# How I Hermes [![How I Hermes](https://duarteocarmo.com/images/106/banner.webp)](https://duarteocarmo.com/images/106/banner.webp) In January this year, [OpenClaw](https://openclaw.ai/) went viral. You probably heard about it. My guess is some of you even use it - or at least tried to. I certainly did. I remember it clearly. I installed it, and very quickly noticed I was now spending time debugging a [cron job](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/cron/) created by an AI agent - in what looked like a pretty messy code base. Quickly deleted it after that episode. A couple months later I decided to download [Hermes Agent](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/). I must admit, I've been using it pretty much every day since then. I was hooked. Let's talk about it. What the Hermes Agent is, and isn't ----------------------------------- [Nous Research](https://nousresearch.com/) is a research lab that first got popular by building uncensored models. After the OpenClaw boom, they launched their own version of it: [Hermes Agent](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/). An always-on agent that runs on your computer and can act as your personal assistant. It's like a ChatGPT that has 24/7 access to your computer, can read/edit files, can browse the web, can write code, etc. You talk to it via the terminal, a web interface, messaging apps (Telegram, WhatsApp), or even a [desktop app](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/desktop). Once you install it, you configure the agent by creating (or installing) [skills](https://agentskills.io/home). More on that below. Hermes is not a plug-and-play experience. Do not expect to just install it and be amazed. You can even follow a [tutorial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ve4Atbqmoo) and still not get much out of it. You need to make it your own. You need to spend a considerable amount of time doing it. It reminds me a bit of Vim. [![Saramago running as my Hermes Agent in Telegram](https://duarteocarmo.com/images/106/cover-mockups.webp)](https://duarteocarmo.com/images/106/cover-mockups.webp) Saramago, my Hermes agent. Reminding me to take out the garbage, and monitoring my GPU-bound jobs. My agent setup: Saramago ------------------------ There's a pretty recent [meme of programmers leaving their laptops open.](https://www.businessinsider.com/coders-keep-laptops-open-in-public-ai-agent-2026-5). I don't like to keep my computer open in random places. I'm also not particularly interested in having an agent running freely inside my main machine. Fortunately, for the past 5 years, I've been running most of my remote computing on a [refurbished Hetzner server](https://duarteocarmo.com/blog/how-i-self-host-in-2024.html). For a fixed monthly price, I have my own Debian machine that is available 24/7. This is where Saramago (yes, I gave him a name) runs. To keep things simple and reliable - I talk to Saramago via Telegram. I've heard WhatsApp is a bit flaky. And streaming message support in Telegram is great! Right now, Saramago runs primarily on three models. DeepSeek V4 (flash or pro depending on task complexity) - through the [official DeepSeek API](https://api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/pricing), which is dirt cheap. For the most important things - I run GPT 5.5 via my Codex subscription. I tend to experiment every now and then with new models and see how they perform. I would also love to tell you the story of how I use a fully local, private, open-source model, but we're not there yet. Enough babbling. What about use cases? Use case 1: Coding on the go ---------------------------- [![Saramago helping with coding tasks from Telegram](https://duarteocarmo.com/images/106/code-mockups.webp)](https://duarteocarmo.com/images/106/code-mockups.webp) Creating PRs and iterating on the go. The first use case is the most obvious one. Having Hermes is a bit like having a [insert your favourite coding agent here] that is available 24/7 on the go. I don't use it when I need to do especially *deep* work. But it's very nice for small annoyances while I am on the go. It has access to the [GitHub CLI](https://cli.github.com/) and a GitHub CLI skill so it can interact with any repo. So whenever I want to fix a broken pipeline, a typo on this blog, a small fix - it just creates a PR and sends me a link for review. Use case 2: Setting dynamic/reactive reminders ---------------------------------------------- [![Saramago handling conditional reminders in Telegram](https://duarteocarmo.com/images/106/reminders-mockups.webp)](https://duarteocarmo.com/images/106/reminders-mockups.webp) Creating conditional reminders on the go. I'm a big [TickTick](https://ticktick.com/) user. It's my go-to todo app. It runs my life. But there is a certain type of reminder that TickTick is just not able to do. Some examples: * "Remind me to pack up my rain jacket if it rains outside tomorrow" * "Remind me which type of trash to bring outside for pickup tomorrow" - This is complicated, [especially in Italy](https://www.atarifiuti.an.it/comuni.php?idcomune=36&pag=calendario). * “Remind me to email X if I don’t get that email in my inbox” Hermes also knows when to stay silent. If it doesn't rain tomorrow it just won't text me, instead of texting me - "Hey - no rain tomorrow". Which is just annoying. Use case 3: Monitoring long-running jobs ---------------------------------------- [![Saramago monitoring long-running jobs from Telegram](https://duarteocarmo.com/images/106/monitoring-mockups.webp)](https://duarteocarmo.com/images/106/monitoring-mockups.webp) No terminal babysitting. Saramago does it for me. More often than not, I run long-running jobs on remote computers. Sometimes it's a large GPU training run. Sometimes it's a long-running data parsing or enrichment job. Can be anything really. I used to have to click a browser, ssh into a server, leave tmux open, and see if anything broke. Now - Saramago can do it for me. "SSH into the machine X and give me an update on the running job every 15 mins - turn off the machine when done". By giving access to CLIs/SDKs, like the [vast.ai CLI](https://vast.ai/developers/cli), the whole loop is automated. Use case 4: Managing my calendar for me --------------------------------------- I'm not particularly proud of it. But most of my email runs on Gmail. Saramago has access to the [Google Workspace CLI](https://github.com/googleworkspace/cli). It can read my email, check my calendar - and interact with both. This unlocks yet another space for convenient automations. "Check email for the last train trip and add it to my calendar". "Every time a new email comes in - if it mentions a work location - add an all-day event to my calendar". Most of the useful (and not dangerous) things here come from the agent connecting your email to your calendar better than Google does. Use case 5: Choosing flights ---------------------------- [![Saramago comparing flight options in Telegram](https://duarteocarmo.com/images/106/flights-mockups.webp)](https://duarteocarmo.com/images/106/flights-mockups.webp) The future of flight search: Matplotlib. "An agent that books flights for you" is the dream that has been sold to us for many years. An LLM taking pictures of a browser and trying to click around the Google Flights interface has never worked. But not anymore. Saramago has access to the [Google Flights CLI](https://github.com/punitarani/fli). That means I can search flights on my own terms. I can be as annoying as I want with my peculiar travelling choices. And plot them just the way I like. When it's time to book - I will do it. Much better than any Momondo-like experience. Use case 6: Writing and brainstorming ------------------------------------- [![Saramago helping with writing and brainstorming in Telegram](https://duarteocarmo.com/images/106/writing-mockups.webp)](https://duarteocarmo.com/images/106/writing-mockups.webp) Getting the most done before I sit at the desk. With a kid, I have less and less time in front of the actual computer. Thankfully, I have Saramago. That means that I can do a lot of the prep work on the go, and once I sit down - I can do what matters. Creating the structure for my blog post, adding the images and figcaptions, the boilerplate, etc. The agent can do that. And I can focus on the writing. Massive productivity booster. With the [Telegram API](https://core.telegram.org/api/transcribe), I can also send a voice message to Saramago, and it will understand. Telegram will transcribe automatically. Use case 7: Fitness coaching ---------------------------- [![Saramago giving fitness coaching feedback in Telegram](https://duarteocarmo.com/images/106/fitness-mockups.webp)](https://duarteocarmo.com/images/106/fitness-mockups.webp) It's getting closer to being my fitness coach. But not there yet. I like running. I have both a Garmin and an Oura ring. I've been on a quest to make Saramago my running coach. Giving me feedback after a run, preparing my next run, managing my running volume - you see what I mean. I think there's something interesting here - in connecting all the different sources of data and delivering them to me with a small text. The best success I've had was using a [custom skill I built](https://github.com/duarteocarmo/skills/tree/main/skills) + the strava-cli. But I'm still not 100% satisfied. There's a good use case there somewhere - but I'm not there yet. Why Hermes, and not something else? ----------------------------------- [OpenClaw](https://openclaw.ai/), [NemoClaw](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw), [NanoClaw](https://nanoclaw.dev/), [Nanobot](https://github.com/HKUDS/nanobot), [IronClaw](https://www.ironclaw.com/). There are a lot of alternatives out there. So why Hermes? I don't know. It's a bit like asking about tabs vs. spaces or Vim vs. Emacs. I tried 3-4 and nothing really stuck with me - except for Hermes. I didn't notice any feature impairing bugs - which was a good start. If I had to mention two things: The first is the robust [cron jobs + reminders setup](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/cron/). The agent automatically creates jobs, re-runs them at a schedule, knows when NOT to ping you. The second is the [automated skill-creation](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/skills#agent-managed-skills-skill_manage-tool). When the agent does something "complex" it creates a skill for it. Next time it needs to do it - it loads that same skill. It works really well. There's something great here. ----------------------------- Some say that tools like OpenClaw and Hermes are gigantic piles of vibe-coded slop. And I agree - some of it definitely is. There are bugs here and there. But they're getting more and more fixed. And I like Hermes' [Philosophy](https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/blob/main/AGENTS.md#contribution-rubric--what-we-want--what-we-dont) on this. But these products are also deeply interesting. They are a tinkerer's dream. With enough time and care, you can really transform them into something insanely useful. It takes time. It takes patience, and a good amount of technical expertise. It reminds me of spending time Jailbreaking my iPhone, or learning about Vim. It's fun! Not only fun - these tools are also a productivity boost - a small glance into the future. Even the big boys have noticed. [Google's Gemini Spark](https://gemini.google/overview/agent/spark/) is a good example. Let's hope they don't ruin it for the rest of us. [1](#sf-how-i-hermes-1 "I would feel bad if I didn't include a sentence or two about security. So here it is. None of these personal assistants are perfect. They are all vulnerable to the lethal trifecta. Act accordingly.") 1. I would feel bad if I didn't include a sentence or two about security. So here it is. None of these personal assistants are perfect. They are all vulnerable to the [lethal trifecta](https://simonwillison.net/2025/Jun/16/the-lethal-trifecta/). Act [accordingly](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/security/). [↩︎](#sf-how-i-hermes-1-back)