Hermes Agent
Open-source agent that learnsMIT-licensed open-source agent from Nous Research with persistent memory, self-created skills, a cron scheduler and a multi-platform messaging gateway.
- Maker
- Nous Research
- Founded
- 2023
- Pricing
- Free tier
- Last checked
- October 2026
Verdict
MIT-licensed open-source agent from Nous Research with persistent memory, self-created skills, a cron scheduler and a multi-platform messaging gateway.
Score breakdown
vs n8n, the category leaderDevelopers and power users who want a persistent, self-hostable agent that builds up skills and memory over time.
Key features
- Closed learning loop: autonomous skill creation and improvement from experience
- Agent-curated memory, FTS5 session search with LLM summarization, Honcho user modeling
- Gateway for Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal and CLI with cross-platform continuity
- Built-in cron scheduler for recurring automations
- Subagent spawning for parallel workstreams
- Seven terminal backends: local, Docker, SSH, Singularity, Modal, Daytona, Vercel
- Command approval system, DM pairing and container isolation options
Strengths
- +Built-in learning loop: creates and refines its own skills, keeps persistent memory and searches past sessions
- +Free and MIT-licensed; runs anywhere from a roughly $5 VPS to serverless platforms such as Modal and Daytona
- +Provider-flexible: Nous Portal, OpenRouter, OpenAI or any custom endpoint
- +Messaging gateway (Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal), built-in cron scheduler and subagents
Weaknesses
- −Newer and less battle-tested than the hosted agents; an autonomous, self-modifying agent needs oversight
- −Command-line-first setup and configuration; best suited to technical users
- −Security is largely your responsibility: command approval, DM pairing and container isolation exist but must be configured for your risk level
- −Quality depends on the model you connect, and the optional Tool Gateway adds a subscription cost
Overview
Overview
Hermes Agent is an open-source (MIT) autonomous agent from Nous Research, the AI lab founded in 2023 that is known for its open-weight Hermes models and the Psyche decentralized training network. Its repository has passed 250,000 GitHub stars. The pitch is a closed learning loop: after complex tasks the agent writes reusable skills, refines them during use, keeps curated persistent memory, searches prior sessions and builds a model of the user across conversations.
It runs on Linux, macOS, WSL2, Windows, Nix and Android (Termux), installs with a single shell command, and works with Nous Portal, OpenRouter, OpenAI or any custom endpoint. A messaging gateway connects it to Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp and Signal, while a cron scheduler, subagents and seven terminal backends (including Docker, SSH, Modal and Daytona) let it run unattended on cheap or serverless infrastructure. Nous Research was reported in July 2026 to be finalizing a roughly $75M round at a $1.5B valuation, with Hermes pitched at enterprise operations.
The trade-offs are typical of open, autonomous agents. Setup and tuning are developer-oriented, an agent that writes its own skills and acts across your accounts needs approval rules and isolation configured deliberately, and results depend heavily on the model behind it. We found no widely reported security incident comparable to those around OpenClaw6.4 out of 10, but the project is young and independent verification of its reliability is limited. For hosted alternatives see Claude Code8.3 out of 10 or Manus6.8 out of 10.
Key Benefits
- Gets better with use: Skills and memory accumulate, so repeated workflows need less prompting.
- Cheap to host: Runs on a small VPS or hibernating serverless environments.
- No lock-in: MIT license and any model provider.
- Reach it anywhere: One gateway across major chat platforms with continuity between them.
Use Cases
- Always-on personal or ops agent — Schedule recurring tasks with cron and receive results in chat.
- Developer automation — Run coding and shell tasks in Docker or remote backends with command approval.
- Research and knowledge accumulation — Let the agent retain context and searchable history across sessions.
- Parallel workstreams — Spawn subagents for independent tasks.
Pricing
Checked October 2026 · USD- Full agent under the MIT license (CLI and desktop app)
- Bring your own model provider or use Nous Portal
- Optional Tool Gateway (web search, image generation, TTS, browser) via subscription