Hermes Agent installation and management
Hermes Agent is the self-improving open-source AI agent from Nous Research: it remembers what it learns and builds its own skills. We install it isolated, hardened and monitored, on your server or ours, and keep it that way. Set up by senior UK engineers.
Independent service · not affiliated with Nous Research · NDA as standardWhat is Hermes Agent?
Hermes Agent is a free, open-source AI agent built by Nous Research, the lab behind the Hermes model family. It lives on your own server and reaches you through Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, email and many other channels. Like other agents it acts: it runs commands, manages files, browses and schedules its own recurring jobs.
What sets it apart is the learning loop. Hermes keeps persistent memory across sessions, creates reusable skills from tasks it completes, and improves those skills as it uses them. It is an agent that gets more capable the longer it runs, which makes a well-run installation more valuable every month.
The same power deserves the same respect: an agent with command execution and a growing memory needs isolation, restraint and backups from day one. That is what we set up.
Installed, hardened, integrated and kept running
One fixed-fee setup, then an optional monthly service that keeps your agent current, monitored and backed up. On your infrastructure or on hosting we manage for you.
Installation
Sized and provisioned properly: dedicated VM or container, pinned version from official sources, your AI provider configured, channels connected and tested.
Hardening
Containerised execution backend, restricted toolset, locked-down networking, vaulted API keys and a gateway paired to named accounts only.
Skills and integrations
Scheduled jobs and integrations configured for your workflows, vetted skills installed, and the agent's self-created skills reviewed so quality compounds safely.
Maintenance
Updates applied on a schedule, memory and skills backed up nightly, logs reviewed, security posture rechecked after every significant release.
Rather not run a server at all? We provision and operate the machine for you: UK-based hosting, monitored and backed up, with your data, memory and keys remaining yours. Cancel and we hand the whole installation over, intact.
Ask about managed hostingAn agent that learns is an agent worth protecting
Hermes executes commands, browses and accumulates months of memory about you or your business. That power is the point, and it is exactly why the installation deserves engineering discipline rather than an evening and a one-line installer.
Contained by default
Execution runs in an isolated backend with nothing else on the machine. If something goes wrong, the blast radius is the sandbox, not your laptop, your network or your business.
Least privilege, always
Restricted tools, scoped credentials, no exposed ports, and a messaging gateway paired to named accounts so strangers cannot talk to your agent at all.
Memory treated as an asset
Months of accumulated memory and skills are valuable and irreplaceable, so they are backed up nightly, and self-created skills are reviewed before they become habits.
Moving from OpenClaw, without losing anything
Hermes Agent ships a supported migration path from OpenClaw covering memories, skills, configuration and messaging setup. Supported does not mean unsupervised: we run it dry first, verify what arrives, harden the new install and keep the old one intact until you have signed off.
Audit the existing install
What the agent does today, which skills matter, where the risks already are. You see the findings before anything moves.
Rehearse the migration
A trial migration on a fresh, isolated machine. We verify memories, skills and configuration arrive complete.
Switch deliberately
The hardened Hermes install goes live; OpenClaw stays untouched and reachable until you confirm nothing is missing.
Decommission cleanly
The old install is archived and shut down properly: keys rotated, access revoked, a copy retained for as long as you want one.
Simple shapes, figures on enquiry
Setup cost depends on where it runs, how many channels and integrations you need, and whether a migration is involved. Confirmed in writing before we start.
Installation and hardening on your server or ours, channels and AI provider configured, verified against our checklist, documented and handed over.
Updates, monitoring, nightly memory backups and security review, with managed hosting included if you choose it. Plain-English terms and no lock-in: cancel and keep everything.
OpenClaw migration, custom skills, deeper integrations with your business systems, or rescue of a troubled install. Scoped and priced per piece of work.
Asked before every install
Can I install Hermes Agent myself?
Yes; the official installer is a single command and it is well made. The hard part is not installation but safe, durable operation: isolating execution, restricting tools, protecting API keys, backing up the memory the agent accumulates, and keeping pace with a fast-moving project. That is the part people underestimate, and it is the part we sell.
Is Hermes Agent safe to run?
It is as safe as its installation. The agent can execute commands, browse and act unattended on schedules, so a careless setup on an exposed machine is a genuine risk, exactly as with any agent of this class. Hermes supports containerised execution backends, which we use as standard, alongside least-privilege access, strict gateway pairing and monitored operation.
What do I need to run it?
A small server is enough for most uses: a modest VPS or a spare machine running Linux or macOS, plus an API key from an AI provider with a model offering at least a 64,000-token context window, which all the major hosted models meet comfortably. We size this with you during scoping, or our managed hosting runs the whole thing for a monthly fee.
How is it different from OpenClaw?
They share a philosophy: open source, self-hosted, reachable through your messaging apps, able to act. OpenClaw has the larger community and skill ecosystem. Hermes Agent is built by Nous Research and centres on a learning loop: persistent memory, skills it creates and improves itself, scheduled jobs and isolated subagents. It also ships a supported migration path from OpenClaw. Which suits you depends on what you want the agent to do, and that comparison is part of scoping.
Where does my data and the agent's memory live?
On the machine the agent runs on. On your server, that is yours; on our managed hosting, it is a UK-based machine dedicated to you, with nightly backups, and we work under NDA. Conversations pass through your chosen AI provider, as with any agent; we configure which provider and explain exactly what they see.
What does monthly maintenance include?
Updates applied within a scheduled window, monitoring with alerts we respond to, nightly backups of memory and skills, a periodic review of logs and the agent's self-created skills, and a security recheck after significant releases. You get a plain-English note of anything that changed. Cancel any time and keep the installation, the documentation and every credential.
Hermes Agent is an independent open-source project by Nous Research; Zegaware is not affiliated with or endorsed by it
Tell us where you are starting from
We reply within one working day with a fixed quote and the earliest start date. No call required unless you want one.