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Hermes Agent OS Free: The Herald OS Quick Start, And How It Fits Your Agent OS
If you are searching for a Hermes Agent OS free of charge, the answer is Herald OS, a free, open-source (MIT) Hermes Agent OS that turns Hermes Agent into a full desktop.
Claude set it up on my Mac in about two minutes, and I think it looks nicer than Hermes Desktop.
The software costs nothing, but the model behind it can, so this quick start shows you how to keep the whole stack at $0.
Then I show you how it slots into an Agent OS workflow without replacing anything you already run.
What the free Hermes Agent OS actually is
Herald OS calls itself an agent-native operating system with Hermes Agent as the interface.
You talk or type to Hermes, and it opens apps, finds and organises files, remembers what matters and runs routines on a schedule.
It is an independent project by Luke The Dev, and the README says clearly that it is not affiliated with Nous Research.
Nous Research publishes Hermes Agent, and Herald OS runs a standard Hermes install without forking it.
Its system abilities arrive as a normal Hermes plugin called herald-os-bridge.
The code is on GitHub under the MIT licence, and the status is alpha 0.1.
My Herald OS guide covers the full product tour, so this page stays on the free setup and the Agent OS fit.
What is free, and what can cost you money
People hear "free" and assume nothing can ever bill them.
That is true for the software, but not automatically true for the brain.
| Layer of the stack | Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Herald OS | Free (MIT licence) | Alpha 0.1, so keep backups of anything an agent touches. |
| Hermes Agent | Free and open source | Installed once with the official install script. |
| The model provider | Free or paid | This is the only layer that can bill you. |
| Free voice engine | Free | On-device faster-whisper transcription plus free Edge voices. |
| Live voice engine | Opt-in, $0.05 per minute | Billed on your own OpenAI key, with a daily cap you set. |
So a Hermes Agent OS can cost you nothing, but only when you choose the model on purpose.
The Hermes Agent OS free quick start
This is the Mac route I used, and Claude did the whole install for me in about two minutes.
| Step | What you do | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Run curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash, reload your shell, then hermes setup. | Herald OS uses your own Hermes install, so Hermes goes in first. |
| 2 | Choose a free model provider in hermes setup. | This is the step that keeps the whole stack at $0. |
| 3 | Download the Apple Silicon DMG from the Herald OS releases page and drag it to Applications. | You need macOS 13 or later on Apple Silicon. |
| 4 | Run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Herald OS.app" once. | The build is not notarised yet, so macOS blocks it the first time. |
| 5 | Open Herald OS and use Cmd+Ctrl+F for fullscreen and Cmd+Q to quit. | It takes over the screen and adds the herald-os-bridge plugin to Hermes. |
| 6 | Ask Hermes what is using the most memory, then ask it to move a file. | You should see a system tool answer and then an approval card. |
If you would rather give it a spare PC, the Herald OS Linux installer puts the whole OS on it with Fedora underneath.
There are also routes for Arch Linux, Omarchy, other Linux distributions and a virtual machine on an Apple Silicon Mac.
On the PC route, herald-os update installs a new version of the system and herald-os rollback goes back.
🔥 Want the exact free Hermes 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.
Picking a free brain so it stays free
This is the step that decides whether your bill stays at zero.
| Free brain route | Examples | Where it fits in my Agent OS |
|---|---|---|
| Nous Portal free list | Solar Mini 4, Nemotron, Laguna XS 2.1, Ling 3.1 Flash, Step 3.7 Flash, Ling 3.0 Flash, LongCat 2.0 | The fast lane for briefs, summaries and inbox triage. |
OpenRouter :free models | Laguna XS 2.1, LFM 2.5 2.6B, Gemma 4 and several Nemotron models | The backup lane when a Nous Portal model is rate limited. |
| Local model | LFM 2.5 2.6B, or a larger model through LM Studio | The zero-meter lane for private files and notes. |
The Nous Portal list is what I saw when I recorded my Solar Mini 4 video, and I checked the OpenRouter free list again today.
Some Nous Portal models appear twice, once free and once paid, so always click the entry marked free.
Free models get rate limited at busy times, which is why I keep a second free model ready.
For a fully offline brain, my run Hermes free forever guide shows LFM 2.5 running on an 8GB machine.
If you have more memory, my Hermes and Qwen free guide shows a bigger local model working as the brain.
How Herald OS fits into an Agent OS workflow
Most people think they have to choose one interface and live inside it forever.
That is the old way of thinking about agents.
The new way is to treat Hermes as the engine and every interface as a different window onto the same engine.
Herald OS, Hermes Desktop and my Agent OS all sit on the same Hermes install on my Mac.
That is why my automations showed up in Herald OS the moment I opened it.
My daily 6am to-do recap, my daily Japanese lesson and my morning inbox summaries were all there already.
| Herald OS feature | What it does | How it fits my Agent OS workflow |
|---|---|---|
| Dashboard | Greets you, shows today's schedule, what needs attention and recent screenshots. | It is my calm morning view before I open the build tabs. |
| Pick up where you left off | Reads names of recent documents, projects, chats and calendar events and suggests where to continue. | It replaces the five minutes I lose remembering what I was doing. |
| Hermes chat | Normal Hermes chat with Preview, Sources and new conversations. | It is the same Hermes my Agent OS Hermes tab talks to. |
| Spaces | Ideas, Work and Personal, plus your own, with a default space. | One space per client or company, which is the setup question members ask most. |
| Missions | Active goals that Hermes plans step by step, such as building a website. | Good for kicking off a project before I hand it to a coding agent. |
| Memory | Shows everything Hermes remembers about you. | Check it before you screen-share, because mine showed my Telegram details. |
| Files | Recent, favourites, projects, downloads, shared and deleted. | A quick file view without opening Finder. |
| Automations | Manage scheduled jobs and switch them on or off. | They sync with Hermes Desktop and my Agent OS because the Hermes underneath is shared. |
| Connections | Links tools, apps and external services. | It did not work or sync for me, so I keep connections in my Agent OS for now. |
| Settings | Model, runtimes including Docker, background agents, auto-approve, activity history, themes, software access, plugins, usage and voice. | Usage shows tokens used, plan and balance, which is how you prove the setup is still free. |
The dashboard as my morning screen
The dashboard opened with "Good morning, Julian. Your day already in motion."
It showed my schedule from scheduled tasks and a "here's what needs attention" list.
Pick up where you left off is a toggle, and the README says it reads names and dates rather than file contents.
It also pulled in recent screenshots from my desktop, which saved me hunting for them.
Spaces for separate clients
Spaces answer the question I get most in the AI Profit Boardroom, which is how to set up an agent OS for separate companies or clients.
You add a space per client, keep their work apart and set a default space.
In my Agent OS I do the same job with Hermes profiles, so the two ideas map neatly onto each other.
Settings worth knowing
You can set the preferred model, and I had one plugged in through a CLI.
You can choose where agents run tasks, including Docker, and how many background agents run at once.
Auto-approve decides whether Hermes asks before sending messages, and activity history shows background work you forgot about.
The General tab covers full screen launch, default space, default projects folder, do not disturb, stay awake, screen saver, dictation and quit session.
There is a notification bell sound, so turn on do not disturb before you record.
Software access lets you add or remove Claude Code, Codex and LM Studio, and Plugins lets you paste a GitHub link to add one.
The Voice page switches the engine, changes the speed, picks local or live voice, tests it and lists voice commands, which makes it feel a bit like Jarvis.
Privacy, notifications, networks, storage and accessibility settings sit underneath, and the sidebar is resizable.
🔥 Want the exact free Hermes 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.
Herald OS, Hermes Desktop and my Agent OS compared fairly
All three are good, and they suit different people.
Herald OS is free and the most polished-looking, but it is alpha.
Hermes Desktop is free and further along, so it is the steadier pick today.
My Agent OS is part of the AI Profit Boardroom, and it adds coding agents, Hermes profiles, build tabs and the training on how I use them.
Because they share one Hermes, you can run Herald OS beside either of the others without migrating anything.
Honest limits of the free Hermes Agent OS
Connections did not work or sync for me, so do not plan your setup around it yet.
The interface was cut off slightly at the top of my screen.
The Mac build is not notarised, so you need the one quarantine command.
Free models can be rate limited, and small local models are weaker than frontier models on hard jobs.
None of that stops me recommending it, but it should set your expectations.
What to do next
Install Hermes, pick a free brain and add Herald OS today.
Turn on one automation and watch it appear in every Hermes interface you use.
If you want the whole Agent OS with the Hermes tab and the training already set up, it lives inside the AI Profit Boardroom, with 3,400+ members and four coaching calls a week.
Also On Our Network
FAQ
Is there a free Hermes Agent OS?
Yes. Herald OS is a free, open-source Hermes Agent OS under the MIT licence, made by the independent developer Luke The Dev. It runs on Hermes Agent, which is also free and open source.
What can cost money in a free Hermes Agent OS?
Only the model provider. Choose a free Nous Portal model, a free OpenRouter model or a local model and the stack costs nothing. The optional Live voice engine is billed at $0.05 per minute on your own OpenAI key.
Do Herald OS automations sync with my Agent OS?
Yes, when they share the same Hermes install. Julian's daily recap, Japanese lesson and inbox summaries appeared in Herald OS, Hermes Desktop and his Agent OS at once.
Is Herald OS an official Nous Research product?
No. Herald OS is an independent project and is not affiliated with Nous Research. It runs on Hermes Agent and adds its system tools through the herald-os-bridge plugin.
What does not work in Herald OS yet?
It is alpha 0.1. Connections did not work or sync in Julian's test, and the interface was slightly cut off at the top of his screen.
Final word on the free Hermes Agent OS
Install Hermes, choose a free brain and let Herald OS sit beside the Agent OS you already run.
That is the simplest way to get a Hermes Agent OS free and working today.
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
→ Solar Mini 4 In Hermes Free? The Quick Start
→ Hermes Agent v0.20 Tested Inside The Agent OS
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