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The Best Hermes Agent Tools, And Where Each One Fits Inside An Agent OS
The best Hermes Agent tools are the terminal toolset, web search and extract, and cron jobs, in that order.
In this guide, tools means the built-in toolsets Hermes Agent can call, such as terminal, files, web and cron, plus the companion tools I pair with it, such as MCP servers, Obsidian, Telegram, Ollama and Tailscale.
I run all ten of my picks inside my own Agent OS, so this list also shows you where each one sits in the system.
Here is the ranked list first, then a ten-minute quick-start and the Agent OS map.
The best Hermes Agent tools, ranked for an Agent OS
Here is my full ranking, with the job each tool does once Hermes sits inside an Agent OS.
| Rank | Tool | Type | Its job in an Agent OS | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terminal toolset | Built-in | It is the hands that run commands and long jobs. | It is free. |
| 2 | Web search and extract | Built-in | It is the eyes that fetch fresh facts. | It is free to start. |
| 3 | Cron jobs | Built-in | It is the clock that runs work on a schedule. | It is free. |
| 4 | File operations | Built-in | It reads and writes the files every other room shares. | It is free. |
| 5 | Subagent delegation | Built-in | It splits one job across several child agents. | The tool is free, and the tokens are not. |
| 6 | MCP servers | Integration | It plugs outside apps into the same agent. | It is free, plus each app's own price. |
| 7 | Obsidian | Companion | It is the shared memory every agent reads. | It is free. |
| 8 | Telegram gateway | Companion | It is the door to the agent from your phone. | It is free. |
| 9 | Ollama | Companion | It is the offline brain for private work. | It is free. |
| 10 | Tailscale | Companion | It is the private line back to your own machine. | The personal plan is free. |
This ranking is my own, and it comes from running Hermes inside my Agent OS every day rather than from a benchmark.
I put the terminal first because every other room in the OS depends on an agent that can actually run things.
Web search is second because an agent without fresh facts makes things up.
Cron is third because scheduled work is what makes an operating system feel alive.
What a Hermes Agent tool is
Hermes Agent is the free, open-source AI agent from Nous Research, released under the MIT licence.
The official docs say tools are functions that extend the agent's capabilities, and they are grouped into toolsets you can enable or disable for each platform.
When I ran the tools command on my own install, which is version 0.21.4, it listed 26 built-in toolsets, and 20 of them were on.
People often mix tools up with skills and plugins, so here is the difference.
| Word | What it is | How you manage it |
|---|---|---|
| Tool | A tool is a function the model calls, such as terminal or web_search. | You run hermes tools. |
| Skill | A skill is an on-demand knowledge document that tells the agent how to do a job. | You run hermes skills. |
| Plugin | A plugin is an add-on package that can add tools, hooks and integrations. | You run hermes plugins. |
A plugin can deliver a new tool, and a skill can teach the agent when to use one.
I rank the other two groups in my best Hermes Agent skills list and my best Hermes Agent plugins list.
Quick-start: switch on the best Hermes Agent tools in ten minutes
This is the route I would give anyone setting up their first Agent OS.
| Step | What you type or do | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Run hermes tools. | You see every toolset marked as enabled or disabled. |
| 2 | Run hermes tools enable browser. | The browser toolset switches on for the terminal. |
| 3 | Run hermes tools disable video_gen. | A toolset you do not need switches off. |
| 4 | Add --platform telegram to either command. | The change applies to your Telegram bot only. |
| 5 | Run hermes cron create "0 9 * * *" "Write my morning brief". | A job runs at nine every morning. |
| 6 | Run hermes mcp catalog, then hermes mcp install with a name. | An outside app joins the tool list. |
| 7 | Run hermes gateway setup. | Your agent answers in Telegram. |
Terminal, files, web and cron are already on in a default install, so most of this is checking rather than changing.
Tools are set per platform, which means your phone bot can carry a shorter tool list than your desk.
You can also start one chat with a short list by running hermes chat with the toolsets flag, such as web and terminal only.
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The ten tools, one by one
1. The terminal toolset
The terminal toolset gives Hermes a terminal tool and a process manager, so it can run shell commands and keep background jobs alive.
You choose where commands run with the terminal backend setting in the Hermes config file, and the docs list local, docker, ssh, singularity, modal, daytona and vercel_sandbox.
It is best for building, installing and fixing things, and it costs nothing on your own machine.
2. Web search and extract
The web toolset has a search tool that finds pages and an extract tool that reads them.
Firecrawl is the default backend, and a fresh install works with no key because Hermes rotates across the free tiers of Exa, Parallel, Firecrawl and Keenable.
Firecrawl's own free tier is 500 credits a month if you add a key, and SearXNG and DuckDuckGo are free search options too.
It is best for research and content briefs.
3. Cron jobs
The cron toolset lets Hermes create, pause, edit and remove its own scheduled jobs.
Schedules accept plain forms such as every 2h, and they accept normal cron expressions.
A job can attach a skill, and it can deliver its result to Telegram.
A cron run cannot create more cron jobs, which is a deliberate guard against runaway loops.
It is best for reports and monitoring, and the scheduler itself is free.
4. File operations
The file toolset reads, writes, patches and searches files.
It is on by default, and it is how Hermes writes into the same folders my other agents read.
It is best for coding and notes, and it is free.
5. Subagent delegation
The delegation toolset spawns child agents that each get a fresh conversation and their own terminal session.
The docs say up to 10 run at once by default, and only each child's final summary comes back to the parent.
It is best for parallel research, and the only cost is the extra model tokens.
6. MCP servers
MCP lets Hermes use tools that live outside Hermes, such as Notion, Linear and Stripe.
The catalogue command listed 65 Nous-approved servers when I ran it on 10 October 2026.
Custom servers are added with the mcp add command, using a URL for a remote server or a command for a local one.
It is best for connecting the apps you already use, and each app keeps its own price.
7. Obsidian
Obsidian is a free app that stores notes as plain text files on your own machine.
I point Hermes at my vault, and seven of my agents read that same folder.
You must give Hermes the full folder path, because when I skipped that it built the folders inside its own workspace.
The full build is in my Hermes and Obsidian second brain guide.
8. The Telegram gateway
The messaging gateway turns Hermes into a bot you can message from your phone.
You create a bot with BotFather in Telegram, run the gateway setup command and paste in the token.
The dashboard and the desktop app also have a Create with QR button that does it for you.
The docs say voice memos are transcribed automatically, and scheduled results can land in the same chat.
9. Ollama
Ollama runs AI models on your own computer.
On a recent Ollama build, one line wires a local model into Hermes, and I show it in my Hermes and Qwen free guide.
In that test a 27B Qwen model ran at about 24.9 tokens a second on an M4 Max once it was warm.
The Hermes docs also list LM Studio as a provider you can pick with the model command, although I mostly use Ollama.
10. Tailscale
Tailscale creates a private network that only your own devices can see.
It is step five of my AI Agent OS build, and it is how I open the dashboard from my phone without exposing my computer to the internet.
I use the free plan.
🔥 Want the exact Hermes tools in the Agent OS setup I run inside my Agent OS?
Inside the AI Profit Boardroom you get the installable Agent OS, step-by-step video tutorials, four coaching calls a week and 3,400+ members building real automations.
How these tools fit inside an Agent OS
An Agent OS is one dashboard where your agents, memory and tools live together.
In mine, Hermes is the employee behind thirteen doors, including Chat, Sessions, Workspace, MCPs, Manage and Goal Mode.
The tools in this list are what that employee uses once you walk through a door.
| Agent OS layer | Hermes tool behind it | What it does there |
|---|---|---|
| Chat | Terminal, file and web toolsets | They let a typed request turn into finished work. |
| Kanban build line | Kanban and delegation toolsets | A ticket becomes a worker that drives the build. |
| Morning radar | Cron jobs, X search and Telegram | A sweep runs at 6am and the top stories reach my phone. |
| Memory | File tools and an Obsidian vault | Every exchange is saved so nothing is explained twice. |
| MCPs room | MCP servers | Outside apps are added and switched on or off. |
| Voice | Text-to-speech | Answers are spoken as well as written. |
| Local profile | Ollama | A private brain runs with the wifi off. |
| Anywhere | Tailscale | The whole dashboard opens on my phone. |
The Manage room shows every session, model, cron job and skill, so I rarely touch the terminal for day-to-day changes.
The full tour is in the Hermes Command Desk guide.
A simple workflow that uses five tools at once
Here is one real chain from my own system.
A cron job wakes the agent at 6am.
The agent sweeps the live X feed for the hottest AI stories and ranks six of them.
The top three are pushed to Telegram, and the brief can be read out loud.
Every sweep is saved into an Obsidian folder, so there is a searchable history of what mattered and when.
That one chain uses scheduling, search, messaging, speech and memory, and I do nothing except read it.
More built-in toolsets worth knowing
The browser toolset lets Hermes open pages, click and type, using your own Chrome or a cloud browser such as Browser Use or Browserbase.
The vision toolset lets the model look at an image you attach, and the image generation toolset creates images through FAL.ai.
The text-to-speech toolset uses Edge TTS by default, which is free, and the docs list eleven providers in total.
The computer use toolset controls the desktop in the background on macOS, Windows and Linux, and it needs a helper called cua-driver.
The memory and session search toolsets let Hermes remember facts and search past conversations.
The code execution toolset runs Python scripts that call Hermes tools.
X search reads public posts on X, but it needs xAI credentials.
Claude Code and the Nous Tool Gateway
Claude Code is a strong companion, because the official Claude Subscription DirectSDK plugin lets Hermes use your Claude subscription as its brain.
I installed it the day it was announced, and the walkthrough is in my Hermes and Claude subscription guide.
The import-agent command also copies your Claude Code MCP servers, skills and instructions into Hermes.
The Nous Tool Gateway comes with a paid Nous Portal subscription, and it routes web search, image generation, text-to-speech and cloud browsing through one account.
It suits people who would rather have one bill than several API keys.
Mistakes to avoid when you pick Hermes Agent tools
The first mistake is switching everything on, because every extra tool is one more option the model weighs on each turn.
The second mistake is giving your phone bot the same tool list as your desk without thinking about who can message it.
The third mistake is running ten subagents on an expensive model for a job one agent could finish.
The fourth mistake is skipping memory, because an agent that forgets your business gives generic answers.
The fifth mistake is installing a community MCP server or plugin without reading what it does.
What to do after you have the tools running
Give each new tool one small real job before you trust it with a big one.
Then pick jobs from my best Hermes Agent use cases list and hand them over one at a time.
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FAQ
What are the best Hermes Agent tools?
My top three are the terminal toolset, web search and extract, and cron jobs. After those I rank file operations, subagent delegation, MCP servers, Obsidian, the Telegram gateway, Ollama and Tailscale.
How do I enable tools in Hermes Agent?
Run hermes tools for the interactive menu, or run hermes tools enable followed by a toolset name such as browser. Add --platform telegram to change a tool for one platform only. Inside a chat you can type /tools list.
What is the difference between Hermes tools, skills and plugins?
A tool is a function the model calls. A skill is an on-demand knowledge document that tells the agent how to do a job. A plugin is an add-on package that can add new tools, hooks and integrations.
Do Hermes Agent tools cost money?
Hermes Agent is free and open source, and its built-in toolsets are free to switch on. Some tools use outside services that can cost money, such as FAL.ai for images or a cloud browser. Web search works with no key on a fresh install.
Do I need an Agent OS to use Hermes Agent tools?
No. Every tool in this list works from the Hermes terminal on its own. An Agent OS simply puts the same tools behind one dashboard, so chat, tickets, memory and schedules share one agent.
Final word on the best Hermes Agent tools
Start with the three that are already on, which are the terminal, web search and cron.
Add memory, a phone line and one outside app, and you will have an Agent OS built on the best Hermes Agent tools.
About Julian
I'm Julian Goldie, an AI entrepreneur, SEO expert and the founder of the AI Profit Boardroom, which has 3,400+ members.
I help business owners scale with AI agents, automation and SEO.
My YouTube channel has 400,000+ subscribers, and I run Goldie Agency, a seven-figure SEO agency.
Related guides on agentos.guide
→ Hermes AI + Obsidian: The Infinite Context Engine
→ Hermes + Qwen 3.8, Free And Offline
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