Hermes Agent: second flow with gateway (2026)

If you finished the first Hermes Agent flow, you have install, a ≥64K model, and a local chat that uses tools. This second flow adds the gateway to Telegram — the straightest path to talk to your agent from your phone. Slack follows the same pattern with `hermes gateway setup`; here we prioritize Telegram. Hermes runs on your machine; it is not Cursor and not Grok Bot.

1. Steps 1

   Confirm day one still holds

   Before the gateway: `hermes doctor`. If something fails, fix with `hermes model` or `hermes setup` — do not continue. Then a quick chat: `hermes chat -q "Summarize this directory in 3 bullets"` or open `hermes --tui` and ask the same. Success = real content and, if needed, a tool call.

   What you should see: doctor green or with a concrete failure you can read. A directory summary, not an empty greeting.

2. Steps 2

   Prepare the Telegram bot

   In Telegram, open @BotFather → `/newbot` → copy the token. For your user ID: message @userinfobot or read the wizard output. Store token and ID in a password manager; `hermes gateway setup` will ask for them. Slack uses the same command with a different credential block — if your team lives in Slack, pick Slack in the wizard instead of Telegram.

   What you should see: A bot token (`123456789:ABC…`) and your numeric user ID ready to paste.

3. Steps 3

   Configure the gateway with the wizard

   In the terminal: `hermes gateway setup`. Choose Telegram when prompted. Paste the token and your user ID in the allowlist. The wizard writes to `~/.hermes/.env` and `config.yaml`. To review before starting: `hermes config show` after setup.

   What you should see: A saved-configuration message. Telegram marked as the active platform in the wizard output.

4. Steps 4

   Start the gateway and check status

   To test: `hermes gateway run` in the foreground (recommended the first time). On macOS/Linux, once you trust it: `hermes gateway install` and `hermes gateway start` for a background service. Check with `hermes gateway status`. If it does not reply: `cat ~/.hermes/logs/gateway.log | tail -50`.

   What you should see: gateway status shows the process is active. In Telegram, the bot appears online within seconds.

5. Steps 5

   Send a remote message that uses tools

   From Telegram, write something checkable: «List the files in this directory and tell me which looks like the entrypoint.» Not «hello». Success = the agent replies with real file names — proof the remote tool loop works. If the reply is empty or generic: `hermes doctor --check gateway`, check the model (≥64K), and read the logs.

   What you should see: A Telegram reply naming files from the agent's working directory, not an echo of your greeting.

6. Steps 6

   Tighten skills and tools (optional but useful)

   Once remote works, trim permissions. `hermes skills browse` to see skills; install only what you need (`hermes skills install …`). `hermes tools` to disable toolsets you do not use on Telegram. To keep raw shell off your Mac: `hermes config set terminal.backend docker` (requires Docker). Cron is for later: `hermes cron list` only if you already have a repeatable job.

   What you should see: A skills or tools list with unneeded items disabled. Remote chat still answers after the trim.

7. Steps 7

   Verify local chat still works

   With the gateway running, open another terminal and run `hermes` or `hermes --continue`. Ask another local task: «What sessions do I have open?» or a short summary. Gateway and CLI share config but are separate processes; both should answer.

   What you should see: Local chat responds normally while the Telegram bot stays online in parallel.

8. Steps 8

   If something breaks: stop, diagnose, roll back

   Rescue order: `hermes gateway stop` (or Ctrl+C if it was on `run`) → `hermes doctor` → test local chat again. If local works but Telegram does not: run `hermes gateway setup` again and recheck token and allowlist. Logs: `hermes logs` or `~/.hermes/logs/gateway.log`. To undo the gateway without touching the model: comment the Telegram section in config or rerun the wizard. Do not mix this with Grok Bot — that teammate lives in Cursor's cloud VM, not your shell.

   What you should see: After `gateway stop`, local chat answers. doctor points at the gateway's concrete failure if config is wrong.