Build Your Own AI Personal Assistant with Hermes Agent

This is the most underrated Hermes use case that 99% of people haven't set up yet.

I've spent the last few weeks running Hermes as my personal assistant - and it's extremely powerful.

My agent manages my calendar, email, tracks all my tasks (and more), and reports everything back to me via WhatsApp.

I can text it 24/7, and it's my own mini AI employee.

If I were to hire a personal assistant, it would cost me $4000+ USD, but this AI setup is practically free, and the ROI it delivers is insane.

By the end of this, you'll have Hermes fully set up and managing real parts of your life in under 10 minutes.

This setup is relatively easy, and broken down into 5 steps:

**Step 1: Installing Hermes

Step 2: Composio Setup + Config.

Step 3: Messaging Gateway

Step 4: Prompting (and how to use your agent)

Step 5: Customizing Your Assistant **

Let's get right into things.

Step 1: Installing Hermes

If you already have Hermes installed, jump straight to step two below.

If you're completely new to Hermes, you're in luck because it's never been easier to get it set up.

You've got two main options here, and both take under a minute:

Desktop App

If you want the easiest path, grab the Hermes Desktop app - no terminal, no commands, just download and open.

Head here and select your software (Mac, Windows, Linux):

https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/

https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/

Terminal Install

If you're comfortable in a terminal, you can run the one-line installer instead.

It works on all Mac, Linux, and Windows:

Once it's done, open Hermes and you'll land straight in the chat interface.

This is your control center for everything that comes next.

Step 2: Composio Setup + Config.

This is the step that most people don't know about, and it's what transforms Hermes into your full-blown assistant.

On its own, Hermes can't touch your calendar or your inbox.

Composio is what bridges that gap and plugs 1,000+ apps straight into Hermes.

Composio for Hermes-Agent

Paste this into your Hermes chat box:

text

1https://composio.dev/hermes

This will install the connector automatically with no manual intervention needed.

From here, you'll want to tell Hermes which apps you want connected.

Some good ones to start with:

Google Calendar
Gmail or Outlook
Google Tasks
Slack
GitHub

Basically, ask Hermes to set up any tool you'd tell a real-life personal assistant to monitor.

Hermes will prompt you to authorize each one as you go. Once they're connected, Hermes can actually act on your behalf.

Config. (turn on memory & skills)

One of the most powerful things about Hermes is its persistent memory.

It remembers anything and everything about you - far better than even tools like Claude.

To get the most out of your Composio setup, go into your configuration and make sure persistent memory and skill generation are both switched on.

A brief explanation of both:

Memory: Hermes recalls past conversations and context across sessions.

(aka ask it about something you discussed last week, and it actually remembers, instead of starting from zero).

Skills: Every task Hermes completes gets saved as a reusable skill. The next time you ask for something similar, Hermes will use your saved SOP.

Step 3: Connecting a Messaging Gateway

Right now, Hermes only talks to you through the desktop app. That's fine if you're at your computer all day, but the real unlock is being able to access it from anywhere.

You can get Hermes to connect to Discord, Telegram, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, and more - pick whichever one you already live in and link it.

Each has different capabilities across video, images, files, reactions, and so on.

Platform Comparison

(Personally, I've picked Telegram & WhatsApp).

This prompt will get you started:

text

1Set up my messaging gateway. I want to connect
2
3[Telegram/Slack/WhatsApp/Signal/Discord] so I can reach you from my phone.
4
5Walk me through authorizing it and confirm once it's live.

Alternatively, you can also opt for a quick setup in the terminal:

text

1hermes gateway setup        # Interactive setup for all messaging platforms

Depending on the exact platform you pick, the next steps may vary.

For example, for Telegram, you'll have to set up a bot via BotFather:

Telegram Setup

For WhatsApp, you'll pair through a QR code scan:

Whatsapp Setup

A few things worth noting:

Security default: Hermes locks down to an allowlist by default, so randoms can't message your bot or run commands.
Background tasks: Once a platform's connected, you can fire off /background tasks and it'll report back to that chat when done. This pairs
Messaging Commands (save this):

Chat Commands (inside messaging)

Step 4: Prompting (and how to use your agent)

At this point, you should have Hermes fully set up as your personal assistant, whom you can text 24/7 and who has complete access to your tools.

I've been running this setup for the past couple of weeks, and these are my favorite prompts so far:

Google Calendar

text

1What's on my calendar today? Flag any conflicts and let me know if I'm double booked.

text

1Block off 2 hours every weekday morning for deep work. Find the next open slot if something's already there.

Notion

text

1Pull my task database and tell me what's overdue or due in the next 3 days.

text

1Go through my Notion notes from this week and pull out anything that looks like an action item I haven't completed yet.

Slack

text

1Check my Slack DMs and unread channels. Summarize anything that actually needs a response from me.

text

1Draft a reply to the last message in [channel/person] and show it to me before sending.

Scheduling Recurring Tasks

This is one of my favorite Hermes use cases, and I don't see people talking about it enough.

Hermes has a built-in cron scheduler that allows you to schedule tasks.

Things like:

"Every day at 9 am, scan my Slack and ping me with a summarized report."

"Before I go to bed, send me a quick update on my to-do list so I can set priorities for tomorrow."

Interrupt Control

You can message Hermes mid-task to redirect it instead of waiting for it to finish.

Use "/stop."

Step 5: Customizing Your Assistant

Out of the box, Hermes is capable but generic.

This step is where you actually shape it into something that feels like yours.

Personality Selection

Hermes isn't locked into one tone. You can swap between built-in personalities depending on what you're using it for, direct and no-nonsense for work, more relaxed for personal tasks.

Use "/personality direct."

Model Selection

This is one of the biggest factors for your agent's personality.

In my opinion, Claude models have the warmest personality (human-like responses), and GPT models are best if you want a robotic feel to your agent.

You can swap models anytime using "model provider:model" or by just asking your agent to switch in real time.

Set Home

Use "/sethome" to create a chat as your home channel.

Pets

This is a new feature. By using "/pet," you can assign your Hermes agent an avatar.

https://x.com/NousResearch/status/2069577310055846267

Discord Hubs

One last thing.

I've experimented around, and I've found that Discord is best if you want to set up a "hub" for your AI agents.

WhatsApp and Telegram are great for quick messaging, but with Discord, you can create various channels dedicated to various subagents and monitor them in real time.

It provides a "home" like feel to Hermes, instead of just texting an AI agent, and it's also pretty cool to have a dedicated Discord server for your AI workflows.