Hermes Agent Cheat Sheet

Side-by-side comparison of n8n and Dify for AI-powered automation: architecture, use cases, when to use which, and how to run both in production with Docker Compose.

A practical quick-reference guide for Hermes Agent by Nous Research — the OpenClaw replacement with a closed learning loop for self-improving AI automation.

Installation

Official Bash Installer (Recommended)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
source ~/.bashrc
hermes --version

Handles Python 3.11, Node.js v22, uv, ripgrep, and ffmpeg automatically. Git is the only prerequisite.

Docker

docker run -d \
  --name hermes \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -v ~/.hermes:/opt/data \
  -p 8642:8642 \
  nousresearch/hermes-agent gateway run

Place .env in ~/.hermes/ with ANTHROPIC_API_KEY or OPENAI_API_KEY, plus platform tokens like TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN.

From Source

git clone https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent.git
cd hermes-agent
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e ".[all]"
hermes --version

Use pip install -e . for minimal install without platform connectors and memory backends.

Migration from OpenClaw

Auto-Detect and Migrate

# Preview then migrate (always shows preview first)
hermes claw migrate

# Preview only, no changes
hermes claw migrate --dry-run

# Full migration including API keys, skip confirmation
hermes claw migrate --preset full --migrate-secrets --yes

# Migrate without secrets
hermes claw migrate --preset user-data

Migration Flags

What Gets Migrated

• Persona: SOUL.md → ~/.hermes/SOUL.md
• Memory: MEMORY.md, USER.md, HEARTBEAT.md → ~/.hermes/memories/
• Skills: workspace/skills/ → ~/.hermes/skills/openclaw-imports/
• Command allowlist: → config.yaml
• Messaging settings: Platform configs, allowed users → ~/.hermes/.env
• API keys: Telegram, OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, ElevenLabs → ~/.hermes/.env
• TTS assets: → ~/.hermes/tts/
• Workspace instructions: AGENTS.md → --workspace-target path

OpenClaw → Hermes Config Mapping

Setup and Verification

# First-time setup wizard (auto-detects OpenClaw)
hermes setup

# Check agent, auth, and platform status
hermes status

# Diagnose any config or dependency issues
hermes doctor

# Run the gateway (Telegram, Discord, etc.)
hermes gateway

Memory Management

# Rebuild memory index (run after migration)
hermes memory reindex

# List all memory entries
hermes memory list

# Search memory
hermes memory search "query"

# Delete specific memory entry
hermes memory delete <entry-id>

# Clear all memories
hermes memory clear --yes

# Export memories to JSON
hermes memory export --output ./memories.json

# Import memories from JSON
hermes memory import ./memories.json

Skills

# List all loaded skills
hermes skills list

# Enable a skill
hermes skills enable <skill-name>

# Disable a skill
hermes skills disable <skill-name>

# Install skill from URL or path
hermes skills install <source>

# Update a skill
hermes skills update <skill-name>

# Remove a skill
hermes skills remove <skill-name>

# Show skill details
hermes skills info <skill-name>

Model Selection

# Interactive model selector
hermes model

# Set model explicitly
hermes model set qwen-3.5

# Recommended models:
#   - Qwen 3.5 (free on OpenRouter) — routine automation
#   - Claude Opus 4.6 / GPT 5.4 — complex reasoning (thinking mode)
hermes model set claude-opus-4.6

Configuration

Key Config Locations

Environment Variables (.env)

# Required: at least one API key
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-...
# or
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...

# Optional: platform tokens
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=...
DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=...
SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=...
ELEVENLABS_API_KEY=...
OPENROUTER_API_KEY=...

config.yaml Structure

model: qwen-3.5
custom_providers:
  openrouter:
    api_type: openrouter
    api_key: ${OPENROUTER_API_KEY}

platforms:
  telegram:
    enabled: true
    bot_token: ${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}
    allowed_users:
      - 123456789

compression:
  enabled: true
  interval: 7d

thinking:
  default: medium
  medium_threshold: 2000 tokens

Gateway and Runtime

# Start the gateway (required for platform integrations)
hermes gateway

# Start with specific platform only
hermes gateway --platform telegram

# Run gateway in background
hermes gateway &

# Stop the gateway
hermes gateway stop

# Restart gateway
hermes gateway restart

# View gateway logs
hermes logs gateway

# View real-time gateway output
hermes logs gateway --follow

Self-Improvement Loop (GEPA)

Hermes uses a Goal-Evaluation-Planning-Action reflection loop. The agent distills completed tasks into persistent memory automatically.

# Force a reflection cycle on recent memories
hermes reflect --depth recent

# Force reflection on specific memory entry
hermes reflect --memory <entry-id>

# View GEPA loop statistics
hermes stats reflection-loop

# Disable auto-reflection (if needed)
hermes config set reflection.auto false

# Set reflection frequency
hermes config set reflection.frequency 24h

Troubleshooting

# Full system diagnostics
hermes doctor

# Check version
hermes --version

# Update Hermes to latest
hermes update

# Rollback to previous version
hermes update --rollback

# Validate config file
hermes config validate

# Show full config (secrets redacted)
hermes config show

# Reset to defaults (keeps memories)
hermes reset --keep-memories

# Complete reset
hermes reset --full --yes

Docker Compose (Recommended for Self-Hosting)

services:
  hermes:
    image: nousresearch/hermes-agent:latest
    container_name: hermes
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8642:8642"
    volumes:
      - ~/.hermes:/opt/data
    env_file:
      - ~/.hermes/.env
    environment:
      - ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}
    command: gateway run

  # Optional: nginx reverse proxy for HTTPS
  nginx:
    image: nginx:alpine
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
    depends_on:
      - hermes

Quick Reference Card

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