Intermediate · Track 1 of 2 · 9 Lessons

Your First Real
AI Agent, Running
on Your Machine

Install Hermes, give it a personality with SOUL.md, make it aware of your projects, and teach it to remember between sessions. Nine lessons — start here, no prior experience needed.

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Hermes Agent Fundamentals — Complete AI Learning Workbook cover
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Hermes Agent Fundamentals
What Makes Hermes Different

Four Files That Define Your Agent

Hermes isn't configured with a settings panel. It's shaped by plain-text files that you write, own, and evolve. This is the foundation you'll build in Lessons 4–8.

SOUL.md
Personality
How Hermes speaks, thinks, and responds. Define its tone, defaults, and working style — so it consistently feels like yours, not a generic chatbot.
AGENTS.md
Project Awareness
Drop an AGENTS.md into any project folder. Hermes reads it and immediately understands the codebase, the conventions, and what it's working on.
MEMORY.md
Persistent Memory
Hermes writes and reads from MEMORY.md to carry facts across sessions. What it learned last week is still there on Monday.
config.yaml
Profiles & Config
Separate configs for work, personal projects, and code review. Switch profiles in one command. Each profile gets its own model, tools, and behavior.
Curriculum

9 Complete Lessons

From zero to a daily-use agent. Every lesson builds on the last — by the end, Hermes is a real part of your workflow.

01
What Is Hermes?
The architecture that separates Hermes from web-based AI assistants — and why running locally matters for trust, speed, and privacy.
18 min
02
Installing Hermes and Your First Session
Install, connect your model provider, and run a real first session. By the end of this lesson Hermes is alive on your machine.
20 min
03
The CLI and Daily Driving Hermes
The commands you'll use every day: starting sessions, switching modes, accessing history, and the shortcuts that save the most time.
22 min
04
Configuration: config.yaml, .env, and Profiles
Configure your model, tools, and behavior. Create separate profiles for different contexts so Hermes always starts in the right mode.
24 min
05
SOUL.md and Personality
Write your SOUL.md. Define how Hermes speaks, what it prioritizes, and how it handles the situations that matter most to you.
18 min
06
Context Files: AGENTS.md and Project Awareness
Drop AGENTS.md into your projects. Hermes reads it on session start and immediately understands what it's working in — no re-explaining needed.
20 min
07
Context References: @ Syntax
Use @ to inject files, folders, URLs, and clipboard content inline during a session. Bring in exactly the context Hermes needs, when it needs it.
16 min
08
The Memory System: MEMORY.md, USER.md, and External Providers
Configure what Hermes remembers, how it stores it, and how to connect external memory providers for richer persistence across sessions.
22 min
09
Your First Week with Hermes
The daily habits, prompt patterns, and workflow integrations that turn a configured agent into something you actually reach for every day.
20 min
What You'll Have

A Personalized Agent, Not a Template

By Lesson 9 you have a Hermes that knows you — your style, your projects, your preferences — not a fresh install with default settings.

Hermes Installed and Running
Connected to your model provider of choice. Running real sessions. No Docker, no cloud account required.
Your SOUL.md Written
A personality file that makes Hermes consistently feel like yours. Every session, every project — same voice, same working style.
Projects Hermes Understands
AGENTS.md files in your key projects. Hermes reads them on start and already knows the stack, the conventions, and the context.
A Working Memory System
What you told Hermes last Tuesday is still there. Persistent, structured memory that grows alongside your work.
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Start Building Your Agent Today

Nine lessons. A personalized Hermes running on your machine. Ready for Advanced when you are.

$24
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