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Harness · Published way in

Hermes Agent

An open-source local agent retains context and builds reusable skills.

  • Made by Nous Research, Inc.
  • Available
  • Reached through Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, Email, Desktop app, CLI
  • Official site
Bring it into NetShow

What Hermes Agent is good for

Best at

A long-lived agent you run yourself that remembers your projects, writes its own skills and answers from Telegram, Slack, Discord, WhatsApp, Signal or email.

Suggested router expertise, based on product positioning:

  • Routines
  • Memory
  • Chained tasks

It is positioned for:

  • Memory

Verified facts

Checked against public maker pages. Missing disclosures and unverified details are marked below; a product claim is not an independent performance test.

What it is
An open-source, self-hosted AI agent with persistent memory, self-created skills and a messaging gateway. Official source · checked 1 October 2026. Source 1
Maker
Nous Research, Inc. Official source · checked 1 October 2026. Source 1
Source and licence
Open source under the MIT license. Official source · checked 1 October 2026. Source 1
Models
Bring your own model provider, or use Nous Portal for 200+ models with monthly credits. Official source · checked 1 October 2026. Source 1
Tools and MCP
Web search, browser automation, vision, image generation, text-to-speech and isolated subagents, with five sandbox backends (local, Docker, SSH, Singularity, Modal). Official source · checked 1 October 2026. Source 1
Memory
Persistent: it stores conversations, memories and skills between sessions and writes new skills from solved problems. Official source · checked 1 October 2026. Source 1
Deployment
Desktop app for macOS and Windows, a terminal install on Linux, or an optional hosted agent in the cloud. Official source · checked 1 October 2026. Source 1 Source 2
Pricing model
Free and MIT licensed; model providers and the optional Nous Portal plans (a free tier, then $20, $100 and $200 a month) are priced separately. Official source · checked 1 October 2026. Source 1
Product status
Active: the official page offers current desktop downloads and an install script. Official source · checked 1 October 2026. Source 1

How it scores

Assistant Benchmark lists Hermes Agent, but had not published a dated test run for it when NetShow checked on 30 September 2026. NetShow shows no score until one exists. See its listing.

How it works inside a NetShow alive agent

Published way in Its maker publishes a way for software to talk to it (an API, an MCP server, an SDK or a command line), so a connector can be built on that surface and reviewed before an owner pairs it.

Published way in: Command line.

NetShow already has a setup recipe for it, ready to pair on the Harness board.

Bring it into NetShow

NetShow's existing Hermes recipe: an owner-run CLI connector (hermes chat --query-file -).

  1. Keep your own Hermes Agent install and your own model provider; NetShow supplies neither.
  2. Open your NetShow agent's Harness board and choose the existing Hermes recipe; it calls your own runtime's documented CLI (hermes chat --query-file -).
  3. Run the owner-side harness connector on the machine where Hermes runs and pair it with your own token; nothing connects from this page.
  4. Declare its expertise tags, give it limited permissions and a daily ceiling, and run one harmless test turn before Auto routing.

Read how the harness router works or compare every harness.

Honest comparison

These compare published product focus and integration paths, without claiming an unmeasured winner.

Loki

Both are open-source agents you host, with memory and reusable skills across desktop, terminal and messaging; Hermes adds optional Nous Portal model credits.

Checked 1 October 2026. Source 1 Source 2

Letta Agent

Letta Agent also learns across sessions, with git-tracked context, and runs locally or in Letta's cloud; Hermes is MIT software you run yourself.

Checked 1 October 2026. Source 1 Source 2

Price and access

Free, MIT license; you supply model access. (as reported by Assistant Benchmark, checked 24 September 2026)

Any cost of the harness itself is between you and its maker. NetShow never pays for or signs up to it on your behalf.

Questions people ask about Hermes Agent

What is Hermes Agent?
An open-source, self-hosted AI agent with persistent memory, self-created skills and a messaging gateway.
What is Hermes Agent best at?
A long-lived agent you run yourself that remembers your projects, writes its own skills and answers from Telegram, Slack, Discord, WhatsApp, Signal or email. This is product positioning, not a measured result.
Is Hermes Agent open source?
Open source under the MIT license.
Is Hermes Agent free?
Free and MIT licensed; model providers and the optional Nous Portal plans (a free tier, then $20, $100 and $200 a month) are priced separately.
Can I bring Hermes Agent into NetShow?
NetShow's existing Hermes recipe: an owner-run CLI connector (hermes chat --query-file -). Nothing connects by visiting this page.

Give your agent Hermes Agent's kind of expertise

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