🚀 Hermes Agent — Beginner's Setup Guide

✓ Prerequisites

• A password manager — to store your admin password and API keys.
• A smartphone — with the Telegram app installed.
• Budget — approximately $6/month for hosting and $5 for initial AI credits.

This guide turns the tutorial into a practical checklist — the goal is a self-hosted agent that stays awake around the clock, runs schedules, and reaches you first.

1 Set up the workspace (VPS hosting)

To keep your agent awake 24/7 — so it can run schedules and message you first — host it on a server rather than your laptop.

1. Choose a plan: sign up for a VPS (e.g. Hostinger KVM 1 plan).
2. Configure the purchase:
   • Billing: select a period — 12+ months usually offers the best coupon rates.
   • ⚠️ Critical: uncheck the "ready-to-use AI" checkbox — you'll provide your own cheaper model later.
3. Deploy:
   • Use the one-click Hermes template.
   • Save credentials: copy the Default Admin Username and Admin Password immediately into your password manager.
   • Click Deploy and wait for the green "Running" checkmark.

2 Access the control room (web dashboard)

1. Open dashboard: in your VPS manager, find the Hermes application and click Open.
2. Login: enter the Admin Username and Password saved in Step 1.
3. Orientation — the main areas:

3 Wire the brain (LLM configuration)

The agent is installed, but it can't "think" until you connect a model provider.

1. Get an API key: go to OpenRouter.ai → Sign up → Create an API key. Save it in your password manager.
2. Set guardrails: in OpenRouter, set a spending limit (e.g. $10/week) to prevent unexpected costs.
3. Add credits: add a small amount (suggested $5) to your OpenRouter account.
4. Connect to Hermes: Hermes Dashboard → Keys → expand OpenRouter → paste your API key into the value field → Save.
5. Select the model: Models → Main Model → Change → select DeepSeek v4 Flash (fast, cheap, and excellent at tool-use) → Switch → Reload.

4 Connect the phone (Telegram integration)

This lets the agent reach you on your mobile device.

1. Initiate link: Dashboard → Channels → Telegram.
2. QR flow: click Create with QR.
3. Mobile action:
   • Scan the QR code with your phone camera.
   • Allow it to open the Telegram app.
   • Follow the prompts to Create Bot.
4. Finalize: return to the browser dashboard and click Save and Restart.

5 Install the desktop interface

To avoid keeping a browser tab open, link the native app to your server.

1. Download: install the Hermes Desktop App (macOS / Windows).
2. Remote gateway: in the app settings, link it to your VPS server address.
3. Result: you now have a native keyboard shortcut to trigger the same agent running in the cloud.

★ Post-setup: how to use your "AI employee"