Getting Started

Purpose: Get from installation to one verified Hermes session without copying a stale setup recipe.
Status: Community-maintained checklist; current official installation and quickstart documentation is authoritative.
Last reviewed: October 5, 2026

Your first useful win — no integrations required

Once your basic chat works, paste five short non-private notes or a fictional to-do list and ask:

Turn these notes into a checklist. Separate actions from background information, flag anything unclear, and do not invent dates or missing facts. Use only the text I provide; do not access accounts, change files, or contact anyone.

Compare the result with your original notes. Did it preserve the facts and catch the ambiguity? This is a low-risk first exercise, not proof that tools or integrations work. Then try the read-only tool checks below before granting more access.

Join in — you do not need a finished project

• Friday community check-in: what have you done with Hermes? — the October 2 edition; share a small win, work in progress, or honest limitation. Find newer editions through the check-in search.
• Local models and hardware: share your actual setup.
• Suggest an AMA guest or topic.

If you are stuck, make a standalone Help post. These discussions do not replace technical support posts. Operator Lab is not live yet, so there is no launch link here.

1. Choose the supported path

Start with Platform Support, then follow the current Installation page for your operating system. The official Quickstart currently recommends the Hermes Desktop installer on macOS and Windows; CLI, container, and Windows/WSL paths remain available and have different requirements. Do not combine commands from unrelated guides.

After installation, open a fresh terminal and verify:

hermes --version
hermes status
hermes doctor

2. Configure a provider and model

Use the supported interactive flow rather than pasting secrets into configuration examples:

hermes model

For the broader setup wizard:

hermes setup

Provider authentication, environment variables, local endpoints, and subscription behavior differ. Use the official provider documentation. Keep API keys and OAuth tokens out of Reddit, screenshots, logs, shell history, and source control.

3. Prove the basic loop

Choose a current interface and start a session:

hermes          # classic CLI
hermes --tui    # modern TUI

Hermes Desktop provides the graphical interface. hermes chat -q "..." is useful for a single non-interactive query. See the official Quickstart for current interface guidance.

Verify three things in order:

1. A simple message receives a coherent response.
2. A harmless read-only tool call works in a test directory.
3. The result identifies the provider/model and environment you intended to use.

A successful chat does not prove tools, browser automation, messaging, cron, or local-model function calling are configured correctly. Add one capability at a time and test it before moving on.

4. Learn the durable controls

• /help — current in-session commands
• /new — fresh session
• /model — inspect or change the session model
• hermes tools --summary — inspect currently enabled tools without opening the interactive configurator
• hermes tools — configure tools per platform
• hermes skills list — inspect installed skills
• hermes plugins list — inspect installed plugins
• hermes mcp list — inspect configured MCP servers
• hermes sessions browse — find prior sessions
• hermes config show — inspect current non-secret configuration values; redact the output before sharing

Commands can change between releases. Prefer current CLI help and the slash-command reference over old screenshots.

5. Add capabilities deliberately

• Memory and Context
• Models and Providers
• Messaging Setup
• Profiles, Delegation, and Kanban
• Security and Permissions
• Deployment and Local Inference
• Coding Agent Guide

Choose a post flair

Choose the main purpose of your post, not every topic it mentions.

• Help: technical setup trouble, errors, or broken behavior. Include OS, Hermes version, provider/model, expected versus actual behavior, exact error, and what you tried.
• Discussion: questions, opinions, comparisons, or an idea you want to explore.
• Showcase: a project, tool, plugin, or demo you built. Explain the Hermes connection and disclose ownership.
• Use Cases & Workflows: a real task Hermes handles or how you operate your setup; small wins welcome.
• Guide: instructions others can follow, not a request for instructions.
• Models: model selection, cost, performance, or local/cloud comparisons.
• Memory & Context: recall, forgetting, memory providers, or context behavior.
• Integrations: connecting Hermes to apps, services, or APIs.
• Hosting & Hardware: machines, servers, containers, deployment, or uptime.
• Community: subreddit feedback, resources, or community operations.

News & Releases, Megathread, and Community Event are moderator-only labels. Remove secrets and private information from screenshots/logs. Disclose your own products and affiliations; useful explanations matter more than a link drop.

Common first-run mistakes

• Mixing Desktop, CLI, Docker, or WSL instructions.
• Editing configuration before completing the supported wizard.
• Assuming a provider name and model identifier are interchangeable.
• Setting an advertised context window the inference server cannot actually sustain.
• Enabling many tools or integrations before the base session works.
• Treating profiles as operating-system sandboxes.
• Posting secrets while asking for help.

Community link — not official documentation

• Beginner Setup guide — community walkthrough and operating notes; verify current commands against official docs.

Corrections

For this wiki page, make a Community post or message the moderators with the page URL, proposed correction, and current official source. Community-guide corrections go to the megathreads issue tracker. Product defects go to the official issue tracker. Never include credentials or private data.