Hermes Agent
Hermes Agent, by Nous Research, is a task agent with tools and a scheduler that you can reach from your messaging apps. Netkeel installs it on its own server, puts its dashboard on a web address with HTTPS and a password, and keeps it running, backed up and updated.
Set it up
Section titled “Set it up”- Create a server and choose Hermes Agent under 2 Application. It uses Nginx only, and only sizes with at least 2 GB of memory are shown.
- When the server is Online, add a website to it, with your domain or with No domain yet? Start without one. This website is the agent’s dashboard. A Hermes Agent server runs one agent, so it holds one website.
- Netkeel sets the agent up on its own. Open the website and go to Hosting › AI agent to follow it. The first setup takes a few minutes.
If the setup fails, the card says why. Click Install again to retry.
Save the credentials
Section titled “Save the credentials”The Credentials card shows:
- Site username and Site password: the password in front of the dashboard.
- Dashboard username and Dashboard password: Hermes Agent’s own sign-in.
They are shown once by themselves. Keep them somewhere safe. Later, click Show credentials to see them again. You can change the site password under Password & access; it always stays on for an agent’s website.
Open the dashboard
Section titled “Open the dashboard”Click Open dashboard. Sign in with the site username and password, then on the agent’s own sign-in page with the dashboard username and password.
Add your keys
Section titled “Add your keys”Under Keys and settings, add the keys the agent needs. Common names include:
- AI providers:
OPENROUTER_API_KEY,ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,OPENAI_API_KEY,OPENAI_BASE_URL - Messaging apps:
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN,DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN,SLACK_BOT_TOKEN - Who may talk to the agent:
TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS,DISCORD_ALLOWED_USERS,SLACK_ALLOWED_USERS,GATEWAY_ALLOWED_USERS
You can add other names too. Saved values are never shown again; to keep one, leave it empty when you edit the list. Saving restarts the agent. Some names are set by Netkeel and can’t be changed; the editor tells you if you use one.
Say who may talk to the agent
Section titled “Say who may talk to the agent”Each messaging app token needs a list of the people allowed to use it, or the panel won’t save it:
| Token | Also set one of |
|---|---|
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN |
TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS or GATEWAY_ALLOWED_USERS |
DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN |
DISCORD_ALLOWED_USERS or GATEWAY_ALLOWED_USERS |
SLACK_BOT_TOKEN |
SLACK_ALLOWED_USERS or GATEWAY_ALLOWED_USERS |
For example, put your Telegram user ID in TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS.
Start, stop and restart
Section titled “Start, stop and restart”The Status card shows whether the agent is Running, Starting, Stopped or Failed, with its Uptime, Restarts and Health.
- Start starts a stopped agent, and Restart restarts a running one.
- Stop stops the agent. It stops answering on your messaging apps, and the dashboard shows an error page until you start it again.
Recent log shows the agent’s latest output, with your keys and credentials hidden. Click Refresh to read it again.
Update Hermes Agent
Section titled “Update Hermes Agent”The top card shows the Version you run and the Latest version Netkeel offers. When a newer one is available, click Update to that version and confirm.
Netkeel takes a backup first, then restarts the agent on the new version. If it doesn’t start within two minutes, the previous version and its data are put back automatically.
New credentials
Section titled “New credentials”Click Generate new credentials to set the agent up again with a new site password and new dashboard sign-in details. The old ones stop working, and signed-in browsers have to sign in again. Your keys, settings and data are kept.
Backups
Section titled “Backups”The agent’s data is backed up with the website’s automatic backups. The agent is paused briefly while a backup is taken.
Who can do what
Section titled “Who can do what”The Owner and Super admins see the credentials, change the keys, set the agent up again and update it. Collaborators with access to the website can see its status and log, and start, stop or restart it. They don’t get the file manager, SSH and SFTP or backup downloads for an agent’s website. See Team members.
What is not available
Section titled “What is not available”- Running a scheduled job right away from the dashboard doesn’t work. Scheduled jobs still run on their schedule.
- The local browser tool: no web browser is installed on the server. Browser tools that use a cloud browser service still work.
- Hermes Agent’s own update command doesn’t work. Netkeel updates the agent for you (see Update Hermes Agent).
- Staging, cloning and moving to another server are not available for an agent’s website.