Skip to main content
Skills are markdown files containing instructions that Hermes loads on demand. They are the agent’s procedural memory: each skill captures a proven, reusable approach to a specific type of task — not general facts, but step-by-step know-how.

​
What skills are

A skill is a directory containing a SKILL.md file plus optional supporting files (references, templates, scripts, assets). When you invoke a skill — either by name or via /skills — the agent injects its contents into the conversation as a user message, preserving Anthropic prompt caching. Skills are distinct from MEMORY.md (broad declarative facts) and USER.md (your profile). A skill answers the question: how do I do this specific type of task?

​
Skills location

All skills live in ~/.hermes/skills/. The directory is organized by category: 
~/.hermes/skills/
├── my-skill/
│   ├── SKILL.md
│   ├── references/
│   ├── templates/
│   └── scripts/
└── category-name/
    └── another-skill/
        └── SKILL.md

​
Built-in skill categories

Hermes ships with a library of bundled skills covering common categories:
CategoryDescription
software-developmentCoding workflows, debugging, PR review, architecture
researchLiterature search, summarization, citation
productivityTask planning, meeting prep, writing assistance
data-scienceData analysis, visualization, ML workflows
diagrammingMermaid, PlantUML, architecture diagrams
creativeWriting, brainstorming, ideation
emailEmail drafting and triage
githubRepository management, issue triage, PR workflows
mediaImage, audio, and video processing
note-takingStructured note capture and organization
social-mediaContent creation and scheduling
mlopsModel training, deployment, monitoring
smart-homeHome Assistant automations and controls
domainDomain-specific professional workflows

​
Autonomous skill creation

After completing a complex task, Hermes may offer to save the approach as a new skill. This happens when the agent determines the solution is novel enough to be worth keeping — a self-curating learning loop. You can also ask the agent to create a skill at any time: 
Save what we just did as a skill called "deploy-to-fly"
The agent will create ~/.hermes/skills/deploy-to-fly/SKILL.md with structured instructions, code examples, and any relevant references.

​
Skills self-improvement

When you use a skill and the agent finds a better approach, it can update the skill in place. This means skills improve over time through use — the instructions become more accurate, edge cases get documented, and outdated steps get removed.

​
The /skills slash command

The /skills command is your interactive interface for the skills library. Use it both in the CLI and on messaging platforms:
SubcommandDescription
/skillsOpen the interactive browser
/skills search <query>Search skills by name or description
/skills install <name>Install a skill from the Hub
/skills inspect <name>View a skill’s full contents
/skills enable <name>Enable a bundled or installed skill
/skills disable <name>Disable a skill from autoloading

​
Installing a skill from the Hub

1

Search the Hub

Run /skills search <topic> to find community skills on agentskills.io. Results show the skill name, description, author, and trust level.
2

Inspect before installing

Run /skills inspect <identifier> to read the full SKILL.md before installing. Skills are security-scanned automatically.
3

Install the skill

Run /skills install <identifier> to download and install the skill to ~/.hermes/skills/. Hub skills are saved under a subdirectory matching their source.
4

Invoke the skill

Either type /<skill-name> as a slash command, or ask Hermes directly: “use the deploy-to-fly skill”.

​
Skills Hub

The Skills Hub at agentskills.io hosts community-contributed skills. Skills are tagged by category and trust level:
  • Official — bundled with Hermes, maintained by Nous Research
  • Trusted — vetted community contributions
  • Community — unvetted community contributions (inspect before installing)
All skills downloaded from the Hub are scanned for injection and exfiltration patterns before installation.

​
Creating custom skills manually

Create a directory in ~/.hermes/skills/ with a SKILL.md file: 
mkdir -p ~/.hermes/skills/my-workflow
A well-structured skill file includes:
# Skill name

Brief description of what this skill is for.

## When to use this skill

- Use case 1
- Use case 2

## Steps

1. First step with specific commands or instructions
2. Second step
3. ...

## Notes

- Edge cases, caveats, or warnings
- Known issues and workarounds

## References

- Link or file reference
Supporting files go in references/, templates/, scripts/, or assets/ subdirectories.
You can point Hermes at an additional skills directory using the HERMES_OPTIONAL_SKILLS_DIR environment variable. This is useful for team-shared skills stored in a repository:
export HERMES_OPTIONAL_SKILLS_DIR=/path/to/team-skills
Skills in the optional directory appear alongside skills in ~/.hermes/skills/.

​
Compatibility

Hermes skills follow the agentskills.io open standard. Skills you create or install are portable to any agent that implements this standard.

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us