Hermes Agent is a free, open source AI agent from Nous Research. You install it on your computer or put it in the cloud, connect an AI model, and it learns your work and writes its own skills over time. Where it stops: a local agent only works while it is on, and Nous's own guide says a schedule written the wrong way or a job sent to the wrong chat can fail without a warning, so someone still checks the results. If you want a Hermes Agent alternative where the work is set up and done for you, Arkeo agents each do one whole job in the software you already use, and we look after them.
Hermes Agent alternative: what Hermes Agent is
Nous Research calls Hermes Agent "the agent that grows with you." It is free and open source under the MIT license. Nous says it is the only agent with a built-in learning loop. It writes skills from what it does, gets better at them as it uses them, and builds a deeper picture of who you are over time.
You can install it with the Hermes Desktop app on a Mac or Windows computer, or from the command line on Mac, Linux or Windows. Then you connect an AI model, from your own provider or from Nous Portal. You talk to it in the desktop app, or in Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal or email. It can search the web, work in web pages, and run reports, backups and briefings on a schedule you set in plain words.
Nous also offers more ways to use it. Hermes Cloud is an always-on agent that Nous hosts for you. Hermes Business is a shared setup for a whole team, where a skill one person builds becomes available to each person's agent. Hermes Enterprise runs on systems your company controls.
Hermes Agent vs Arkeo, side by side
| Hermes Agent | Arkeo agents | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | One agent that learns and grows the more you use it | Agents that each do one whole job in your business |
| Who sets it up | You install it, connect a model and teach it your work | We set it up with you, around how your team works |
| Where it works | Your computer, a server, or Hermes Cloud | Inside the software your business already uses |
| What it works on | What you ask it, plus tasks you schedule in plain words | One job from start to finish, on its own schedule |
| Checking the work | Up to you | Checks its own work and sends your team anything that doesn't match |
| When something breaks | You look into it, with the docs and the community | We find it and fix it |
Hermes Agent vs OpenClaw
People often weigh Hermes Agent against OpenClaw. Both are free and open source under the MIT license. Both install on Mac, Windows and Linux, both let you talk to your agent from chat apps like Telegram, Slack and WhatsApp, and both can do jobs on a schedule. Each one even has a guide for moving over from the other.
The difference is in what each one puts first. Nous Research puts the learning loop first: Hermes writes and improves its own skills, and its cloud and Business plans let a team share them. OpenClaw puts first one setup you keep on your own machine, under your control, looked after by a non-profit foundation with no paid version.
How to set up Hermes Agent yourself
The main steps, in short. Each one links to Hermes Agent's own guide.
- 1
Install it
Download Hermes Desktop for Mac or Windows, or use the one-line install from the command line.
- 2
Connect a model
Connect your own model provider, or sign in to Nous Portal with hermes setup --portal.
- 3
Connect a chat app
Set up the messaging gateway for Telegram, Slack, WhatsApp, Teams or email, so you can reach your agent from your phone.
- 4
Schedule jobs and keep it on
Ask in plain words for reports or briefings on a schedule, and say which chat gets the results. Keep the gateway running, or deploy to Hermes Cloud so it stays on.
Where Hermes Agent stops: what is still done by hand
Nous's own FAQ covers the first limit. When you stop an agent on your own computer, tasks that need it don't run until you start it again. When you move to a new computer, you keep a backup of its data yourself. Hermes Cloud keeps an agent on, but your team still teaches it each job and checks what it does.
The second is checking. Hermes's guide to fixing scheduled jobs says a schedule written the wrong way can quietly become a one-time job or be refused. A job pointed at the wrong chat "silently drops the response": the job runs, but nobody gets the result. Scheduled jobs only fire while the Hermes gateway is running.
The third is upkeep. Hermes changes fast, and its public issue tracker shows it. Among the reports filed on one day in October: a WhatsApp message that showed as sent but was dropped, and a setup where all replies failed after several days of running, until it was restarted. Someone has to notice problems like these, update, and test the jobs again.
For the owner of a 10 to 50 person business, the question is who on the team does that teaching and checking.
Hermes Agent alternatives for a small business
Most owners end up in one of these.
Hermes Agent on your own computer
- How it works
- You install it, connect a model and teach it your jobs.
- Good for
- One person who wants a personal agent and likes to shape it.
- Where it breaks
- Tasks stop when the agent stops, and a job pointed at the wrong chat can drop its result without a warning. The teaching and checking are yours.
Hermes Cloud or Hermes Business
- How it works
- Nous hosts the agent for you, always on. Business gives each person on your team a hosted agent, with skills shared across the team.
- Good for
- Teams who want agents of their own without keeping a computer on.
- Where it breaks
- Hosting is handled, but your team still teaches each agent its jobs, checks the results and keeps an eye on what each person spends.
OpenClaw
- How it works
- An open source assistant you install on your own computer or server and message from chat apps.
- Good for
- Owners and teams who want full control of their data and setup.
- Where it breaks
- Setup, updates and safety settings are yours, and its own docs say a scheduled job can report OK after a step failed.
Arkeo agents
- How it works
- Each agent does one whole job in the software you already use, like your CRM, your billing or your email. We set it up with you, and it reports to your team in Slack or Teams.
- Good for
- Owners of 10 to 50 person businesses who want the job done, not an agent to teach.
- Where it breaks
- Anything your rules keep for a person, like a large refund or an angry customer, goes to your team in one message.
Jobs to hand to agents instead
Agents fit the work that comes back every day or week and crosses more than one program. Following up with deals that went quiet in your CRM. Spotting customers who stopped logging in, so your team calls at the right time. Pulling the week's numbers into one scorecard each Monday.
Each agent reads what is in front of it, follows your rules, checks its own work, and tells a person when the job needs one. Your team doesn't teach it or keep it on. We do that part.
Agents that do whole jobs
Each of these owns one job from start to finish, and your team talks to it in Slack or Teams.
Cold leads get a real second conversation.
- Finds deals quiet for 60 days or moreevery week
- Reads the whole history on each oneper deal
- Sends the approved emails across the weekevery day
Your team calls at the right time, with the reason.
- Checks who logged in and set upevery hour
- Spots who stopped or is ready for moreevery night
- Sends next steps or tells the owner to callsame day
The Monday meeting starts from the same page.
- Pulls your numbers from five toolsMondays at 7 a.m.
- Calls out anything that moved past your set percentageeach week
- Posts a one-page summary to Slackevery Monday
Questions
Is my customers' information safe?
Yes. Agents work in your own accounts and see only what each job needs. Customer details never go into public AI. Agents connect to AI through business-grade connections audited under SOC 2.
What is a good Hermes Agent alternative?
It depends on what you want. If you want another agent to set up yourself, OpenClaw is the one people weigh it against most. If you want the work done for you, Arkeo agents are set up and looked after for you.
Is Hermes Agent better than OpenClaw?
They put different things first. Hermes Agent is built around learning and writing its own skills. OpenClaw is built around one setup you keep on your own machine, under your control. Try both on a small job and see which one feels easier.
Can I keep Hermes Agent for my own work?
Yes. A personal agent for your own work and agents for business jobs can be used side by side.
What does it cost?
You get the price on the call, along with the hours it saves your team.