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4.7 out of 5 stars. Excellent.
4.7(560)

Hermes Agent

Self-improving open-source agent CLI from Nous Research with memory, cron scheduling, tools, skills, MCP, and multi-provider routing.

Free·Best for ·1 min
Updated May 6, 2026Certified
APIOpen SourceSelf-HostedFree Tier
1

What is Hermes Agent?

Hermes Agent is an open-source AI agent CLI from Nous Research for coding, research, and development tasks in the terminal. It is built around a closed learning loop: persistent memory, skill creation from experience, session search, scheduled automations, subagents, tool streaming, and messaging gateways. Hermes supports providers including Nous Portal, OpenRouter, NVIDIA NIM, z.ai/GLM, Kimi/Moonshot, MiniMax, Hugging Face Inference Providers, OpenAI, and custom endpoints, making it a strong OpenClaw alternative for developers who care about memory and provider flexibility.

Best for: Persistent memory · Self-improving agent workflows · Multi-provider routing · Cron-based automations

Hermes Agent interface
2

Developer Stack Fit

Engineering evaluation

Quick read on where Hermes Agent fits in a software team's AI stack. Validate final fit against your codebase, data policy, and deployment model.

Methodology
Stack layer
Self-Hosted
Deployment model
Self-hosted or local option
Open-source status
Yes or source-available
API support
API or integration-friendly
MCP support
MCP-related support found
Security posture
Stronger controls worth validating
Best use case
Persistent memory

Product media

Interface proof

Hermes Agent product screenshot 1
3

Key Features

  1. 01

    Multi-provider routing across Nous Portal, OpenRouter, NVIDIA NIM, Hugging Face, OpenAI, and custom endpoints

    Native multi-provider routing with fallbacks

  2. 02

    Built-in cron scheduling with platform-specific delivery

    Built-in cron scheduling and messaging gateway

  3. 03

    Persistent memory, session search, and self-improving skills

    Self-improvement, persistent memory, and skill creation

  4. 04

    Subagent delegation for parallel workstreams

    A core development capability that teams use daily.

  5. 05

    Messaging gateway for Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, and email

    A core development capability that teams use daily.

  6. 06

    CLI mode with rich terminal UI and slash commands

    A core development capability that teams use daily.

  7. 07

    40+ tools and toolset system

    A core development capability that teams use daily.

  8. 08

    MCP integration for extended capabilities

    A core development capability that teams use daily.

  9. 09

    Multiple terminal backends including local, Docker, SSH, Singularity, Modal, Daytona, and Vercel Sandbox

    A core development capability that teams use daily.

  10. 10

    OpenClaw migration command for existing users

    A core development capability that teams use daily.

4

Pros & Cons

What stands out

  • Strong memory and self-improvement story for long-running agents
  • Cron system is first-class, not bolted on
  • Multi-provider routing is useful for cost and model flexibility
  • Terminal, messaging gateway, tools, MCP, and subagents in one stack
  • Python stack familiar to most developers

Watch outs

  • Smaller community than OpenClaw
  • Fewer third-party tutorials than the largest agent projects
  • Always-on agents still need tool approvals, sandboxing, and credential hygiene
  • Advanced deployment choices can be confusing for first-time users
5

Pricing Plans

Hermes Agent Pricing

Choose the perfect plan for your needs. All plans include our core features with different usage limits and advanced capabilities.

0 day free trial available on all paid plans
Most Popular

Open Source

Free
Free and open-source (MIT license)
Multi-provider routing across hosted and local-compatible endpoints
Built-in cron scheduler with delivery targets
Persistent memory, session search, and skill creation from experience
Terminal UI plus messaging gateway for Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, and email
40+ tools and toolset system
MCP integration
Multiple terminal backends including local, Docker, SSH, Singularity, Modal, Daytona, and Vercel Sandbox
Get Started Free

Need a Custom Solution?

Looking for enterprise features or custom pricing? Contact Hermes Agent directly for tailored solutions.

Contact Sales

Most teams land on the Open Source plan.

6

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7

FAQ

What is Hermes Agent and how does it work?

Hermes Agent is a development tool that self-improving open-source agent cli from nous research with memory, cron scheduling, tools, skills, mcp, and multi-provider routing.. It uses AI to help users improve productivity through analyzing input and generating relevant output.

Is Hermes Agent free to use?

Hermes Agent offers a completely free plan. You can get started without paying anything.

Is there a free plan or trial?

Hermes Agent doesn't offer a traditional free trial, but provides a money-back guarantee on paid plans.

What can Hermes Agent do?

Personal AI assistant with advanced automation
Multi-provider cost optimization
Scheduled content and engagement automation
Coding, research, and terminal development tasks
Long-running worker agent on a VPS or cloud environment
Blog and content pipeline automation

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