Hermes Agent Command Reference

Every CLI and in-session command — fallback lookup if the bot is unavailable

Compiled October 2026 · Model: glm-5.2:cloud · Provider: ollama-launch

If the bot is down: Open a terminal on the Mac and run hermes to start a fresh session, or hermes gateway restart to restart the Telegram gateway. If that fails: launchctl stop ai.hermes.gateway && sleep 3 && launchctl start ai.hermes.gateway. Full troubleshooting at the bottom of this page.

🚀 Quick Start

Command	What it does
`hermes`	Start interactive chat (default)
`hermes chat -q "question"`	Single query, non-interactive
`hermes setup`	Interactive setup wizard
`hermes model`	Change model or provider
`hermes doctor`	Check dependencies and config health
`hermes config`	View current configuration

💬 In-Session Slash Commands (Telegram & CLI)

These work when chatting with the bot in Telegram or in the CLI. Type them as messages.

Session Control

Command	What it does
`/new` or `/reset`	Fresh session (clears context)
`/clear`	Clear screen + new session (CLI)
`/retry`	Resend last message
`/undo`	Remove last exchange
`/title [name]`	Name the session
`/compress`	Manually compress context
`/stop`	Kill background processes
`/resume [name]`	Resume a named session

Configuration

Command	What it does
`/config`	Show config (CLI)
`/model [name]`	Show or change model
`/personality [name]`	Set personality
`/reasoning [level]`	Set reasoning (none\|minimal\|low\|medium\|high\|xhigh)
`/verbose`	Cycle verbosity: off → new → all → verbose
`/voice on`	Voice-to-voice mode
`/yolo`	Toggle approval bypass (dangerous commands)

Tools & Skills

Command	What it does
`/tools`	Manage tools (CLI)
`/toolsets`	List toolsets (CLI)
`/skills`	Search/install skills (CLI)
`/skill [name]`	Load a skill into session
`/reload-skills`	Re-scan for added/removed skills
`/cron`	Manage cron jobs (CLI)
`/plugins`	List plugins (CLI)

Gateway & Platform

Command	What it does
`/approve`	Approve a pending command (Telegram)
`/deny`	Deny a pending command (Telegram)
`/restart`	Restart gateway (Telegram)
`/sethome`	Set current chat as home channel
`/update`	Update Hermes to latest (Telegram)
`/platforms`	Show platform connection status

Info & Utility

Command	What it does
`/help`	Show all commands
`/commands`	Browse commands (gateway)
`/usage`	Token usage
`/status`	Session info (gateway)
`/profile`	Active profile info
`/quit`	Exit (CLI)

🖥️ CLI Commands (Terminal Only)

Chat

Command	What it does
`hermes chat -q "text"`	Single query
`hermes chat -m model_name`	Use specific model
`hermes --resume [ID]`	Resume session by ID
`hermes --continue`	Resume most recent session
`hermes -w`	Isolated git worktree mode
`hermes -s skill_name`	Preload a skill
`hermes --yolo`	Skip command approvals

Configuration

Command	What it does
`hermes config`	View current config
`hermes config edit`	Open config.yaml in editor
`hermes config set KEY VAL`	Set a config value
`hermes config path`	Print config.yaml path
`hermes config check`	Check for missing/outdated config
`hermes login --provider P`	OAuth login (nous, openai-codex)
`hermes doctor --fix`	Check and fix dependencies

Tools & Skills

Command	What it does
`hermes tools`	Interactive tool enable/disable
`hermes tools list`	Show all tools and status
`hermes tools enable NAME`	Enable a toolset
`hermes tools disable NAME`	Disable a toolset
`hermes skills list`	List installed skills
`hermes skills search QUERY`	Search the skills hub
`hermes skills install ID`	Install a skill
`hermes skills update`	Update outdated skills

MCP Servers

Command	What it does
`hermes mcp list`	List configured servers
`hermes mcp add NAME`	Add an MCP server
`hermes mcp remove NAME`	Remove an MCP server
`hermes mcp test NAME`	Test connection

Gateway (Messaging Platforms)

Command	What it does
`hermes gateway run`	Start gateway foreground
`hermes gateway install`	Install as background service
`hermes gateway start`	Start the service
`hermes gateway stop`	Stop the service
`hermes gateway restart`	Restart the service
`hermes gateway status`	Check status

Sessions

Command	What it does
`hermes sessions list`	List recent sessions
`hermes sessions browse`	Interactive picker
`hermes sessions export OUT`	Export to JSONL
`hermes sessions stats`	Session store statistics
`hermes sessions prune`	Clean up old sessions

Cron Jobs

Command	What it does
`hermes cron list`	List jobs (--all for disabled)
`hermes cron create SCHED`	Create: '30m', 'every 2h', '0 9 * * *'
`hermes cron edit ID`	Edit schedule, prompt, delivery
`hermes cron pause ID`	Pause a job
`hermes cron resume ID`	Resume a job
`hermes cron run ID`	Trigger on next tick
`hermes cron remove ID`	Delete a job

Profiles

Command	What it does
`hermes profile list`	List all profiles
`hermes profile create NAME`	Create a new profile
`hermes profile use NAME`	Set sticky default
`hermes profile delete NAME`	Delete a profile

Credential Pools

Command	What it does
`hermes auth add`	Interactive credential wizard
`hermes auth list [PROVIDER]`	List pooled credentials
`hermes auth remove P INDEX`	Remove by provider + index

Other

Command	What it does
`hermes update`	Update to latest version
`hermes insights [--days N]`	Usage analytics
`hermes status [--all]`	Show component status
`hermes plugins list`	List plugins

🔧 Troubleshooting

Telegram bot not responding

Check gateway logs: grep -i "error" ~/.hermes/logs/gateway.log | tail -20
Restart gateway: hermes gateway restart
If restart is blocked by approval: launchctl stop ai.hermes.gateway && sleep 3 && launchctl start ai.hermes.gateway
Check bot token is set: grep "^TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN" ~/.hermes/.env
Check Telegram loaded: grep "telegram connected" ~/.hermes/logs/gateway.log
Check allowlist: grep "^TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS\|^GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL" ~/.hermes/.env

Model not working

hermes doctor — check config and dependencies
hermes model — pick a different model or provider
Check ~/.hermes/.env has the right API key
Test Ollama: curl http://127.0.0.1:11434/api/tags
If Ollama 429 (quota): switch model via hermes config set model.default glm-5.2:cloud

Changes not taking effect

Tools/skills: /reset starts new session with updated toolset
Config changes: In Telegram: /restart. In CLI: exit and relaunch.
After update: Restart gateway: launchctl stop ai.hermes.gateway && sleep 3 && launchctl start ai.hermes.gateway

Gateway dies on SSH logout

Enable linger: sudo loginctl enable-lier $USER

📁 Key File Paths

Path	What's there
`~/.hermes/config.yaml`	Main configuration (model, provider, tools)
`~/.hermes/.env`	API keys and secrets
`~/.hermes/skills/`	Installed skills
`~/.hermes/sessions/`	Session transcripts
`~/.hermes/logs/gateway.log`	Gateway and error logs
`~/.hermes/auth.json`	OAuth tokens and credential pools
`~/.hermes/hermes-agent/`	Source code (if git-installed)

🔌 Supported Platforms

Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, Email, SMS, Matrix, Mattermost, Home Assistant, DingTalk, Feishu, WeCom, BlueBubbles (iMessage), Weixin (WeChat), API Server, Webhooks.

⚙️ Available Toolsets

Toolset	What it provides
`web`	Web search and content extraction
`browser`	Browser automation (Browserbase or local Chromium)
`terminal`	Shell commands and process management
`file`	File read/write/search/patch
`code_execution`	Sandboxed Python execution
`vision`	Image analysis
`image_gen`	AI image generation
`tts`	Text-to-speech
`memory`	Persistent cross-session memory
`delegation`	Subagent task delegation
`cronjob`	Scheduled task management
`messaging`	Cross-platform message sending
`todo`	In-session task planning

Full docs: hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs · Slash commands reference · Configuration guide