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Windows users: Native Windows is not supported. Install WSL2 first, then follow these steps inside your WSL2 terminal.
1

Install Hermes

Run the one-line installer. It handles Python, Node.js, all dependencies, and the hermes command — no prerequisites except git.
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
The installer clones the repo to ~/.hermes/hermes-agent, creates a virtual environment, installs all packages, and symlinks the hermes binary into ~/.local/bin.
2

Reload your shell

Apply the PATH changes the installer added to your shell config:
source ~/.bashrc
3

Run the setup wizard

Configure your LLM provider and API key with the interactive wizard:
hermes setup
The wizard walks you through:
  1. Choosing an inference provider (Nous Portal, OpenRouter, Anthropic, and more)
  2. Entering your API key or logging in via OAuth
  3. Selecting a default model
  4. Optionally configuring the terminal backend, messaging platforms, and tools
You can re-run any section later with hermes setup model, hermes setup tools, etc.
4

Pick a model

To change your model at any time without re-running the full wizard:
hermes model
This opens an interactive provider and model picker. Your selection is saved to ~/.hermes/config.yaml.
5

Start chatting

Launch the interactive terminal UI:
hermes
On first launch you’ll see the Hermes banner, your configured provider and model, and a prompt ready for your first message:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  ⚕ Hermes Agent                                        │
│  Model: anthropic/claude-opus-4.6  Provider: openrouter │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

> _
Type your first message and press Enter. Hermes streams tool output and thinking in real time as it works.

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What’s next

See Installation for advanced install options including manual setup, updating, and uninstalling. See Your first conversation for a walkthrough of slash commands, tool output, and provider configuration.

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