Jan-Stefan Janetzky
7fe434ee70
The proactive prune is a lossy rewrite of the durable transcript — the built-in commits it through archive_and_compact — and it runs BETWEEN compactions, so no pre-compress checkpoint precedes it. With compression.checkpoint_required armed, tool evidence could still be dropped without ever reaching the durable provider: the same authority class already closed for native compaction, codex app-server, and post-turn micro-compaction. - turn_preflight: the prune arm of compress_after_tool_results() moves into _proactive_tool_result_prune() and grows an `is True` gate on compression_checkpoint_required. Gating the call site rather than ContextCompressor's implementation covers plugin context engines that override prune_tool_results_only too — both reach the transcript through this one seam. The caller keeps the read-dedup reset on a committed prune; publish_prune moves with the commit. - Suppression, not refusal (the prune fires per tool iteration; a raise would abort the turn). It is also lossless: the material the prune would have dropped stays in context, and the eventual threshold compaction — which IS checkpointed — handles it. - conversation_compression_checkpoint: _record_checkpoint_gate_suppression bumps a suppression counter on the agent and logs once per withheld authority. The log names the availability trade the operator made: with the prune suppressed and compaction fail-closed, a checkpoint provider outage leaves no reclamation path at all and the session halts instead of compacting unarchived context. That is the gate's promise rather than a side effect, so it belongs in the line that fires when it becomes true. - Count and log only a prune that would have run (ProactivePruneMixin.would_proactively_prune, _prune_would_have_run). A default install ships proactive_prune_tokens: 0, and a configured prune below its trigger returns the input untouched, so neither is a withheld reclamation path. An engine that overrides prune_tool_results_only owns its trigger policy, so occupying the hook is the precondition there; the inherited ABC no-op is not an authority. - Tests (tests/agent/test_proactive_prune_checkpoint_gate.py): the call site swallows compressor exceptions with logger.debug, so the doubles count calls instead of asserting. Gate off is the sabotage control proving the harness reaches the prune; the engine-override case proves the seam covers both authorities; the log test pins one warning and its wording; five tests pin the default, the threshold (with a same-compressor control one token above it), the real compressor's predicate, the hookless and raising shapes, and the inherited-vs- overridden hook. test_proactive_prune_loop_wiring drives a real run_conversation with the gate armed: the prune is never consulted. (cherry picked from commit 6904b46b55ac125f0b816f705e23f4c4a9c69991) (cherry picked from commit 9e505a834742df11045da3b809a3a49c6178354c)
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, OpenAI, your own endpoint, and many others. 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. In Desktop, choose their provider, model, and limits under Settings → Model → Subagents, then Apply the complete route. Write Python scripts that call tools via RPC, collapsing multi-step pipelines into zero-context-cost turns. |
| Runs anywhere, not just your laptop | Six built-in terminal backends — local, Docker, SSH, Modal, Daytona, and Vercel Sandbox — plus plugin backends such as Singularity/Apptainer. 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
curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash
Windows (native, PowerShell)
Heads up: Native Windows runs Hermes without WSL — CLI, gateway, TUI, and tools all work natively. If you'd rather use WSL2, the Linux/macOS one-liner above works there too. Found a bug? Please file issues.
Run this in PowerShell:
iex (irm https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.ps1)
The source installer delegates Python 3.14, Node.js, npm, ripgrep, FFmpeg, and Python dependencies to PM. If Git is absent, it stages the verified Git for Windows archive in Hermes' tool store. It does not replace your system Git. See installation methods for the separate MSIX/App Installer package and its update ownership.
Android / Termux: A signed APT repository is available for aarch64 devices, with a
stablechannel (tagged releases) and a prereleasecanarychannel. The package includes Python, Node.js, and the TUI. Use the Termux guide, not the desktop/server installer script.Windows: Native Windows is fully supported — the PowerShell one-liner above installs everything. If you'd rather use WSL2, the Linux command works there too. Native Windows install lives under
%LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes; WSL2 installs under~/.hermesas on Linux.
After installation:
source ~/.bashrc # reload shell (or: source ~/.zshrc)
hermes # start chatting!
Troubleshooting
Windows Defender or antivirus flags uv.exe as malware
If your antivirus (Bitdefender, Windows Defender, etc.) quarantines uv.exe from the Hermes bin folder (%LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\bin\uv.exe), this is a false positive. The file is Astral's uv — the Rust Python package manager Hermes bundles to manage its Python environment. ML-based antivirus engines commonly flag unsigned Rust binaries that download and install packages.
To verify your copy is authentic:
# Install GitHub CLI if needed
winget install --id GitHub.cli
# Login to GitHub
gh auth login
# Run verification
$uv = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\hermes\bin\uv.exe"
$ver = (& $uv --version).Split(' ')[1]
[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12
$zip = "$env:TEMP\uv.zip"
Invoke-WebRequest "https://github.com/astral-sh/uv/releases/download/$ver/uv-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip" -OutFile $zip -UseBasicParsing
gh attestation verify $zip --repo astral-sh/uv
Expand-Archive $zip "$env:TEMP\uv_x" -Force
(Get-FileHash "$env:TEMP\uv_x\uv.exe").Hash -eq (Get-FileHash $uv).Hash
If attestation says "Verification succeeded" and the last line prints True, you're good.
To whitelist Hermes:
- Windows Defender: Run PowerShell as Admin →
Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\hermes\bin" - Bitdefender: Add an exception in the Bitdefender console (Protection > Antivirus > Settings > Manage Exceptions)
- Whitelist the folder, not the file hash — Hermes updates
uvand the hash changes every version
For more context, see the upstream Astral reports: astral-sh/uv#13553, astral-sh/uv#15011, astral-sh/uv#10079.
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 config get # Print individual config values
hermes gateway # Start the messaging gateway (Telegram, Discord, etc.)
hermes setup # Run the full setup wizard (configures everything at once)
hermes update # Update to the latest version
hermes doctor # Diagnose any issues
Skip the API-key collection — Nous Portal
Hermes works with whatever provider you want — that's not changing. But if you'd rather not collect five separate API keys for the model, web search, image generation, TTS, and a cloud browser, Nous Portal covers all of them under one subscription:
- 300+ models — pick any of them with
/model <name> - Tool Gateway — web search, image generation (FAL), text-to-speech (OpenAI), cloud browser (Browser Use), all routed through your sub. No extra accounts.
One command from a fresh install:
hermes setup --portal
That logs you in via OAuth, sets Nous as your provider, and turns on the Tool Gateway. Check what's wired up any time with hermes portal info. Full details on the Tool Gateway docs page.
You can still bring your own keys per-tool whenever you want — the gateway is per-backend, not all-or-nothing.
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 or another agent
If you're coming from OpenClaw, Claude Code, Codex CLI or Cursor, Hermes can import your settings, memories and skills (and, for OpenClaw, API keys when you ask for them).
During setup: hermes setup asks whether to import from another agent, pre-selects the ones it finds (~/.openclaw, ~/.claude, ~/.codex, ~/.cursor), installs the official agent-importers plugin and runs the import with a preview first.
Anytime after install:
hermes plugins install agent-importers # once per profile
hermes import-agent openclaw # interactive migration (full preset)
hermes import-agent openclaw --dry-run # preview what would be migrated
hermes import-agent openclaw --migrate-secrets # also bring allowlisted API keys
hermes import-agent claude-code # or codex / cursor
What gets imported from OpenClaw:
- 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), only with
--migrate-secrets - TTS assets — workspace audio files
- Workspace instructions — AGENTS.md (with
--workspace-target)
hermes claw migrate still works as the older spelling. See the OpenClaw migration guide and Import from Other Agents.
Contributing
We welcome contributions! See the Contributing Guide for development setup, code style, and PR process.
Start with the PM developer workflow for activation, daily use, dependency changes, and leaving the environment. Development Setup covers the separate test environment and verification commands.
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.