Introduction
Hermes is an autonomous agent from Nous Research. It can select tools, work across several steps, remember useful context, and create reusable skills from experience. Your managed instance stays online independently of your laptop.
Examples
Hermes is well suited to tasks that combine reasoning with tool use:
- research a subject, compare sources, and write a cited brief;
- inspect files, transform data, and produce a repeatable report;
- monitor a recurring question and deliver a scheduled summary;
- turn a successful multi-step process into a reusable skill.
A task is a poor fit when it requires an irreversible action that you cannot review, access to secrets the task does not need, or a result that cannot be independently checked.
In-depth guide
Start with the environment
Open Hermes from your Parlant Agents dashboard. Before assigning work, ask it to describe the active model, available tools, working directory, and any approval rules. This confirms what the current session can actually do.
Give complete requests
A useful request names the goal, available inputs, constraints, desired output, and stopping point. For example:
Compare the three documents in the project folder. Produce a Markdown table of conflicting claims, cite each file and page, and list unanswered questions. Do not edit the source files or contact anyone.
This is safer and easier to verify than “review these files.”
Review tool use
Hermes can use terminal, browser, search, file, and other configured tools. Keep approval controls enabled for consequential actions. Ask for a plan before a long task, and tell Hermes which actions require confirmation.
Build memory deliberately
Tell Hermes which stable preferences should persist, such as report format or preferred sources. Do not ask it to memorize temporary secrets. Start a fresh conversation when the subject changes substantially, and summarize any context that the new session still needs.
Reuse successful work
After a process works reliably, ask Hermes to describe the steps and edge cases before turning it into a skill. Test that skill on a small example. Reusable skills are most valuable when the inputs, output, and success criteria are clear.
For runtime-specific commands and integrations, consult the official Hermes documentation.