Environment Variables Reference
All variables go in ~/.hermes/.env. You can also set them with hermes config set VAR value.
LLM Providers
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
OPENROUTER_API_KEY | OpenRouter API key (recommended for flexibility) |
OPENROUTER_BASE_URL | Override the OpenRouter-compatible base URL |
HERMES_OPENROUTER_CACHE | Enable OpenRouter response caching (1/true/yes/on). Overrides openrouter.response_cache in config.yaml. See Response Caching. |
HERMES_OPENROUTER_CACHE_TTL | Cache TTL in seconds (1-86400). Overrides openrouter.response_cache_ttl in config.yaml. |
NOUS_BASE_URL | Override Nous Portal base URL (rarely needed; development/testing only) |
NOUS_INFERENCE_BASE_URL | Override Nous inference endpoint directly |
AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY | Vercel AI Gateway API key (ai-gateway.vercel.sh) |
AI_GATEWAY_BASE_URL | Override AI Gateway base URL (default: https://ai-gateway.vercel.sh/v1) |
OPENAI_API_KEY | API key for custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints (used with OPENAI_BASE_URL) |
OPENAI_BASE_URL | Base URL for custom endpoint (VLLM, SGLang, etc.) |
COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN | GitHub token for Copilot API — first priority (OAuth gho_* or fine-grained PAT github_pat_*; classic PATs ghp_* are not supported) |
GH_TOKEN | GitHub token — second priority for Copilot (also used by gh CLI) |
GITHUB_TOKEN | GitHub token — third priority for Copilot |
HERMES_COPILOT_ACP_COMMAND | Override Copilot ACP CLI binary path (default: copilot) |
COPILOT_CLI_PATH | Alias for HERMES_COPILOT_ACP_COMMAND |
HERMES_COPILOT_ACP_ARGS | Override Copilot ACP arguments (default: --acp --stdio) |
COPILOT_ACP_BASE_URL | Override Copilot ACP base URL |
GLM_API_KEY | z.ai / ZhipuAI GLM API key (z.ai) |
ZAI_API_KEY | Alias for GLM_API_KEY |
Z_AI_API_KEY | Alias for GLM_API_KEY |
GLM_BASE_URL | Override z.ai base URL (default: https://api.z.ai/api/paas/v4) |
KIMI_API_KEY | Kimi / Moonshot AI API key (moonshot.ai) |
KIMI_BASE_URL | Override Kimi base URL (default: https://api.moonshot.ai/v1) |
KIMI_CN_API_KEY | Kimi / Moonshot China API key (moonshot.cn) |
ARCEEAI_API_KEY | Arcee AI API key (chat.arcee.ai) |
ARCEE_BASE_URL | Override Arcee base URL (default: https://api.arcee.ai/api/v1) |
GMI_API_KEY | GMI Cloud API key (gmicloud.ai) |
GMI_BASE_URL | Override GMI Cloud base URL (default: https://api.gmi-serving.com/v1) |
MINIMAX_API_KEY | MiniMax API key — global endpoint (minimax.io). Not used by minimax-oauth (OAuth path uses browser login instead). |
MINIMAX_BASE_URL | Override MiniMax base URL (default: https://api.minimax.io/anthropic — Hermes uses MiniMax's Anthropic Messages-compatible endpoint). Not used by minimax-oauth. |
MINIMAX_CN_API_KEY | MiniMax API key — China endpoint (minimaxi.com). Not used by minimax-oauth (OAuth path uses browser login instead). |
MINIMAX_CN_BASE_URL | Override MiniMax China base URL (default: https://api.minimaxi.com/anthropic). Not used by minimax-oauth. |
KILOCODE_API_KEY | Kilo Code API key (kilo.ai) |
KILOCODE_BASE_URL | Override Kilo Code base URL (default: https://api.kilo.ai/api/gateway) |
XIAOMI_API_KEY | Xiaomi MiMo API key (platform.xiaomimimo.com) |
XIAOMI_BASE_URL | Override Xiaomi MiMo base URL (default: https://api.xiaomimimo.com/v1) |
TOKENHUB_API_KEY | Tencent TokenHub API key (tokenhub.tencentmaas.com) |
TOKENHUB_BASE_URL | Override Tencent TokenHub base URL (default: https://tokenhub.tencentmaas.com/v1) |
AZURE_FOUNDRY_API_KEY | Azure AI Foundry / Azure OpenAI API key (ai.azure.com) |
AZURE_FOUNDRY_BASE_URL | Azure AI Foundry endpoint URL (e.g. https://<resource>.openai.azure.com/openai/v1 for OpenAI-style, or https://<resource>.services.ai.azure.com/anthropic for Anthropic-style) |
AZURE_ANTHROPIC_KEY | Azure Anthropic API key for provider: anthropic + base_url pointing at an Azure Foundry Claude deployment (alternative to ANTHROPIC_API_KEY when both Anthropic and Azure Anthropic are configured) |
HF_TOKEN | Hugging Face token for Inference Providers (huggingface.co/settings/tokens) |
HF_BASE_URL | Override Hugging Face base URL (default: https://router.huggingface.co/v1) |
GOOGLE_API_KEY | Google AI Studio API key (aistudio.google.com/app/apikey) |
GEMINI_API_KEY | Alias for GOOGLE_API_KEY |
GEMINI_BASE_URL | Override Google AI Studio base URL |
HERMES_GEMINI_CLIENT_ID | OAuth client ID for google-gemini-cli PKCE login (optional; defaults to Google's public gemini-cli client) |
HERMES_GEMINI_CLIENT_SECRET | OAuth client secret for google-gemini-cli (optional) |
HERMES_GEMINI_PROJECT_ID | GCP project ID for paid Gemini tiers (free tier auto-provisions) |
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY | Anthropic Console API key (console.anthropic.com) |
ANTHROPIC_TOKEN | Manual or legacy Anthropic OAuth/setup-token override |
DASHSCOPE_API_KEY | Alibaba Cloud DashScope API key for Qwen models (modelstudio.console.alibabacloud.com) |
DASHSCOPE_BASE_URL | Custom DashScope base URL (default: https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1; use https://dashscope.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1 for mainland-China region) |
DEEPSEEK_API_KEY | DeepSeek API key for direct DeepSeek access (platform.deepseek.com) |
DEEPSEEK_BASE_URL | Custom DeepSeek API base URL |
NVIDIA_API_KEY | NVIDIA NIM API key — Nemotron and open models (build.nvidia.com) |
NVIDIA_BASE_URL | Override NVIDIA base URL (default: https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1; set to http://localhost:8000/v1 for a local NIM endpoint) |
OLLAMA_API_KEY | Ollama Cloud API key — managed Ollama catalog without local GPU (ollama.com/settings/keys) |
OLLAMA_BASE_URL | Override Ollama Cloud base URL (default: https://ollama.com/v1) |
XAI_API_KEY | xAI (Grok) API key for chat + TTS (console.x.ai) |
XAI_BASE_URL | Override xAI base URL (default: https://api.x.ai/v1) |
MISTRAL_API_KEY | Mistral API key for Voxtral TTS and Voxtral STT (console.mistral.ai) |
AWS_REGION | AWS region for Bedrock inference (e.g. us-east-1, eu-central-1). Read by boto3. |
AWS_PROFILE | AWS named profile for Bedrock authentication (reads ~/.aws/credentials). Leave unset to use default boto3 credential chain. |
BEDROCK_BASE_URL | Override Bedrock runtime base URL (default: https://bedrock-runtime.us-east-1.amazonaws.com; usually leave unset and use AWS_REGION instead) |
HERMES_QWEN_BASE_URL | Qwen Portal base URL override (default: https://portal.qwen.ai/v1) |
OPENCODE_ZEN_API_KEY | OpenCode Zen API key — pay-as-you-go access to curated models (opencode.ai) |
OPENCODE_ZEN_BASE_URL | Override OpenCode Zen base URL |
OPENCODE_GO_API_KEY | OpenCode Go API key — $10/month subscription for open models (opencode.ai) |
OPENCODE_GO_BASE_URL | Override OpenCode Go base URL |
CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN | Explicit Claude Code token override if you export one manually |
HERMES_MODEL | Override model name at process level (used by cron scheduler; prefer config.yaml for normal use) |
VOICE_TOOLS_OPENAI_KEY | Preferred OpenAI key for OpenAI speech-to-text and text-to-speech providers |
HERMES_LOCAL_STT_COMMAND | Optional local speech-to-text command template. Supports {input_path}, {output_dir}, {language}, and {model} placeholders |
HERMES_LOCAL_STT_LANGUAGE | Default language passed to HERMES_LOCAL_STT_COMMAND or auto-detected local whisper CLI fallback (default: en) |
HERMES_HOME | Override Hermes config directory (default: ~/.hermes). Also scopes the gateway PID file and systemd service name, so multiple installations can run concurrently |
HERMES_KANBAN_HOME | Override the shared Hermes root that anchors the kanban board (db + workspaces + worker logs). Falls back to get_default_hermes_root() (the parent of any active profile). Useful for tests and unusual deployments |
HERMES_KANBAN_DB | Pin the kanban database file path directly (highest precedence; beats HERMES_KANBAN_HOME). The dispatcher injects this into worker subprocess env so profile workers converge on the dispatcher's board |
HERMES_KANBAN_WORKSPACES_ROOT | Pin the kanban workspaces root directly (highest precedence for workspaces; beats HERMES_KANBAN_HOME). The dispatcher injects this into worker subprocess env |
Provider Auth (OAuth)
For native Anthropic auth, Hermes prefers Claude Code's own credential files when they exist because those credentials can refresh automatically. OAuth against Anthropic requires a Claude Max plan with purchased extra usage credits — Hermes routes as Claude Code, which only draws from the Max plan's extra/overage credits, not the base Max allowance, and does not work on Claude Pro. Without Max + extra credits, use an API key instead. Environment variables such as ANTHROPIC_TOKEN remain useful as manual overrides, but they are no longer the preferred path for Claude Max login.
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
HERMES_INFERENCE_PROVIDER | Override provider selection: auto, custom, openrouter, nous, openai-codex, copilot, copilot-acp, anthropic, huggingface, gemini, zai, kimi-coding, kimi-coding-cn, minimax, minimax-cn, minimax-oauth (browser OAuth login — no API key required; see MiniMax OAuth guide), kilocode, xiaomi, arcee, gmi, alibaba, alibaba-coding-plan (alias alibaba_coding), deepseek, nvidia, ollama-cloud, xai (alias grok), google-gemini-cli, qwen-oauth, bedrock, opencode-zen, opencode-go, ai-gateway, tencent-tokenhub (default: auto) |
HERMES_PORTAL_BASE_URL | Override Nous Portal URL (for development/testing) |
NOUS_INFERENCE_BASE_URL | Override Nous inference API URL |
HERMES_NOUS_MIN_KEY_TTL_SECONDS | Min agent key TTL before re-mint (default: 1800 = 30min) |
HERMES_NOUS_TIMEOUT_SECONDS | HTTP timeout for Nous credential / token flows |
HERMES_DUMP_REQUESTS | Dump API request payloads to log files (true/false) |
HERMES_PREFILL_MESSAGES_FILE | Path to a JSON file of ephemeral prefill messages injected at API-call time |
HERMES_TIMEZONE | IANA timezone override (for example America/New_York) |
Tool APIs
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
PARALLEL_API_KEY | AI-native web search (parallel.ai) |
FIRECRAWL_API_KEY | Web scraping and cloud browser (firecrawl.dev) |
FIRECRAWL_API_URL | Custom Firecrawl API endpoint for self-hosted instances (optional) |
TAVILY_API_KEY | Tavily API key for AI-native web search, extract, and crawl (app.tavily.com) |
TAVILY_BASE_URL | Override the Tavily API endpoint. Useful for corporate proxies and self-hosted Tavily-compatible search backends. Same pattern as GROQ_BASE_URL. |
EXA_API_KEY | Exa API key for AI-native web search and contents (exa.ai) |
BROWSERBASE_API_KEY | Browser automation (browserbase.com) |
BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID | Browserbase project ID |
BROWSER_USE_API_KEY | Browser Use cloud browser API key (browser-use.com) |
FIRECRAWL_BROWSER_TTL | Firecrawl browser session TTL in seconds (default: 300) |
BROWSER_CDP_URL | Chrome DevTools Protocol URL for local browser (set via /browser connect, e.g. ws://localhost:9222) |
CAMOFOX_URL | Camofox local anti-detection browser URL (default: http://localhost:9377) |
BROWSER_INACTIVITY_TIMEOUT | Browser session inactivity timeout in seconds |
FAL_KEY | Image generation (fal.ai) |
GROQ_API_KEY | Groq Whisper STT API key (groq.com) |
ELEVENLABS_API_KEY | ElevenLabs premium TTS voices (elevenlabs.io) |
STT_GROQ_MODEL | Override the Groq STT model (default: whisper-large-v3-turbo) |
GROQ_BASE_URL | Override the Groq OpenAI-compatible STT endpoint |
STT_OPENAI_MODEL | Override the OpenAI STT model (default: whisper-1) |
STT_OPENAI_BASE_URL | Override the OpenAI-compatible STT endpoint |
GITHUB_TOKEN | GitHub token for Skills Hub (higher API rate limits, skill publish) |
HONCHO_API_KEY | Cross-session user modeling (honcho.dev) |
HONCHO_BASE_URL | Base URL for self-hosted Honcho instances (default: Honcho cloud). No API key required for local instances |
HINDSIGHT_TIMEOUT | Timeout in seconds for Hindsight memory-provider API calls (default: 60). Bump this if your Hindsight instance is slow to respond during /sync or on_session_switch and you're seeing timeouts in errors.log. |
SUPERMEMORY_API_KEY | Semantic long-term memory with profile recall and session ingest (supermemory.ai) |
TINKER_API_KEY | RL training (tinker-console.thinkingmachines.ai) |
WANDB_API_KEY | RL training metrics (wandb.ai) |
DAYTONA_API_KEY | Daytona cloud sandboxes (daytona.io) |
VERCEL_TOKEN | Vercel Sandbox access token (vercel.com) |
VERCEL_PROJECT_ID | Vercel project ID (required with VERCEL_TOKEN) |
VERCEL_TEAM_ID | Vercel team ID (required with VERCEL_TOKEN) |
VERCEL_OIDC_TOKEN | Vercel short-lived OIDC token (development-only alternative) |
Langfuse Observability
Environment variables for the bundled observability/langfuse plugin. Set these with hermes tools → Langfuse Observability or manually in ~/.hermes/.env. The plugin must also be enabled (hermes plugins enable observability/langfuse) before any of these take effect.
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
HERMES_LANGFUSE_PUBLIC_KEY | Langfuse project public key (pk-lf-...). Required. |
HERMES_LANGFUSE_SECRET_KEY | Langfuse project secret key (sk-lf-...). Required. |
HERMES_LANGFUSE_BASE_URL | Langfuse server URL (default: https://cloud.langfuse.com). Set for self-hosted. |
HERMES_LANGFUSE_ENV | Environment tag on traces (production, staging, …) |
HERMES_LANGFUSE_RELEASE | Release/version tag on traces |
HERMES_LANGFUSE_SAMPLE_RATE | SDK sampling rate 0.0–1.0 (default: 1.0) |
HERMES_LANGFUSE_MAX_CHARS | Per-field truncation for serialized payloads (default: 12000) |
HERMES_LANGFUSE_DEBUG | true enables verbose plugin logging to agent.log |
LANGFUSE_PUBLIC_KEY / LANGFUSE_SECRET_KEY / LANGFUSE_BASE_URL | Standard Langfuse SDK names. Accepted as fallbacks when the HERMES_LANGFUSE_* equivalents are unset. |
Nous Tool Gateway
These variables configure the Tool Gateway for paid Nous subscribers or self-hosted gateway deployments. Most users don't need to set these — the gateway is configured automatically via hermes model or hermes tools.
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
TOOL_GATEWAY_DOMAIN | Base domain for Tool Gateway routing (default: nousresearch.com) |
TOOL_GATEWAY_SCHEME | HTTP or HTTPS scheme for gateway URLs (default: https) |
TOOL_GATEWAY_USER_TOKEN | Auth token for the Tool Gateway (normally auto-populated from Nous auth) |
FIRECRAWL_GATEWAY_URL | Override URL for the Firecrawl gateway endpoint specifically |
Terminal Backend
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
TERMINAL_ENV | Backend: local, docker, ssh, singularity, modal, daytona, vercel_sandbox |
HERMES_DOCKER_BINARY | Override the container binary Hermes shells out to (e.g. podman, /usr/local/bin/docker). When unset, Hermes auto-discovers docker or podman on PATH. Needed when both are installed and you want the non-default, or when the binary lives outside PATH. |
TERMINAL_DOCKER_IMAGE | Docker image (default: nikolaik/python-nodejs:python3.11-nodejs20) |
TERMINAL_DOCKER_FORWARD_ENV | JSON array of env var names to explicitly forward into Docker terminal sessions. Note: skill-declared required_environment_variables are forwarded automatically — you only need this for vars not declared by any skill. |
TERMINAL_DOCKER_VOLUMES | Additional Docker volume mounts (comma-separated host:container pairs) |
TERMINAL_DOCKER_MOUNT_CWD_TO_WORKSPACE | Advanced opt-in: mount the launch cwd into Docker /workspace (true/false, default: false) |
TERMINAL_SINGULARITY_IMAGE | Singularity image or .sif path |
TERMINAL_MODAL_IMAGE | Modal container image |
TERMINAL_DAYTONA_IMAGE | Daytona sandbox image |
TERMINAL_VERCEL_RUNTIME | Vercel Sandbox runtime (node24, node22, python3.13) |
TERMINAL_TIMEOUT | Command timeout in seconds |
TERMINAL_LIFETIME_SECONDS | Max lifetime for terminal sessions in seconds |
TERMINAL_CWD | Working directory for terminal sessions (gateway/cron only; CLI uses launch dir) |
SUDO_PASSWORD | Enable sudo without interactive prompt |
For cloud sandbox backends, persistence is filesystem-oriented. TERMINAL_LIFETIME_SECONDS controls when Hermes cleans up an idle terminal session, and later resumes may recreate the sandbox rather than keep the same live processes running.
SSH Backend
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
TERMINAL_SSH_HOST | Remote server hostname |
TERMINAL_SSH_USER | SSH username |
TERMINAL_SSH_PORT | SSH port (default: 22) |
TERMINAL_SSH_KEY | Path to private key |
TERMINAL_SSH_PERSISTENT | Override persistent shell for SSH (default: follows TERMINAL_PERSISTENT_SHELL) |
Container Resources (Docker, Singularity, Modal, Daytona)
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
TERMINAL_CONTAINER_CPU | CPU cores (default: 1) |
TERMINAL_CONTAINER_MEMORY | Memory in MB (default: 5120) |
TERMINAL_CONTAINER_DISK | Disk in MB (default: 51200) |
TERMINAL_CONTAINER_PERSISTENT | Persist container filesystem across sessions (default: true) |
TERMINAL_SANDBOX_DIR | Host directory for workspaces and overlays (default: ~/.hermes/sandboxes/) |
Persistent Shell
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
TERMINAL_PERSISTENT_SHELL | Enable persistent shell for non-local backends (default: true). Also settable via terminal.persistent_shell in config.yaml |
TERMINAL_LOCAL_PERSISTENT | Enable persistent shell for local backend (default: false) |
TERMINAL_SSH_PERSISTENT | Override persistent shell for SSH backend (default: follows TERMINAL_PERSISTENT_SHELL) |
Messaging
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN | Telegram bot token (from @BotFather) |
TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated user IDs allowed to use the bot (applies to DMs, groups, and forums) |
TELEGRAM_GROUP_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated sender user IDs authorized in groups/forums only (does NOT grant DM access). Chat-ID-shaped values (starting with -) are still honored as chat IDs for backward compat with pre-#17686 configs, with a deprecation warning. |
TELEGRAM_GROUP_ALLOWED_CHATS | Comma-separated group/forum chat IDs; any member is authorized |
TELEGRAM_HOME_CHANNEL | Default Telegram chat/channel for cron delivery |
TELEGRAM_HOME_CHANNEL_NAME | Display name for the Telegram home channel |
TELEGRAM_WEBHOOK_URL | Public HTTPS URL for webhook mode (enables webhook instead of polling) |
TELEGRAM_WEBHOOK_PORT | Local listen port for webhook server (default: 8443) |
TELEGRAM_WEBHOOK_SECRET | Secret token Telegram echoes back in each update for verification. Required whenever TELEGRAM_WEBHOOK_URL is set — the gateway refuses to start without it (GHSA-3vpc-7q5r-276h). Generate with openssl rand -hex 32. |
TELEGRAM_REACTIONS | Enable emoji reactions on messages during processing (default: false) |
TELEGRAM_REPLY_TO_MODE | Reply-reference behavior: off, first (default), or all. Matches the Discord pattern. |
TELEGRAM_IGNORED_THREADS | Comma-separated Telegram forum topic/thread IDs where the bot never responds |
TELEGRAM_PROXY | Proxy URL for Telegram connections — overrides HTTPS_PROXY. Supports http://, https://, socks5:// |
DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN | Discord bot token |
DISCORD_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated Discord user IDs allowed to use the bot |
DISCORD_ALLOWED_ROLES | Comma-separated Discord role IDs allowed to use the bot (OR with DISCORD_ALLOWED_USERS). Auto-enables the Members intent. Useful when moderation teams churn — role grants propagate automatically. |
DISCORD_ALLOWED_CHANNELS | Comma-separated Discord channel IDs. When set, the bot only responds in these channels (plus DMs if allowed). Overrides config.yaml discord.allowed_channels. |
DISCORD_PROXY | Proxy URL for Discord connections — overrides HTTPS_PROXY. Supports http://, https://, socks5:// |
DISCORD_HOME_CHANNEL | Default Discord channel for cron delivery |
DISCORD_HOME_CHANNEL_NAME | Display name for the Discord home channel |
DISCORD_COMMAND_SYNC_POLICY | Discord slash-command startup sync policy: safe (diff and reconcile), bulk (legacy tree.sync()), or off |
DISCORD_REQUIRE_MENTION | Require an @mention before responding in server channels |
DISCORD_FREE_RESPONSE_CHANNELS | Comma-separated channel IDs where mention is not required |
DISCORD_AUTO_THREAD | Auto-thread long replies when supported |
DISCORD_REACTIONS | Enable emoji reactions on messages during processing (default: true) |
DISCORD_IGNORED_CHANNELS | Comma-separated channel IDs where the bot never responds |
DISCORD_NO_THREAD_CHANNELS | Comma-separated channel IDs where bot responds without auto-threading |
DISCORD_REPLY_TO_MODE | Reply-reference behavior: off, first (default), or all |
DISCORD_ALLOW_MENTION_EVERYONE | Allow the bot to ping @everyone/@here (default: false). See Mention Control. |
DISCORD_ALLOW_MENTION_ROLES | Allow the bot to ping @role mentions (default: false). |
DISCORD_ALLOW_MENTION_USERS | Allow the bot to ping individual @user mentions (default: true). |
DISCORD_ALLOW_MENTION_REPLIED_USER | Ping the author when replying to their message (default: true). |
SLACK_BOT_TOKEN | Slack bot token (xoxb-...) |
SLACK_APP_TOKEN | Slack app-level token (xapp-..., required for Socket Mode) |
SLACK_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated Slack user IDs |
SLACK_HOME_CHANNEL | Default Slack channel for cron delivery |
SLACK_HOME_CHANNEL_NAME | Display name for the Slack home channel |
WHATSAPP_ENABLED | Enable the WhatsApp bridge (true/false) |
WHATSAPP_MODE | bot (separate number) or self-chat (message yourself) |
WHATSAPP_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated phone numbers (with country code, no +), or * to allow all senders |
WHATSAPP_ALLOW_ALL_USERS | Allow all WhatsApp senders without an allowlist (true/false) |
WHATSAPP_DEBUG | Log raw message events in the bridge for troubleshooting (true/false) |
SIGNAL_HTTP_URL | signal-cli daemon HTTP endpoint (for example http://127.0.0.1:8080) |
SIGNAL_ACCOUNT | Bot phone number in E.164 format |
SIGNAL_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated E.164 phone numbers or UUIDs |
SIGNAL_GROUP_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated group IDs, or * for all groups |
SIGNAL_HOME_CHANNEL_NAME | Display name for the Signal home channel |
SIGNAL_IGNORE_STORIES | Ignore Signal stories/status updates |
SIGNAL_ALLOW_ALL_USERS | Allow all Signal users without an allowlist |
TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID | Twilio Account SID (shared with telephony skill) |
TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN | Twilio Auth Token (shared with telephony skill; also used for webhook signature validation) |
TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER | Twilio phone number in E.164 format (shared with telephony skill) |
SMS_WEBHOOK_URL | Public URL for Twilio signature validation — must match the webhook URL in Twilio Console (required) |
SMS_WEBHOOK_PORT | Webhook listener port for inbound SMS (default: 8080) |
SMS_WEBHOOK_HOST | Webhook bind address (default: 0.0.0.0) |
SMS_INSECURE_NO_SIGNATURE | Set to true to disable Twilio signature validation (local dev only — not for production) |
SMS_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated E.164 phone numbers allowed to chat |
SMS_ALLOW_ALL_USERS | Allow all SMS senders without an allowlist |
SMS_HOME_CHANNEL | Phone number for cron job / notification delivery |
SMS_HOME_CHANNEL_NAME | Display name for the SMS home channel |
EMAIL_ADDRESS | Email address for the Email gateway adapter |
EMAIL_PASSWORD | Password or app password for the email account |
EMAIL_IMAP_HOST | IMAP hostname for the email adapter |
EMAIL_IMAP_PORT | IMAP port |
EMAIL_SMTP_HOST | SMTP hostname for the email adapter |
EMAIL_SMTP_PORT | SMTP port |
EMAIL_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated email addresses allowed to message the bot |
EMAIL_HOME_ADDRESS | Default recipient for proactive email delivery |
EMAIL_HOME_ADDRESS_NAME | Display name for the email home target |
EMAIL_POLL_INTERVAL | Email polling interval in seconds |
EMAIL_ALLOW_ALL_USERS | Allow all inbound email senders |
DINGTALK_CLIENT_ID | DingTalk bot AppKey from developer portal (open.dingtalk.com) |
DINGTALK_CLIENT_SECRET | DingTalk bot AppSecret from developer portal |
DINGTALK_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated DingTalk user IDs allowed to message the bot |
FEISHU_APP_ID | Feishu/Lark bot App ID from open.feishu.cn |
FEISHU_APP_SECRET | Feishu/Lark bot App Secret |
FEISHU_DOMAIN | feishu (China) or lark (international). Default: feishu |
FEISHU_CONNECTION_MODE | websocket (recommended) or webhook. Default: websocket |
FEISHU_ENCRYPT_KEY | Optional encryption key for webhook mode |
FEISHU_VERIFICATION_TOKEN | Optional verification token for webhook mode |
FEISHU_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated Feishu user IDs allowed to message the bot |
FEISHU_ALLOW_BOTS | none (default) / mentions / all — accept inbound messages from other bots. See bot-to-bot messaging |
FEISHU_REQUIRE_MENTION | true (default) / false — whether group messages must @mention the bot. Override per-chat via group_rules.<chat_id>.require_mention. |
FEISHU_HOME_CHANNEL | Feishu chat ID for cron delivery and notifications |
WECOM_BOT_ID | WeCom AI Bot ID from admin console |
WECOM_SECRET | WeCom AI Bot secret |
WECOM_WEBSOCKET_URL | Custom WebSocket URL (default: wss://openws.work.weixin.qq.com) |
WECOM_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated WeCom user IDs allowed to message the bot |
WECOM_HOME_CHANNEL | WeCom chat ID for cron delivery and notifications |
WECOM_CALLBACK_CORP_ID | WeCom enterprise Corp ID for callback self-built app |
WECOM_CALLBACK_CORP_SECRET | Corp secret for the self-built app |
WECOM_CALLBACK_AGENT_ID | Agent ID of the self-built app |
WECOM_CALLBACK_TOKEN | Callback verification token |
WECOM_CALLBACK_ENCODING_AES_KEY | AES key for callback encryption |
WECOM_CALLBACK_HOST | Callback server bind address (default: 0.0.0.0) |
WECOM_CALLBACK_PORT | Callback server port (default: 8645) |
WECOM_CALLBACK_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated user IDs for allowlist |
WECOM_CALLBACK_ALLOW_ALL_USERS | Set true to allow all users without an allowlist |
WEIXIN_ACCOUNT_ID | Weixin account ID obtained via QR login through iLink Bot API |
WEIXIN_TOKEN | Weixin authentication token obtained via QR login through iLink Bot API |
WEIXIN_BASE_URL | Override Weixin iLink Bot API base URL (default: https://ilinkai.weixin.qq.com) |
WEIXIN_CDN_BASE_URL | Override Weixin CDN base URL for media (default: https://novac2c.cdn.weixin.qq.com/c2c) |
WEIXIN_DM_POLICY | Direct message policy: open, allowlist, pairing, disabled (default: open) |
WEIXIN_GROUP_POLICY | Group message policy: open, allowlist, disabled (default: disabled) |
WEIXIN_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated Weixin user IDs allowed to DM the bot |
WEIXIN_GROUP_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated Weixin group chat IDs (not member user IDs) allowed to interact with the bot. The variable name is legacy — it expects group IDs. Only takes effect when iLink actually delivers group events; QR-login iLink bot identities (...@im.bot) typically don't receive ordinary WeChat group messages. |
WEIXIN_HOME_CHANNEL | Weixin chat ID for cron delivery and notifications |
WEIXIN_HOME_CHANNEL_NAME | Display name for the Weixin home channel |
WEIXIN_ALLOW_ALL_USERS | Allow all Weixin users without an allowlist (true/false) |
BLUEBUBBLES_SERVER_URL | BlueBubbles server URL (e.g. http://192.168.1.10:1234) |
BLUEBUBBLES_PASSWORD | BlueBubbles server password |
BLUEBUBBLES_WEBHOOK_HOST | Webhook listener bind address (default: 127.0.0.1) |
BLUEBUBBLES_WEBHOOK_PORT | Webhook listener port (default: 8645) |
BLUEBUBBLES_HOME_CHANNEL | Phone/email for cron/notification delivery |
BLUEBUBBLES_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated authorized users |
BLUEBUBBLES_ALLOW_ALL_USERS | Allow all users (true/false) |
QQ_APP_ID | QQ Bot App ID from q.qq.com |
QQ_CLIENT_SECRET | QQ Bot App Secret from q.qq.com |
QQ_STT_API_KEY | API key for external STT fallback provider (optional, used when QQ built-in ASR returns no text) |
QQ_STT_BASE_URL | Base URL for external STT provider (optional) |
QQ_STT_MODEL | Model name for external STT provider (optional) |
QQ_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated QQ user openIDs allowed to message the bot |
QQ_GROUP_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated QQ group IDs for group @-message access |
QQ_ALLOW_ALL_USERS | Allow all users (true/false, overrides QQ_ALLOWED_USERS) |
QQBOT_HOME_CHANNEL | QQ user/group openID for cron delivery and notifications |
QQBOT_HOME_CHANNEL_NAME | Display name for the QQ home channel |
QQ_PORTAL_HOST | Override the QQ portal host (set to sandbox.q.qq.com to route through the sandbox gateway; default: q.qq.com). |
MATTERMOST_URL | Mattermost server URL (e.g. https://mm.example.com) |
MATTERMOST_TOKEN | Bot token or personal access token for Mattermost |
MATTERMOST_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated Mattermost user IDs allowed to message the bot |
MATTERMOST_HOME_CHANNEL | Channel ID for proactive message delivery (cron, notifications) |
MATTERMOST_REQUIRE_MENTION | Require @mention in channels (default: true). Set to false to respond to all messages. |
MATTERMOST_FREE_RESPONSE_CHANNELS | Comma-separated channel IDs where bot responds without @mention |
MATTERMOST_REPLY_MODE | Reply style: thread (threaded replies) or off (flat messages, default) |
MATRIX_HOMESERVER | Matrix homeserver URL (e.g. https://matrix.org) |
MATRIX_ACCESS_TOKEN | Matrix access token for bot authentication |
MATRIX_USER_ID | Matrix user ID (e.g. @hermes:matrix.org) — required for password login, optional with access token |
MATRIX_PASSWORD | Matrix password (alternative to access token) |
MATRIX_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated Matrix user IDs allowed to message the bot (e.g. @alice:matrix.org) |
MATRIX_HOME_ROOM | Room ID for proactive message delivery (e.g. !abc123:matrix.org) |
MATRIX_ENCRYPTION | Enable end-to-end encryption (true/false, default: false) |
MATRIX_DEVICE_ID | Stable Matrix device ID for E2EE persistence across restarts (e.g. HERMES_BOT). Without this, E2EE keys rotate every startup and historic-room decrypt breaks. |
MATRIX_REACTIONS | Enable processing-lifecycle emoji reactions on inbound messages (default: true). Set to false to disable. |
MATRIX_REQUIRE_MENTION | Require @mention in rooms (default: true). Set to false to respond to all messages. |
MATRIX_FREE_RESPONSE_ROOMS | Comma-separated room IDs where bot responds without @mention |
MATRIX_AUTO_THREAD | Auto-create threads for room messages (default: true) |
MATRIX_DM_MENTION_THREADS | Create a thread when bot is @mentioned in a DM (default: false) |
MATRIX_RECOVERY_KEY | Recovery key for cross-signing verification after device key rotation. Recommended for E2EE setups with cross-signing enabled. |
HASS_TOKEN | Home Assistant Long-Lived Access Token (enables HA platform + tools) |
HASS_URL | Home Assistant URL (default: http://homeassistant.local:8123) |
WEBHOOK_ENABLED | Enable the webhook platform adapter (true/false) |
WEBHOOK_PORT | HTTP server port for receiving webhooks (default: 8644) |
WEBHOOK_SECRET | Global HMAC secret for webhook signature validation (used as fallback when routes don't specify their own) |
API_SERVER_ENABLED | Enable the OpenAI-compatible API server (true/false). Runs alongside other platforms. |
API_SERVER_KEY | Bearer token for API server authentication. Enforced for non-loopback binding. |
API_SERVER_CORS_ORIGINS | Comma-separated browser origins allowed to call the API server directly (for example http://localhost:3000,http://127.0.0.1:3000). Default: disabled. |
API_SERVER_PORT | Port for the API server (default: 8642) |
API_SERVER_HOST | Host/bind address for the API server (default: 127.0.0.1). Use 0.0.0.0 for network access — requires API_SERVER_KEY and a narrow API_SERVER_CORS_ORIGINS allowlist. |
API_SERVER_MODEL_NAME | Model name advertised on /v1/models. Defaults to the profile name (or hermes-agent for the default profile). Useful for multi-user setups where frontends like Open WebUI need distinct model names per connection. |
GATEWAY_PROXY_URL | URL of a remote Hermes API server to forward messages to (proxy mode). When set, the gateway handles platform I/O only — all agent work is delegated to the remote server. Also configurable via gateway.proxy_url in config.yaml. |
GATEWAY_PROXY_KEY | Bearer token for authenticating with the remote API server in proxy mode. Must match API_SERVER_KEY on the remote host. |
MESSAGING_CWD | Working directory for terminal commands in messaging mode (default: ~) |
GATEWAY_ALLOWED_USERS | Comma-separated user IDs allowed across all platforms |
GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS | Allow all users without allowlists (true/false, default: false) |
Advanced Messaging Tuning
Advanced per-platform knobs for throttling the outbound message batcher. Most users never need to touch these; defaults are set to respect each platform's rate limits without feeling sluggish.
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
HERMES_TELEGRAM_TEXT_BATCH_DELAY_SECONDS | Grace window before flushing a queued Telegram text chunk (default: 0.6). |
HERMES_TELEGRAM_TEXT_BATCH_SPLIT_DELAY_SECONDS | Delay between split chunks when a single Telegram message exceeds the length limit (default: 2.0). |
HERMES_TELEGRAM_MEDIA_BATCH_DELAY_SECONDS | Grace window before flushing queued Telegram media (default: 0.6). |
HERMES_TELEGRAM_FOLLOWUP_GRACE_SECONDS | Delay before sending a follow-up after the agent finishes, to avoid racing the last stream chunk. |
HERMES_TELEGRAM_HTTP_CONNECT_TIMEOUT / _READ_TIMEOUT / _WRITE_TIMEOUT / _POOL_TIMEOUT | Override the underlying python-telegram-bot HTTP timeouts (seconds). |
HERMES_TELEGRAM_HTTP_POOL_SIZE | Max concurrent HTTP connections to the Telegram API. |
HERMES_TELEGRAM_DISABLE_FALLBACK_IPS | Disable the hard-coded Cloudflare fallback IPs used when DNS fails (true/false). |
HERMES_DISCORD_TEXT_BATCH_DELAY_SECONDS | Grace window before flushing a queued Discord text chunk (default: 0.6). |
HERMES_DISCORD_TEXT_BATCH_SPLIT_DELAY_SECONDS | Delay between split chunks when a Discord message exceeds the length limit (default: 2.0). |
HERMES_MATRIX_TEXT_BATCH_DELAY_SECONDS / _SPLIT_DELAY_SECONDS | Matrix equivalents of the Telegram batch knobs. |
HERMES_FEISHU_TEXT_BATCH_DELAY_SECONDS / _SPLIT_DELAY_SECONDS / _MAX_CHARS / _MAX_MESSAGES | Feishu batcher tuning — delay, split delay, max chars per message, max messages per batch. |
HERMES_FEISHU_MEDIA_BATCH_DELAY_SECONDS | Feishu media flush delay. |
HERMES_FEISHU_DEDUP_CACHE_SIZE | Size of the Feishu webhook dedup cache (default: 1024). |
HERMES_WECOM_TEXT_BATCH_DELAY_SECONDS / _SPLIT_DELAY_SECONDS | WeCom batcher tuning. |
HERMES_VISION_DOWNLOAD_TIMEOUT | Timeout in seconds for downloading an image before handing it to vision models (default: 30). |
HERMES_RESTART_DRAIN_TIMEOUT | Gateway: seconds to wait for active runs to drain on /restart before forcing the restart (default: 900). |
HERMES_GATEWAY_PLATFORM_CONNECT_TIMEOUT | Per-platform connect timeout during gateway startup (seconds). |
HERMES_GATEWAY_BUSY_INPUT_MODE | Default gateway busy-input behavior: queue, steer, or interrupt. Can be overridden per chat with /busy. |
HERMES_GATEWAY_BUSY_ACK_ENABLED | Whether the gateway sends an acknowledgment message (⚡/⏳/⏩) when a user sends input while the agent is busy (default: true). Set to false to suppress these messages entirely — the input is still queued/steered/interrupts as normal, only the chat reply is silenced. Bridged from display.busy_ack_enabled in config.yaml. |
HERMES_CRON_TIMEOUT | Inactivity timeout for cron job agent runs in seconds (default: 600). The agent can run indefinitely while actively calling tools or receiving stream tokens — this only triggers when idle. Set to 0 for unlimited. |
HERMES_CRON_SCRIPT_TIMEOUT | Timeout for pre-run scripts attached to cron jobs in seconds (default: 120). Override for scripts that need longer execution (e.g., randomized delays for anti-bot timing). Also configurable via cron.script_timeout_seconds in config.yaml. |
HERMES_CRON_MAX_PARALLEL | Max cron jobs run in parallel per tick (default: 4). |
Agent Behavior
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
HERMES_MAX_ITERATIONS | Max tool-calling iterations per conversation (default: 90) |
HERMES_INFERENCE_MODEL | Override model name at process level (takes priority over config.yaml for the session). Also settable via -m/--model flag. |
HERMES_YOLO_MODE | Set to 1 to bypass dangerous-command approval prompts. Equivalent to --yolo. |
HERMES_ACCEPT_HOOKS | Auto-approve any unseen shell hooks declared in config.yaml without a TTY prompt. Equivalent to --accept-hooks or hooks_auto_accept: true. |
HERMES_IGNORE_USER_CONFIG | Skip ~/.hermes/config.yaml and use built-in defaults (credentials in .env still load). Equivalent to --ignore-user-config. |
HERMES_IGNORE_RULES | Skip auto-injection of AGENTS.md, SOUL.md, .cursorrules, memory, and preloaded skills. Equivalent to --ignore-rules. |
HERMES_MD_NAMES | Comma-separated list of rules-file names to auto-inject (default: AGENTS.md,CLAUDE.md,.cursorrules,SOUL.md). |
HERMES_TOOL_PROGRESS | Deprecated compatibility variable for tool progress display. Prefer display.tool_progress in config.yaml. |
HERMES_TOOL_PROGRESS_MODE | Deprecated compatibility variable for tool progress mode. Prefer display.tool_progress in config.yaml. |
HERMES_HUMAN_DELAY_MODE | Response pacing: off/natural/custom |
HERMES_HUMAN_DELAY_MIN_MS | Custom delay range minimum (ms) |
HERMES_HUMAN_DELAY_MAX_MS | Custom delay range maximum (ms) |
HERMES_QUIET | Suppress non-essential output (true/false) |
HERMES_API_TIMEOUT | LLM API call timeout in seconds (default: 1800) |
HERMES_API_CALL_STALE_TIMEOUT | Non-streaming stale-call timeout in seconds (default: 300). Auto-disabled for local providers when left unset. Also configurable via providers.<id>.stale_timeout_seconds or providers.<id>.models.<model>.stale_timeout_seconds in config.yaml. |
HERMES_STREAM_READ_TIMEOUT | Streaming socket read timeout in seconds (default: 120). Auto-increased to HERMES_API_TIMEOUT for local providers. Increase if local LLMs time out during long code generation. |
HERMES_STREAM_STALE_TIMEOUT | Stale stream detection timeout in seconds (default: 180). Auto-disabled for local providers. Triggers connection kill if no chunks arrive within this window. |
HERMES_STREAM_RETRIES | Number of mid-stream reconnect attempts on transient network errors (default: 3). |
HERMES_AGENT_TIMEOUT | Gateway inactivity timeout for a running agent in seconds (default: 900). Resets on every tool call and streamed token. Set to 0 to disable. |
HERMES_AGENT_TIMEOUT_WARNING | Gateway: send a warning message after this many seconds of inactivity (default: 75% of HERMES_AGENT_TIMEOUT). |
HERMES_AGENT_NOTIFY_INTERVAL | Gateway: interval in seconds between progress notifications on long-running agent turns. |
HERMES_CHECKPOINT_TIMEOUT | Timeout for filesystem checkpoint creation in seconds (default: 30). |
HERMES_EXEC_ASK | Enable execution approval prompts in gateway mode (true/false) |
HERMES_ENABLE_PROJECT_PLUGINS | Enable auto-discovery of repo-local plugins from ./.hermes/plugins/ (true/false, default: false) |
HERMES_BACKGROUND_NOTIFICATIONS | Background process notification mode in gateway: all (default), result, error, off |
HERMES_EPHEMERAL_SYSTEM_PROMPT | Ephemeral system prompt injected at API-call time (never persisted to sessions) |
HERMES_PREFILL_MESSAGES_FILE | Path to a JSON file of ephemeral prefill messages injected at API-call time. |
HERMES_ALLOW_PRIVATE_URLS | true/false — allow tools to fetch localhost/private-network URLs. Off by default in gateway mode. |
HERMES_REDACT_SECRETS | true/false — control secret redaction in logs and shareable outputs (default: true). |
HERMES_WRITE_SAFE_ROOT | Optional directory prefix that restricts write_file/patch writes; paths outside require approval. |
HERMES_DISABLE_FILE_STATE_GUARD | Set to 1 to turn off the "file changed since you read it" guard on patch/write_file. |
HERMES_CORE_TOOLS | Comma-separated override for the canonical core tool list (advanced; rarely needed). |
HERMES_BUNDLED_SKILLS | Comma-separated override for the list of bundled skills loaded at startup. |
HERMES_OPTIONAL_SKILLS | Comma-separated list of optional-skill names to auto-install on first run. |
HERMES_DEBUG_INTERRUPT | Set to 1 to log detailed interrupt/cancel tracing to agent.log. |
HERMES_DUMP_REQUESTS | Dump API request payloads to log files (true/false) |
HERMES_DUMP_REQUEST_STDOUT | Dump API request payloads to stdout instead of log files. |
HERMES_OAUTH_TRACE | Set to 1 to log OAuth token exchange and refresh attempts. Includes redacted timing info. |
HERMES_OAUTH_FILE | Override the path used for OAuth credential storage (default: ~/.hermes/auth.json). |
HERMES_AGENT_HELP_GUIDANCE | Append additional guidance text to the system prompt for custom deployments. |
HERMES_AGENT_LOGO | Override the ASCII banner logo at CLI startup. |
DELEGATION_MAX_CONCURRENT_CHILDREN | Max parallel subagents per delegate_task batch (default: 3, floor of 1, no ceiling). Also configurable via delegation.max_concurrent_children in config.yaml — the config value takes priority. |
Interface
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
HERMES_TUI | Launch the TUI instead of the classic CLI when set to 1. Equivalent to passing --tui. |
HERMES_TUI_DIR | Path to a prebuilt ui-tui/ directory (must contain dist/entry.js and populated node_modules). Used by distros and Nix to skip the first-launch npm install. |
HERMES_TUI_RESUME | Resume a specific TUI session by ID on launch. When set, hermes --tui skips forging a fresh session and picks up the named session instead — useful for re-attaching after a disconnect or terminal crash. |
HERMES_TUI_THEME | Force the TUI color theme: light, dark, or a raw 6-character background hex (e.g. ffffff or 1a1a2e). When unset, Hermes auto-detects using COLORFGBG and terminal background queries; this variable overrides detection on terminals (Ghostty, Warp, iTerm2, etc.) that don't set COLORFGBG. |
HERMES_INFERENCE_MODEL | Force the model for hermes -z / hermes chat without mutating config.yaml. Pairs with HERMES_INFERENCE_PROVIDER. Useful for scripted callers (sweeper, CI, batch runners) that need to override the default model per run. |
Session Settings
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
SESSION_IDLE_MINUTES | Reset sessions after N minutes of inactivity (default: 1440) |
SESSION_RESET_HOUR | Daily reset hour in 24h format (default: 4 = 4am) |
Context Compression (config.yaml only)
Context compression is configured exclusively through config.yaml — there are no environment variables for it. Threshold settings live in the compression: block, while the summarization model/provider lives under auxiliary.compression:.
compression:
enabled: true
threshold: 0.50
target_ratio: 0.20 # fraction of threshold to preserve as recent tail
protect_last_n: 20 # minimum recent messages to keep uncompressed
Legacy migration
Older configs with compression.summary_model, compression.summary_provider, and compression.summary_base_url are automatically migrated to auxiliary.compression.* on first load.
Auxiliary Task Overrides
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
AUXILIARY_VISION_PROVIDER | Override provider for vision tasks |
AUXILIARY_VISION_MODEL | Override model for vision tasks |
AUXILIARY_VISION_BASE_URL | Direct OpenAI-compatible endpoint for vision tasks |
AUXILIARY_VISION_API_KEY | API key paired with AUXILIARY_VISION_BASE_URL |
AUXILIARY_WEB_EXTRACT_PROVIDER | Override provider for web extraction/summarization |
AUXILIARY_WEB_EXTRACT_MODEL | Override model for web extraction/summarization |
AUXILIARY_WEB_EXTRACT_BASE_URL | Direct OpenAI-compatible endpoint for web extraction/summarization |
AUXILIARY_WEB_EXTRACT_API_KEY | API key paired with AUXILIARY_WEB_EXTRACT_BASE_URL |
For task-specific direct endpoints, Hermes uses the task's configured API key or OPENAI_API_KEY. It does not reuse OPENROUTER_API_KEY for those custom endpoints.
Fallback Model (config.yaml only)
The primary model fallback is configured exclusively through config.yaml — there are no environment variables for it. Add a fallback_model section with provider and model keys to enable automatic failover when your main model encounters errors.
fallback_model:
provider: openrouter
model: anthropic/claude-sonnet-4
See Fallback Providers for full details.
Provider Routing (config.yaml only)
These go in ~/.hermes/config.yaml under the provider_routing section:
| Key | Description |
|---|---|
sort | Sort providers: "price" (default), "throughput", or "latency" |
only | List of provider slugs to allow (e.g., ["anthropic", "google"]) |
ignore | List of provider slugs to skip |
order | List of provider slugs to try in order |
require_parameters | Only use providers supporting all request params (true/false) |
data_collection | "allow" (default) or "deny" to exclude data-storing providers |
tip
Use hermes config set to set environment variables — it automatically saves them to the right file (.env for secrets, config.yaml for everything else).