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<a href="../../index.html" class="back">← Back to derez.ai</a>
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<h1>Hermes Agent Setup Guide: From Zero to Your First AI Agent</h1>
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<div class="meta">
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<span class="area-tag">Tutorial</span>
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<span class="chip-tag">Hermes Agent</span>
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<span>June 10, 2026</span>
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<span>· 6 min read</span>
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</div>
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<p>Hermes Agent (by <a href="https://nousresearch.com?utm_source=derez" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nous Research</a>) is an open-source AI agent framework that turns any Linux server into an autonomous digital worker. It reads files, runs shell commands, writes code, manages background processes, and follows chronological schedules — all through a natural language persona that you define.</p>
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<p>In this guide, you'll go from a blank server to a running Hermes agent with custom skills, a configured persona, and automated cron jobs. <strong>No manual SSH required</strong> — the derez.ai dashboard handles provisioning, so you start at the good part.</p>
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<h2>What You'll Need</h2>
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<ul>
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<li>A <a href="https://derez.ai">derez.ai</a> account ($4.99/mo with first-month coupon codes)</li>
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<li>An OpenRouter API key (or any OpenAI-compatible provider)</li>
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<li>About 10 minutes</li>
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</ul>
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<h2>Step 1: Provision Your Agent Instance</h2>
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<p>From the derez.ai dashboard at <strong>app.derez.ai</strong>, click <strong>Create Agent</strong>. The platform spins up a dedicated Linux instance pre-configured with Python 3.11, the Hermes runtime, and all dependencies. You'll receive:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>Full SSH access (root) to your instance</li>
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<li>A dashboard URL for the Hermes web UI</li>
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<li>Automatic daily backups with 7-day retention</li>
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<li>Automatic SSL/TLS certificates</li>
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</ul>
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<p>Provisioning takes about 60 seconds. When the status changes to <strong>Running</strong>, you're ready.</p>
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<div class="tip-box">
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<strong>💡 Pro tip:</strong> Use coupon code <code>friends950</code> or <code>creator950</code> at signup to get your first month for $0.50 — a full $9.50 discount.
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</div>
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<h2>Step 2: Configure Your Agent Persona</h2>
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<p>The <strong>agent persona</strong> is the single most important file in Hermes. Located at <code>~/.hermes/AGENT_PERSONA.md</code>, it defines the agent's identity, tone, and behavioral rules. Every message the agent sends is shaped by this file — it's not just a system prompt, it's the agent's operating charter.</p>
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<p>Here's a simple persona for a customer success agent:</p>
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<div class="prompt-box">
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<strong>AGENT_PERSONA.md</strong><br><br>
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You are Mark, a Customer Success Agent for derez.ai.<br><br>
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- You are helpful, concise, and proactive.<br>
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- You monitor new signups and send welcome messages.<br>
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- You check server health daily and flag issues.<br>
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- You speak like a knowledgeable colleague, not a robot.<br><br>
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Tool-use rules:<br>
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- Always verify before acting — double-check destructive commands.<br>
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- Use terminal for shell commands, process for background tasks.<br>
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- When blocked, report the blocker — never fabricate results.
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</div>
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<p>You can edit this file directly from the derez.ai dashboard's file manager, or via SSH. The agent reloads it on each conversation turn, so changes take effect immediately.</p>
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<h2>Step 3: Install Skills</h2>
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<p>Skills are the agent's capabilities — they extend what it can do. Skills live in <code>~/.hermes/skills/</code> and are plain Markdown files with structured frontmatter and tool-calling instructions.</p>
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<p>To install a skill, create a file in the skills directory:</p>
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<pre><code># ~/.hermes/skills/server-health.md
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---
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name: server-health
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description: Monitor server health metrics and alert on anomalies
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---
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You are an SRE assistant. Check these metrics daily:
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1. Disk usage — alert above 80%
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2. Memory usage — alert above 85%
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3. Load average — investigate if > 4.0
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4. Uptime — report days since last reboot
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5. Failed SSH logins — flag brute-force attempts
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Report findings in a single summary block. Escalate critical issues.</code></pre>
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<p>Hermes scans the skills directory at startup. Each skill file becomes available as a command the agent can invoke contextually. You can also load a skill mid-conversation with <code>skill_view(name='server-health')</code> — a powerful pattern for pulling in specialized knowledge on demand.</p>
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<h2>Step 4: Set Up Cron Jobs</h2>
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<p>One of Hermes' most powerful features is its built-in cron scheduler. Instead of writing crontab entries manually, you register schedules that wake the agent at specific times to perform tasks autonomously.</p>
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<p>Cron jobs live in <code>~/.hermes/cron/</code> as YAML files:</p>
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<pre><code># ~/.hermes/cron/daily-health-check.yaml
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schedule: "0 6 * * *" # Every day at 06:00
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skill: server-health
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output: report # Send result as a report
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---
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# ~/.hermes/cron/weekly-backup-report.yaml
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schedule: "0 9 * * 1" # Every Monday at 09:00
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skill: backup-verification
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output: report
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notify_on_complete: true # Get notified when done</code></pre>
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<p>The agent wakes at the scheduled time, loads the specified skill, runs the task, and reports back. This works even while your agent is in the middle of other conversations — Hermes handles concurrent execution gracefully.</p>
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<h2>Step 5: Test Your Agent</h2>
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<p>Open the Hermes web UI (available from your derez.ai dashboard) and start a conversation. Try these test prompts:</p>
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<ul>
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<li><em>"What's my server health look like today?"</em></li>
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<li><em>"Check which cron jobs are scheduled and show me the next 3 runs."</em></li>
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<li><em>"List all installed skills and describe what each one does."</em></li>
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<li><em>"Run a quick disk usage check and tell me if anything needs attention."</em></li>
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</ul>
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<p>The agent will reference its persona, load the relevant skills, and execute the appropriate tools — all in one response. You can watch it run commands live in the terminal output panel.</p>
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<h2>Going Further</h2>
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<p>Once the basics are running, here's what you can layer on:</p>
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<ul>
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<li><strong>Plugins</strong> — Drop Python scripts into <code>~/.hermes/plugins/</code> for custom tool integrations (databases, APIs, webhooks)</li>
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<li><strong>Memories</strong> — Persistent knowledge stored in <code>~/.hermes/memories/</code> that survives conversation resets</li>
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<li><strong>Profiles</strong> — Multiple agent configurations (<code>~/.hermes/profiles/<name>/</code>) that you can switch between for different roles</li>
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<li><strong>Background processes</strong> — Launch long-running tasks (web scrapers, data pipelines, monitoring loops) that the agent manages independently</li>
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</ul>
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<div class="tip-box">
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<strong>🔗 Related:</strong> See our <a href="https://derez.ai/blog/posts/speed-run-odoo-community-agent.html">Speed Run: Odoo Community Agent</a> tutorial for a real-world example — connecting Hermes to an Odoo database and pulling leads automatically.
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</div>
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<h2>Troubleshooting</h2>
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<h3>Agent not responding</h3>
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<p>Check that the agent process is running: <code>ps aux | grep hermes</code>. From the derez.ai dashboard, you can restart the agent with one click.</p>
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<h3>Skills not loading</h3>
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<p>Verify the file is in the correct directory (<code>~/.hermes/skills/</code>) with <code>.md</code> extension. Check the YAML frontmatter is valid — missing <code>---</code> delimiters will silently skip the file.</p>
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<h3>Cron jobs not firing</h3>
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<p>Make sure the Hermes process that manages cron (typically <code>hermesd</code>) is running as a background service. Check with <code>process(action='list')</code> from the agent, or verify the service status from the dashboard.</p>
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<h3>Tool errors</h3>
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<p>If the agent reports tool execution failures, check the system dependencies listed in your skill files. The agent will tell you exactly which command failed and why — it never silently drops errors.</p>
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<div class="cta-box">
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<h3>Ready to build your agent?</h3>
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<p>Get a dedicated Hermes agent instance with full SSH access, automatic backups, and a managed dashboard — starting at $0.50 for your first month.</p>
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<a href="https://derez.ai" class="cta-button">Create Your Agent →</a>
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</div>
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