> ## Documentation index
> Fetch the complete index at: https://maritime.sh/llms.txt
> Setup procedure for AI agents (install, sign in, deploy, verify): https://maritime.sh/agents.md
> This page as HTML: https://maritime.sh/docs/frameworks/hermes

# Hermes Guide

Hermes is Nous Research's self-improving Python agent with persistent memory, and Maritime runs its official image
as a managed agent with its own dashboard.

*Screen recording: Recorded live on Maritime: deploy Hermes from a template, chat with it, and open its native
dashboard, from the first click to the first reply.*

## Overview

[Hermes](https://hermes.nousresearch.com) is a self-improving Python agent from
[Nous Research](https://nousresearch.com) with persistent memory and a multi-platform messaging gateway (email,
Telegram, and more). You talk to it from the Maritime CLI or the dashboard Chat tab; inbound messages on connected
channels pass through a pairing wall first. Approve a contact's code, or allow them outright, under **Gateway
pairings** on the agent's Channels tab.

## Docker Image

Image: `nousresearch/hermes-agent:v2026.5.16`

Maritime pins the Hermes version deliberately (the `latest` tag drifted) and upgrades after testing each release.
Gateway on port 8642, dashboard on port 9119, HOME at `/opt/data`.

## How It Works

Maritime configures Hermes's `openai` provider and points its base URL at the Maritime LLM proxy, so a fresh agent
works with no key at all and OpenAI-style env vars work transparently.

```
# The container runs with:
HERMES_HOME=/opt/data
HERMES_DASHBOARD=1
HERMES_DASHBOARD_HOST=0.0.0.0
HERMES_DASHBOARD_TUI=1
API_SERVER_ENABLED=true
API_SERVER_HOST=0.0.0.0
API_SERVER_KEY=<auto-generated>
GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS=true
HERMES_INFERENCE_PROVIDER=openai
HERMES_TUI_PROVIDER=openai
HERMES_INFERENCE_MODEL=gpt-5.4
OPENAI_BASE_URL=https://api.maritime.sh/api/llm/v1
```

## Environment Variables

No key is required: Maritime injects a per-agent proxy token, whose
[model calls](https://maritime.sh/docs/billing#ai-credits) are paid from your prepaid AI credits. Set your own `OPENAI_API_KEY` as a secret env var to pay
your provider directly instead.

## Sizing

Hermes loads memory + dashboard at boot; the platform sizes the agent for that automatically. Hand-tune a single agent
with `--ram` if you need to.

## Deploy

In the dashboard, open **New agent** and pick the **Hermes Agent** template, or:

```
maritime create my-agent --template hermes
```

## Talk to it

Hermes has no HTTP chat endpoint of its own, so Maritime invokes it locally (`hermes chat -q`). Ask a question from
the terminal and the agent answers, running on a serverless Firecracker microVM:

*Terminal recording: Shows a Hermes agent active on a serverless Firecracker microVM, then asks it a question. The
reply names Linux 4.14.174, the microVM guest kernel it runs on. Recorded against production.*

Or open the agent in the dashboard and use the **Chat** tab. Same agent, same answer:

*Screen recording: Opens a Hermes agent's Chat tab, sends a question, and the agent answers in the browser. Recorded
against production.*

## The native Hermes dashboard

Hermes ships its own full dashboard (sessions, files, models, logs, cron, skills, plugins, MCP, channels) with the real
`hermes chat` TUI embedded in the browser. Click **Hermes Dashboard** on the agent page and Maritime proxies it with
auth handled for you (no login screen):

*Screen recording: The native Hermes dashboard served through Maritime's UI proxy: opening the Chat view and typing a
question straight into the live TUI. The agent answers with its toolbox. Recorded against production.*

### Upstream links & resources

- [hermes.nousresearch.com](https://hermes.nousresearch.com): the official Hermes Agent page, covering the concept,
  capabilities, and how the self-improving memory works.
- [NousResearch/hermes-agent](https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent): the source repository, with the
  configuration reference for the env vars above, gateway/channel setup, and release notes.
- [nousresearch/hermes-agent on Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com/r/nousresearch/hermes-agent): the exact image
  Maritime deploys, with all published tags.
- [nousresearch.com](https://nousresearch.com): the team behind Hermes and the Hermes model family.