How to Install Hermes Agent: Open-Source AI Agent Guide — 2026
Hermes Agent is a free, open-source AI agent framework from Nous Research — the same category as Claude Code (Anthropic) and Codex (OpenAI). It runs in your terminal and across telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, and more, with tool access on every platform, not just chat.
It works with 20+ model providers (OpenRouter, Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek, Google Gemini, local models) on Linux, macOS, and Windows WSL.
What makes it different
🟢 Self-improving skills — saves reusable procedures that load into future sessions and get better at your specific tasks 🟢 Persistent memory — remembers who you are, preferences, and environment across sessions 🟢 Multi-platform gateway — one agent on 10+ messaging platforms with full tools 🟢 Provider-agnostic — swap models mid-workflow; credential pools rotate keys automatically 🟢 Extensible — plugins, MCP servers, custom tools, cron scheduling, webhooks
Install (under 2 minutes)
Open your terminal and run:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
Restart the terminal, then verify:
hermes --version
hermes doctor
First setup
Run the interactive wizard and pick your provider/model:
hermes setup
hermes model
Add your API key to ~/.hermes/.env. Common keys:
🟢 OpenRouter — OPENROUTER_API_KEY
🟢 Anthropic — ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
🟢 DeepSeek — DEEPSEEK_API_KEY
🟢 Google Gemini — GOOGLE_API_KEY
Run it
🟢 Interactive chat — hermes
🟢 One-off query — hermes chat -q "What is the capital of France?"
🟢 Resume session — hermes --continue
Connect messaging platforms
hermes gateway setup
hermes gateway install
This runs the agent as a full bot on Telegram, Discord, WhatsApp, and more — a real conversion channel for UAE businesses.
Config lives in ~/.hermes/config.yaml; keys in ~/.hermes/.env.
For a business, the win is cost control (the framework is free; you only pay your chosen model), full privacy (runs locally), and the ability to run a customer-service agent inside your own Telegram channel or WhatsApp group. At Katbi we test open tools hands-on before recommending them.
📚 AI Agents Guide for UAE Businesses 📚 How Much Do AI Agents Cost in the UAE?
How Katbi Helps
At Katbi Digital Solutions we test open-source AI tools before recommending them, then build real client solutions on top:
🤖 AI Agents — automate operations and repetitive work 📱 Customer-service bots — Telegram and WhatsApp with your own knowledge base 🌐 Smart apps & systems — integrate with your current stack under clear security standards 📊 AI consulting — help you choose the right tool before you pay
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