this branch)
- test_write_deny: test systemd prefix against tmp_path instead of
/etc/systemd which resolves to /nix/store on NixOS
- test_pty_bridge: use shutil.which('cat') instead of /bin/cat
(doesn't exist on NixOS)
- profiles.py: rmtree onexc handler chmod's parent dirs too, fixing
profile deletion when copytree preserved read-only modes from
nix store
* fix(tests): clear unhealthy cache in autouse fixture for auxiliary_client
* fix(tests): skip send_message when telegram not installed; handle missing worker_id in browser_supervisor
* fix: py3.11 rmtree onexc compat + belt-and-suspenders unhealthy cache clear for expired codex test
* fix: address PR #29016 review feedback
- Remove tracked .pytest-cache/ artifact and add to .gitignore
- Fix stale 'xdist worker' comment in conftest.py
- Deduplicate web provider registration into tests/tools/conftest.py
shared helper (register_all_web_providers), replacing 8 copy-pasted
blocks across 6 test files
- Update PR description: remove stale recovered-test-files claim,
fix worker count to match code (cpu_count*2)
* fix: eliminate race in stale-cache achievements test
The background scan thread could complete and overwrite _SNAPSHOT_CACHE
before evaluate_all() returned the stale data — only 10 fake sessions
made the scan finish instantly. Added scan_delay param to _FakeSessionDB
and set it to 2s in the stale-cache test so the background thread can't
win the race.
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), NovitaAI (AI-native cloud for Model API, Agent Sandbox, and GPU Cloud), NVIDIA NIM (Nemotron), Xiaomi MiMo, z.ai/GLM, Kimi/Moonshot, MiniMax, Hugging Face, 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 | Seven terminal backends — local, Docker, SSH, Singularity, Modal, Daytona, and Vercel Sandbox. 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, trajectory compression for training the next generation of tool-calling models. |
Quick Install
Linux, macOS, WSL2, Termux
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
Windows (native, PowerShell) — Early Beta
Heads up: Native Windows support is early beta. It installs and runs, but hasn't been road-tested as broadly as our Linux/macOS/WSL2 paths. Please file issues when you hit rough edges. For the most battle-tested Windows setup today, run the Linux/macOS one-liner above inside WSL2.
Run this in PowerShell:
iex (irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.ps1)
The installer handles everything: uv, Python 3.11, Node.js, ripgrep, ffmpeg, and a portable Git Bash (MinGit, unpacked to %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\git — no admin required, completely isolated from any system Git install). Hermes uses this bundled Git Bash to run shell commands.
If you already have Git installed, the installer detects it and uses that instead. Otherwise a ~45MB MinGit download is all you need — it won't touch or interfere with any system Git.
Android / Termux: The tested manual path is documented in the Termux guide. On Termux, Hermes installs a curated
.[termux]extra because the full.[all]extra currently pulls Android-incompatible voice dependencies.Windows: Native Windows is supported as an early beta — the PowerShell one-liner above installs everything, but expect rough edges and please file issues when you hit them. If you'd rather use WSL2 (our most battle-tested Windows path), the Linux command works there too. Native Windows install lives under
%LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes; WSL2 installs under~/.hermesas on Linux. The only Hermes feature that currently needs WSL2 specifically is the browser-based dashboard chat pane (it uses a POSIX PTY — classic CLI and gateway both run natively).
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> |
/<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 — clone and go with setup-hermes.sh:
git clone https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent.git
cd hermes-agent
./setup-hermes.sh # installs uv, creates venv, installs .[all], symlinks ~/.local/bin/hermes
./hermes # auto-detects the venv, no need to `source` first
Manual path (equivalent to the above):
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]"
scripts/run_tests.sh
Community
- 💬 Discord
- 📚 Skills Hub
- 🐛 Issues
- 🔌 computer-use-linux — Linux desktop-control MCP server for Hermes and other MCP hosts, with AT-SPI accessibility trees, Wayland/X11 input, screenshots, and compositor window targeting.
- 🔌 HermesClaw — Community WeChat bridge: Run Hermes Agent and OpenClaw on the same WeChat account.
License
MIT — see LICENSE.
Built by Nous Research.