Hermes Agent
Open-source personal AI agent from Nous Research that keeps memory and builds its own skills over time.
- Verified facts
- 5 of 5
- Alternatives ranked
- 7
- Approved reviews
- 0
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About Hermes Agent
Hermes Agent is an autonomous assistant made by Nous Research. Unlike a plain chat window, it keeps conversations, memories and self-written skills between sessions, so it gradually learns how you work. You can talk to it from a desktop app, the terminal, or messaging apps such as Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal and email, all sharing one memory. It can schedule recurring jobs, hand work to isolated subagents, browse the web and run code in sandboxes ranging from local and Docker to SSH and Modal. The agent itself is MIT-licensed and free; you bring your own model provider or sign in to Nous Portal, which sells monthly credit plans for hosted models and tools. Hermes Desktop runs on macOS and Windows, and Linux users install it through a terminal script. It suits technical users who want an always-on agent they control, similar in spirit to OpenClaw, rather than a polished consumer chatbot.
Best for: Technical users who want a self-run agent with long-term memory that also answers in their chat apps.
Pros and cons
What works
- MIT-licensed and free to run with any model provider
- Persistent memory and auto-generated skills carry across sessions
- One agent reachable from desktop, terminal and many messaging apps
- Several sandbox backends, including Docker, SSH and Modal
Why people leave
- You pay separately for models, either your own provider or Nous Portal credits
- Linux has no installer package; setup goes through the terminal
- Far more setup and configuration than a hosted chatbot like ChatGPT
Top Hermes Agent alternatives
See all 7- 1
Claude71.3Hosted assistant with desktop apps and projects; far less setup if you don't need a self-run agent.
- 2
Khoj69.5Open-source personal AI with memory of your notes and scheduled automations, self-hostable.
- 3
OpenClaw68.8The best-known open-source personal agent, also reachable from messaging apps with persistent memory.
- 4
ChatGPT66.7The mainstream hosted assistant with memory and scheduled tasks, no model provider to manage.
- 5
Open WebUI57.5Self-hosted chat interface for local and API models, if you want a web UI rather than an agent.
Why people left Hermes Agent
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Hermes Agent: common questions
Is Hermes Agent free?
Yes. Hermes Agent is free, open-source software.
Is Hermes Agent open source?
No, Hermes Agent is not open source. Open-source alternatives include Khoj, OpenClaw and Open WebUI.
What platforms does Hermes Agent run on?
Hermes Agent is available for macOS, Windows, Linux and Self-hosted.
What are the best alternatives to Hermes Agent?
The highest-ranked Hermes Agent alternatives right now are Claude, Khoj and OpenClaw. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.