prose-contracts/deliverables/scot-hermes-playbook/research/02-leverage-surfaces.md

02 — High-Leverage Hermes Surfaces (the "harness power" inventory)

Prepared: 2026-09-11. Each surface: what it does, when to use it, exact command/file, doc URL. Verification: V-LIVE = confirmed against live CLI v0.21.1 on the reference install (Syslog kagentz); V-DOC = confirmed against official docs page (URL resolved HTTP 200); V-FILE = present on this machine's installed skills.

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1. Persona / SOUL file

• What: SOUL.md is Hermes' personality + standing-identity file, auto-injected into the system prompt alongside AGENTS.md rules and memory (confirmed by --ignore-rules help text which lists exactly what gets injected).
• When: client wants the agent to have a consistent voice/role (e.g., "you are my analyst").
• Where: ~/.hermes/SOUL.md (per-profile: ~/.hermes/profiles/<name>/SOUL.md).
• Doc: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/configuration [V-DOC]

2. Persistent memory (built-in + providers)

• What: Built-in MEMORY.md / USER.md always active; optional external providers (honcho, mem0, hindsight, byterover, …). Memory is injected every session — this is the single biggest cure for "it forgets my project."
• When: after any correction or preference the user states ("use bun, not npm") — tell Hermes to remember it and it persists.
• Command: hermes memory setup|status|off|reset [V-LIVE]
• Doc: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/memory [V-DOC]

3. Skills + skill authoring (the learning loop)

• What: Markdown procedure files that auto-load when a task matches. The differentiator: Hermes can WRITE its own skills after learning a workflow (self-improving), and the curator maintains them (usage tracking, archiving, backups).
• When: any workflow done twice — say "save this as a skill."
• Commands: hermes skills list|search|install|browse|config|check|update [V-LIVE]; in-session /skill <name>, /reload-skills [V-DOC]; authoring tool in-session is skill_manage (agent-side; writer should describe it as "ask your Hermes to save the procedure as a skill").
• Docs: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/reference/skills-catalog [V-DOC]; curator: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/curator [V-DOC]

4. Desktop Projects

• What: Human-named workspaces spanning multiple folders/repos; anchor desktop session grouping; bindable to a Kanban board for deterministic worktree/branch conventions.
• When: Scot's multi-repo workflows (portfolio ops). hermes project create <name> then add-folder.
• Command: hermes project create|list|show|add-folder|set-primary|use|bind-board [V-LIVE]

5. MCP servers

• What: Plug external tools into the agent (GitHub, Postgres, n8n, …) via the Model Context Protocol. Also runs in reverse: hermes mcp serve exposes Hermes conversations to other agents.
• Command: hermes mcp add|list|test|configure|picker|catalog|install|serve [V-LIVE]
• Doc: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/mcp [V-DOC]

6. Toolsets & deferred tool discovery

• What: ~30 built-in toolsets (web, browser, terminal, memory, kanban, tts, …) toggled per platform via hermes tools; the agent can also defer-load more tools at runtime via tool_search instead of carrying every schema in context.
• When: trim toolsets for focus/cost, or enable browser for web work.
• Command: hermes tools (interactive), hermes tools list|enable|disable [V-LIVE]; docs: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/reference/tools-reference [V-DOC]

7. Subagent delegation (delegate_task)

• What: In-session parallel subagents with isolated context + terminal sessions; leaf vs orchestrator roles; batched parallel spawns.
• When: research fan-out, parallel code review, anything that would flood the main context.
• Command: agent-side tool (no CLI). In-session: ask Hermes to "delegate X to subagents." Docs: /docs/user-guide/features (delegation section) [V-DOC]

8. Kanban (durable multi-agent board)

• What: SQLite board shared across profiles; tasks with dependencies, atomic claims, isolated workspaces, dispatcher; swarm verb builds parallel-worker → verifier → synthesizer graphs.
• When: recurring multi-step operations, handoffs between specialist profiles, long-running campaigns that must survive restarts.
• Command: hermes kanban create|list|show|swarm|link|complete|watch|stats|dispatch (40+ verbs) [V-LIVE]
• Doc: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/kanban [V-DOC]

9. Cron jobs

• What: Durable scheduler: duration or cron syntax, per-job model/skills overrides, output chaining (context_from), multi-platform delivery.
• When: daily reports, monitoring with alerts, weekly reviews.
• Command: hermes cron list|create|edit|pause|resume|run|remove|doctor|status [V-LIVE]
• Doc: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/cron [V-DOC]

10. Session store + session_search

• What: All conversations in a searchable SQLite store: resume by ID/name/latest, pin, export to JSONL/Markdown, prune, stats.
• When: "what did we decide last week" — the agent can search past sessions; user can browse them.
• Command: hermes sessions list|browse|rename|pin|export|prune|stats [V-LIVE]; in-session /resume, /branch [V-DOC]

11. Browser + computer use

• What: Two surfaces: headless browser automation (browser toolset: navigate/click/snapshot) and full desktop control via computer_use (cua-driver, macOS/Windows/Linux, background-first input that never steals focus).
• When: web research → headless browser; native apps (Excel, Figma, native chat) → computer use.
• Command: hermes computer-use install|status|doctor [V-LIVE]; enable via hermes tools [V-LIVE]

12. Model/provider routing, credential pools, fallbacks

• What: Per-invocation model/provider overrides; interactive model picker; pooled credentials with rotation; explicit fallback chains; per-task model overrides on Kanban.
• Command: hermes model [V-LIVE], hermes fallback list|add|remove [V-LIVE], hermes auth add|list|priority|reset [V-LIVE]; per-run flags -m, --provider, --reasoning [V-LIVE]
• Doc: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/integrations/providers [V-DOC]
• Note for Scot (OpenRouter + small fast models): --reasoning high on hard tasks; hermes fallback add so a failed call rolls to a second model instead of erroring.

13. Profiles (isolated instances)

• What: Completely independent Hermes instances (config, memory, skills, sessions) with wrapper aliases; export/import for distribution.
• When: separate work/persona contexts, or one profile per client.
• Command: hermes profile list|create|use|alias|export|import [V-LIVE]
• Doc: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/profiles [V-DOC]

14. Goal loops

• What: /goal <text> sets a standing objective the agent keeps working toward across turns until achieved (judge-checked continuations).
• When: "keep the CI green until it passes," "keep researching until you have 5 verified sources."
• Command: in-session /goal [text|status|pause|resume|clear] [V-DOC: /docs/reference/slash-commands]

15. Gateway (messaging platform front-end)

• What: The same agent reachable from Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, Email, and 10+ platforms with full tool access; runs as a background service.
• Command: hermes gateway run|install|start|status|setup [V-LIVE]
• Doc: https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/messaging/ [V-DOC]

16. Checkpoints & rollback

• What: Filesystem snapshots before destructive file operations; /rollback [N] restores.
• When: letting the agent loose on important files.
• Command: hermes chat --checkpoints / hermes checkpoints [V-LIVE]; in-session /rollback, /snapshot [V-DOC]

17. Projects↔Kanban binding + worktree mode

• What: hermes project bind-board ties a board to a project (deterministic worktree + branch per task); -w/--worktree runs any session in an isolated git worktree.
• When: parallel coding agents that must not collide.
• Command: hermes project bind-board [V-LIVE]; hermes -w [V-LIVE]

18. Prompt-size introspection

• What: Byte breakdown of system prompt + tool schemas — diagnose why responses feel "dumb" (usually context bloat).
• Command: hermes prompt-size [V-LIVE]