Skip to main content
Hermes (Nous Research) is a self-improving, multi-channel agent with a terminal TUI, an OpenAI-compatible HTTP API, and first-class MCP support in both directions. As a native MCP client, Hermes integrates cleanest by registering Smithers as an MCP server, then listing, running, watching, and approving workflows as tools.

​
Register the MCP server

The fastest path is mcp add, which writes its server straight into Hermes’s ~/.hermes/config.yaml:
By hand: Hermes reads MCP servers from ~/.hermes/config.yaml under mcp_servers; add Smithers as a stdio server:
Or use the Hermes CLI:
Smithers’ tools surface as mcp_smithers_<tool>: mcp_smithers_run_workflow, mcp_smithers_watch_run, mcp_smithers_resolve_approval, and the rest. Full reference: MCP Server.

​
Optional generated skill files

Hermes supports the SKILL.md (agentskills.io) format. skills add syncs the generated Smithers CLI skill set into ~/.agents/skills/; point Hermes there for command-level skill context:
The MCP server above remains the primary integration; generated skill files are optional here.

​
Standing instructions

Hermes resolves an instruction file by priority (.hermes.md, then AGENTS.md, then CLAUDE.md); first match wins. Add an orchestration section to whichever the repo uses:

​
See also