Hermes

Hermes is Nous Research's AI agent. It runs an autonomous learning loop that writes and improves its own skills from experience, keeps a persistent memory it can search across sessions, and schedules its own work with a built-in cron scheduler. You drive it from a browser dashboard that includes a live chat with the agent, so there is no terminal to wrangle.

When does managed Hermes make sense?

• Always-on agent. An agent that schedules its own tasks needs a stable, always-online host. ElfHosted runs Hermes 24/7 so cron jobs and long-running workstreams actually fire when expected.
• Persistent memory and skills. Everything Hermes learns, its memories, skills, and session history, lives in /config/hermes/ and survives restarts and upgrades.
• Browser-first. The dashboard gives you agent chat and full configuration from any browser, backed by ElfHosted SSO.
• Bring your own model. Point Hermes at OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. You add your provider key once, from the dashboard.
• Reach you where you already are. An always-on messaging gateway lets Hermes talk to you on Telegram, Discord, Email, WhatsApp, iMessage, and Signal, so your agent is a message away from your phone.

Get a 7-day trial of ElfHosted Hermes!

How do I access Hermes?

Hermes is available:

• From your dashboard: https://your-username.elfhosted.com
• Directly: https://your-username-hermes.elfhosted.com

How do I use it?

Open Hermes from your dashboard. After ElfHosted SSO, Hermes shows its own login page (the dashboard stores your provider API keys, so it keeps a second lock on the door). The starting credentials are:

• Username: elfie
• Password: changemeelfie

Change the password with ElfBot: set HERMES_DASHBOARD_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD (and, if you like, HERMES_DASHBOARD_BASIC_AUTH_USERNAME) to your own value, and restart Hermes. That override takes priority over the shipped default. Your instance is already private to you behind ElfHosted SSO, so this login is just a second lock on the door.

First run

1. In the dashboard, add an LLM provider key (OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, or a custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint) and pick your model.
2. Start a chat with the agent from the dashboard to confirm it responds.
3. Let it build skills as you work, or schedule tasks with its cron scheduler.

Anything under /config/hermes/ can be browsed and edited with FileBrowser, and you can watch the pod logs any time with ElfBot.

Chat from your messaging apps

Your Hermes runs an always-on gateway alongside the dashboard, so the agent can reach you on the platforms you already use. You enable each platform from the dashboard by adding its credentials, then restart Hermes so the gateway reads the new config.

Quick to set up (add a token and go):

• Telegram and Discord: create a bot, paste the bot token into the dashboard, and add your user ID to the allowlist.
• Email: add your IMAP and SMTP details, and Hermes will watch a mailbox and reply.

One-time device link (a little more involved):

• WhatsApp and Signal: these link to a real account with a one-time pairing step (a QR scan or a linked-device code). Signal runs through a companion service in your instance, and WhatsApp links your WhatsApp account directly.
• iMessage: provided through Photon, which handles Apple registration for you, so no Mac is required. You sign in to a Photon account and bind a phone number. Note that iMessages are relayed through Photon's service, and Photon applies its own free-tier limits.

The gateway reads its configuration only at startup, so a new or changed platform takes effect after you restart Hermes. Restart it from ElfBot (your per-app control bot), and give it a minute to come back up. If a platform still is not connecting, hop into Discord and we will take a look.

Migrating from OpenClaw

Already running OpenClaw on ElfHosted? Hermes imports your OpenClaw configuration automatically on first launch, so your setup carries over with nothing to copy by hand. Your OpenClaw instance is left untouched.

Hermes also works with

• OpenClaw

• ElfBot

• FileBrowser

How do I get support for Hermes?

1. For general use of Hermes, refer to the official site or to one of the links in the resources section below.

2. For specific support re your ElfHosted configuration / account, see the ElfHosted support options!

Hermes resources

• Hermes (official site)

• Hermes Discord

• Hermes Documentation

What users say..

We're rocking some excellent TrustPilot Reviews, and here's what some of our usersfriends say..

I am new here, but today I learned realized that Elfhosted is one of the best free and open source software communities I've seen, and FOSS communities have been at the center of my life since the 90s (Perl, PHP, Symfony, Drupal, Ethereum, etc.). Great open software built by great people who care = great community, and that is something special.

You've done an amazing job @Funky Penguelf with the platform you provide and this place has an awesome mix of active community caretakers and software creators that I've seen here so far like BSM, Spoked, LayeZee and other elf vengers. Keep up the energy, productivity and community and take time to enjoy it and appreciate each other!

@skwah (Discord)

As a happy Elfhosted customer—who also self hosts MANY things across about 10 severs (dedicated, VPSes, and VMs running on Synology), I wouldn’t switch to self hosting the services I get from Elfhosted. They just work with very little effort configuring things, and the support the owner and his team provides is second to none. Plus I love being part of a fledgling—but quickly growing—enterprise.

/u/jatguy. (Reddit)

I’ve been using this service for a while now, and honestly, it’s a game-changer compared to anything else I’ve tried for managing my media library. The support is fantastic—super quick, and if the staff aren’t around (which rarely happens), the community steps up right away. I can’t imagine going back to any other platform.

Before this, I had my own setup with a NUC, NAS, and tools like Sonarr and Radarr. It worked pretty well for a while, and my internet speed was high enough to stream without any buffering. But in the end, it wasn’t worth the time or headache of managing all the storage and keeping everything running smoothly.

Now, with this service, everything runs smoothly in 1080p+ with no buffering issues. The interface is really easy to use, which makes managing everything a breeze. Plus, having a whole community of smart people available for guidance is a huge bonus.

I was sold from the start, which is why I quickly upgraded from a 1-month to a 3-month subscription, and I’m planning to switch to a 1-year plan soon. This service totally pays for itself, and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. It’s been really impressive.

@seapound (Discord)

Best possible options for anyone looking for the do-it-all option along with the best customer service ive experienced in this space so far. Id rate it a 6 if I could but its limited to 5/5...

@hashmelters (Discord)

(responding to a discussion re the cost of ElfHosted vs mainstream streaming / self-hosting):

I didn't know that the goal of this project was to compete with large companies running/renting entire DCs. I was under the impression that the goal of this project was to manage the updating of almost selfhosted applications on a shared platform with other users. Basically, be my sysadmin for me.

That being said, paying for services is the 'easy button'. There is a real world cost incurred for the time saved. Time is money. Time is the most valuable currency that exists. Once time is spent, it's forever lost, one cannot retrieve it again (yet). In my mind, there are 3 options for use of time with respect to: mainstream, selfhosting, elfhosted.

• mainstream - my time is valuable and I don't want curated content and I don't care what content that I have the ability to consume. I only like what's popular.

• elfhosted - my time is valuable, I want my own curated content without being forced to browse past the same damn entry 500 times just to find out that I can't watch the movie I want because it's not available in my current location or was removed last week from mainstream providers.

• selfhost - I care about costs and I have nothing but time to waste or I want to learn about the backend of the systems involved. I'll pay for my own VPS/homelab, electricity, manage the OS, manage app updates, figure out how to make the apps talk nice to each other, create my own beautiful frontend.

I know how much my time is worth, does that reddit poster know how much their time is worth? Without knowing what you are worth, you can't make effective capital expenditures with respect to the time it will take to recoup the capital.

I know I don't need elfhosted at all for my use case. I choose to stay with elfhosted because it's my 'easy button'. It's an efficient capital expense for the amount of time it saves me managing my own hardware, apps and saves me electricity costs. I'm also in a situation where I don't have upload bandwidth from my home to serve HD content to myself remotely. If I lived back in a city, I would still be here. My time is worth $$/hr.

@cobra2 (Discord)

"Just wanted to check in here and let @Darth-Penguini and anyone/everyone else know...WOW. I have been struggling with storage for years, maintenance of Docker containers, upkeep, all of it. Elfhosted is so freeing. It's an amazing service that I hope to be a member of for a long, long time!"

@Fingers91 (Discord)

"I would recommend ElfHosted to anyone. It has been great so far and made life a lot easier than running my own setups. If you’re in the fence give them a try and help support this great community."

Zestyclose_Teacher20 (Reddit)

"thanks for the help and must say this is the best host I every had for my server 🙂 10/10 🙂 All other places I have try have I got a lot buff etc. Your host can even give me full power on a 4K Remux on 200GB big movie file . That's damn awesome 😄"

@tjelite (Discord)

"What an amazing support system these guys have Chris and Layzee i think it was! Both are very patient with me even though I am a newbie at all this. Very thorough and explained everything step by step with me

I couldn’t ask for anything better than the service I have received by these guys! Happy happy client❤️"

@dead.potahto (Discord)

"Very happy customer. Great service"

@ronney67 (Discord)

"Very good customer service, frequent updates, and excelent uptime!!!!!"

@ed.guim (Discord)

"I had my own plex-arrs setup on hetzner for years. Yesterday I deleted everything as elfhosted has gone above and beyond it. And it has a fantastic, active community as well! Very friendly, helpful and like-minded folks always willing to help and improve the system. Top notch!"

@alon.hearter (Discord)

"Absolutely Amazed with the patience and professionalism of all Elf-Venger Staff including bossman penguin❤️"

@dead.potahto (Discord)

"@BSM went above and beyond to make sure I had all the one on one support needed with my sub. Thank you for your patience! Elfhosted continues to be Elftastic !!"

@bfmc1 (Discord)

"really enjoying the service from elfhosted. The setup is really easy from the guides on the website. And the help on the discord channel is really quick."

@jrhd13 (Discord)

"Support is amazing, and once you find a setup which works best for you it works perfectly, very happy 😊"

@fiendclub (Discord)

"great fast service, resolved my problem and really friendly"

@allan.st.minimum (Discord)

"Great service and sorted out a billing issue super quick and easy."

@scottcall707 (Discord)

"Very friendly support, resolved a problem with my account! I also appreciate the community that has been built around the service!"

@leo1305 (Discord)

"excellent customer service and very fast replies"

@yo.hohoho (Discord)

"Loved the simplicity, experience and support"

@y.adhish (Discord)

"Very friendly help as always, problem solved, one happy elf here!"

@badfurday0 (Discord)

"Great Helpful and Fast support. Thanks!"

@.mxrcy (Discord)