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Hermes Agent on RepoCloud

Hermes Agent is an open-source autonomous AI agent from Nous Research that breaks complex goals into sub-tasks, executes them through tool integrations, and handles errors without human supervision. On RepoCloud, Hermes Agent runs on a dedicated VPS with full root access, SSH, a browser console, and all the management tools in the RepoCloud dashboard.

Autonomous Execution

Define a goal and Hermes plans, executes, observes, and refines until the job is done or it needs your input

400+ Models

Route through Claude, GPT, Gemini, and open-source models via OpenRouter — pick the best cost-quality tradeoff for each task

Web Dashboard

Real-time progress view with step-by-step reasoning, tool calls, and output artifacts in a full TUI and web interface

Messaging Gateway

Connect Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, and Signal for cross-platform conversation continuity

Memory and Skills

Agent-curated memory with periodic nudges and autonomous skill creation after complex tasks — skills self-improve during use

Full Root Access

SSH into your server, customize the environment, install tools, and manage everything at the OS level

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Prerequisites

Before deploying Hermes Agent on RepoCloud, you need an OpenRouter API key:
1

Create an OpenRouter Account

Go to openrouter.ai and sign up or log in.
2

Add Credits

Navigate to Credits and add funds. OpenRouter charges per token based on the model you use — prices vary from fractions of a cent (open-source models) to a few cents per thousand tokens (frontier models).
3

Generate an API Key

Go to Keys, click Create Key, and give it a name (e.g., “hermes-agent”). Copy the key — it starts with sk-or-.
Hermes Agent uses pay-per-use OpenRouter billing. The API key you provide powers all LLM calls; token costs are billed to your OpenRouter account, separate from your RepoCloud subscription. OpenRouter provides access to 400+ models from 70+ providers with a single key.

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Deploying Hermes Agent on RepoCloud

1

Find Hermes Agent in the Marketplace

Go to the RepoCloud marketplace and search for “Hermes Agent”. Click on the listing.
2

Enter a Project Name

Choose a friendly name for your project (e.g., “my-hermes”).
3

Enter Your Admin Email

Provide the email address for the Hermes admin account.
4

Enter Your OpenRouter API Key

Paste your sk-or-... API key. This is stored on the VPS and used by Hermes to authenticate with OpenRouter.
5

Choose Resource Settings

Select a tier for your server. Tiers below 2 GB RAM are greyed out because Hermes Agent requires at least 2 GB. Servers can be upgraded to a higher tier but not downsized.
6

Deploy

A dedicated IPv4 address is included with every VPS at no extra charge. Click Deploy Hermes Agent and wait 5–10 minutes.
7

Check Your Email

Once deployment finishes, you receive an email with:
  • Dashboard URL — the HTTPS link to your Hermes web interface
  • App Credentials — admin password for the web dashboard
  • SSH command — ssh root@<your-ip>
  • SSH Private Key — save it to a file, chmod 600, and use it to connect

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First-Time Setup

1

Open the Web Dashboard

Open the dashboard URL from your deployment email. Hermes serves a web interface for browser-based interaction with the agent.
2

Log In

Hermes uses password-based authentication. Use the password from your deployment email (shown in the RepoCloud manage page under Access > App Credentials). The login endpoint is /auth/password-login — the dashboard redirects you there automatically.
3

Verify Your Model Connection

Once logged in, start a conversation to confirm the OpenRouter API key is working. If the agent responds, your setup is complete.
Hermes uses a BasicAuthProvider — navigate directly to the dashboard URL and use the password login form. If you see an “Internal Server Error” at /auth/login, go to /auth/password-login instead; the OAuth redirect flow is not supported by the basic auth provider.

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Configuring Models

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Default Configuration

Hermes is deployed with OpenRouter as the default provider. Your API key is stored in ~/.hermes/.env:
The model configuration lives in ~/.hermes/config.yaml:
The ~ prefix resolves to the latest version in that model family automatically.

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Switching Models

Change the active model via SSH:
Or use the interactive model selector:
This presents a curated list of agentic models for each provider. The change takes effect immediately for new conversations.
Most agentic configurations require a model with at least 64K context tokens. Smaller context windows may be rejected because the system prompt and tool schemas fill them.

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Auxiliary Models

Hermes can offload side tasks (titling, summarization, vision) to cheaper models while using a frontier model for the main agent loop:
Edit ~/.hermes/config.yaml via SSH to configure auxiliary models.

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Using Hermes Agent

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Starting Conversations

From the web dashboard, type a goal or question. Hermes will:
  1. Plan — break the goal into sub-tasks
  2. Execute — run each sub-task using available tools (terminal, file system, web search, APIs)
  3. Observe — check the results and handle errors
  4. Refine — adjust the approach based on observations and iterate
The dashboard shows real-time progress with step-by-step reasoning, tool calls, and output artifacts.

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Tool Framework

Hermes has a pluggable tool framework that connects to:
  • Terminal — run shell commands on the VPS
  • File system — read, write, and manage files
  • Web search — search the internet for information
  • APIs — connect to external services via HTTP
  • Databases — query and manage data stores
Configure tool access via SSH:

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Skills System

Hermes creates reusable skills after completing complex tasks:
  • Skills are saved automatically and improve during subsequent use
  • Browse and manage skills from the dashboard
  • Skills can be shared across sessions and conversations

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Session Management

  • Conversations persist across sessions
  • Full-text search (FTS5) across session history with LLM summarization
  • Use /session commands to list, switch, and manage sessions

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Messaging Integrations

Hermes includes a gateway process that connects to messaging platforms. Configure via SSH:
Supported platforms:
  • Telegram — set a bot token and chat with Hermes via Telegram
  • Discord — connect a bot to your Discord server
  • Slack — integrate with a Slack workspace
  • WhatsApp — connect via the WhatsApp Business API
  • Signal — secure messaging integration
Each platform maintains conversation continuity — start a conversation in the web dashboard and continue it from Telegram, or vice versa.
To set up Telegram, create a bot via @BotFather on Telegram, copy the bot token, and configure it: hermes config set TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN your-token-here. Then start the gateway: hermes gateway.

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RepoCloud Manage Page

Your Hermes Agent VPS has a dedicated manage page in the RepoCloud dashboard:
View your server’s default domain (HTTPS link to Hermes dashboard), dedicated IPv4 address, SSH connection command, and app credentials (login password).
Power Off, Power On, and Reboot controls.
Browser-based serial console for emergency access.
Manage SSH public keys for root access.
Switch between tiers. Disk cannot be shrunk after an upgrade. Hermes benefits from more RAM for complex agent tasks.
Create up to 5 point-in-time snapshots. To restore, click Restore next to the target snapshot. If newer snapshots exist, a warning lists which ones will be permanently destroyed. The server restarts during restore (~10–25 seconds) and the page refreshes automatically when complete.
Point your own domain to the VPS by creating an A record to your IPv4.
Permanently delete the server and all data.

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Troubleshooting

Hermes uses a BasicAuthProvider that does not support OAuth redirect flows. Navigate to /auth/password-login directly, or access the dashboard root URL which should redirect correctly. Use the password from your deployment email.
SSH into the server and verify the API key: cat ~/.hermes/.env | grep OPENROUTER. If missing, re-add it: hermes config set OPENROUTER_API_KEY sk-or-....
Most agentic setups need 64K+ context. If you chose a model with a smaller window, switch to one with sufficient context: hermes config set model ~anthropic/claude-sonnet-latest (200K context).
Frontier models (Claude Opus, GPT-4o) cost more per token. For routine tasks, use a cheaper model as the default and switch to frontier models only for complex work. Configure auxiliary models for side tasks (titling, summarization) to reduce costs.
Ensure the bot token or API credentials are correct. SSH in and check hermes gateway status. Restart with hermes gateway restart. Verify that the VPS has outbound internet access to the messaging platform’s API endpoints.

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Use Cases

Hermes Agent is ideal for:
  • Developers who want an autonomous AI assistant on their own infrastructure for research, coding, and task execution
  • Teams that need a shared AI agent accessible from Slack, Discord, or Telegram
  • Power users who want to route tasks through different LLM models depending on cost, speed, and quality requirements
  • Automation builders who need an agent that can execute multi-step workflows involving terminal commands, file manipulation, and API calls

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Next Steps

Deploy Hermes Agent

Launch your Hermes Agent VPS from the RepoCloud marketplace

Hermes Documentation

Read the official Hermes Agent documentation from Nous Research

OpenClaw

Explore OpenClaw for Claude-powered code generation

VPS Apps Overview

Learn about all VPS Apps and the RepoCloud manage page