Nous Research · Hermes Agent

Your AI SEO Team

An autonomous AI agent that browses the web, edits files, runs Claude Code, and works for you 24/7 — all from Telegram.

How it works ↓ vs Claude Desktop
The big idea

What is Hermes?

It's like a remote intern with superpowers — give it a task, it figures out how to do it.

Hermes is a remote intern with superpowers. You give it a task, it figures out how to do it — browsing websites, editing files, writing code, managing WordPress — and reports back. You don't have to hold its hand through every step.

Built on Port Code by Nous Research — open-source, plugs into any AI model.

Core abilities

What It Can Do

Three superpowers that cover 90% of SEO operations.

🌐

Browse the Web

Opens Chrome, logs into WordPress, edits pages, takes screenshots, fills forms — hands-on, like a human would.

📂

Manipulate Files

Reads, writes, searches, and edits files on disk. Manages content, scripts, and project files like Claude Code.

💻

Command the Terminal

Runs Python, shell scripts, git. Fires up Claude Code CLI for complex coding and reasoning tasks.


The brain

DeepSeek V4 Flash

Fast and cheap as the primary model — Claude Code gets called when things get hard.

TraitWhy it matters
⚡ FastNear-instant responses, feels responsive
💰 CheapMost cost-efficient — keeps API costs low
🎯 EfficientHandles 90%+ of daily tasks without slowdown

DeepSeek is the dispatcher — fast, cheap, good at routing. Claude Code is the specialist — slower but smarter, called in when needed.


Decision guide

Hermes vs Claude Code Desktop

Why we run Hermes as our primary agent.

FactorHermesClaude Desktop
Cron Jobs Unlimited — recurring tasks run autonomously None — one-shot only
Cross-Session Memory Retains — searches past sessions Blank slate every session
Self-Improvement Patches skills, saves memory automatically Static — no auto-improvement
Mobile & Team Telegram — from anywhere, multi-user Local — mobile exists but sessions don't persist
Multi-Model Swap mid-task via /model Tied to one model per session
Tool Ecosystem MCP + Skills + sub-agents CLI only — no MCP

Daily use

Commands & Concepts

Three slash commands to control the agent.

🔄

/model <name>

Swap the AI model mid-conversation. Example: /model anthropic/claude-sonnet-4

🔁

/restart

Hard reset across all sessions — Telegram, CLI, cron. Use when stuck or unresponsive.

📋

/skills

List all available skills — reusable workflows the agent can load on demand.


Reusable workflows

What Are Skills?

Instruction manuals the agent reads before starting a job — steps, pitfalls, and verification.

wp-onpage-optimizer

WordPress on-page SEO workflow

domain-seo-audit

Full SEO audit from scratch

sister-site-audit

Sister site analysis

content-gap-expander

Keyword gap analysis

pbn-link-building

PBN link building campaigns

project-tracker

Updates Obsidian vault automatically

Skills are never final — tweak as you go. Nothing is final until it ranks.


Pluggable tools

MCP — USB-C for AI

Each service runs an MCP server. Hermes discovers and uses them automatically — no per-service API keys needed.

🔗

Ahrefs

Site Explorer, Keywords, Rank Tracker, Backlinks

📊

GSC

Search Console — clicks, impressions, CTR, position

📈

DataForSEO

SERP, backlinks, keywords, AI optimization

🗂️

Airtable

Project tracking CRUD


Core capabilities

13 Built-in Functions

These work regardless of which skills or MCP servers are loaded.

🌐

Web Browser

Navigate, click, type, screenshot, run JS

📂

File System

Read, write, search, patch files

💻

Terminal

Shell commands, scripts, bg processes

🔍

Web Search

Real-time information retrieval

👁️

Vision

Analyze images and screenshots

🧠

Memory

Persist facts across sessions

🔎

Session Search

Recall past conversations

👥

Delegation

Spawn sub-agents for parallel work

Cron Jobs

Schedule recurring tasks

📨

Messaging

Telegram, Discord, email delivery

🔧

Skill Mgmt

Create, patch, delete skills

🐍

Code Exec

Chain tool calls in Python

🎤

Text-to-Speech

Audio output


Long-term memory

The Obsidian Vault

A local markdown wiki that powers long-term campaigns — searches, trackers, decisions, all in plain text.

📓

Project Trackers

Status, deliverables, URLs, checklists — one note per campaign

📊

Performance Reviews

M4 reviews, audit results, stored as searchable notes

📝

Decision Log

Why we chose certain approaches, what failed, what worked

ProCon
Very fast — local markdown, no API callsLocal — on Ric's PC, not cloud-accessible directly
Single source of truth — auto-updated by project-tracker skillClickUp MCP sometimes down
GitHub sync — view-only for team

Mindset

Guiding Principles

How we work with AI — and how we don't.

🛠️

Recao AI Is Just a Tool

It executes faster and more consistently than a human — but strategy, judgment, and final decisions are yours.

🧠

Give Context, Retry, Verify

Better prompts = better results. If it fails, try a different method or model. AI hallucinates — always double-check the output.

📈

Nothing Is Final Until It Ranks

Publish → Monitor → Adjust → Repeat. Skills evolve as we learn. If it doesn't move rankings, change it.


Safe experimentation

Create Your Own Skill

Worried about touching a team skill? Ask Hermes to create a personal one — zero risk to shared workflows.

Just say: "Create a skill called michelle-seo-onpage that does X, Y, Z"

🛡️

Safe

Tweak freely — no risk to team workflows

📋

Load on demand

"Use michelle-seo-onpage for this"

🔄

Iterate

Patch, add pitfalls, remove stale steps

🚀

Promote

Share with team once it proves itself


File structure

Obsidian Vault Layout

Everything lives in Ric's office PC under ~/Documents/Obsidian Vault/ — plain markdown, no cloud lock-in.

Folder / NotePurpose
Hermes Usage/This doc, onboarding deck, account usage logs
What is Hermes Agent.mdThis document — team onboarding & reference
account_usage_log.mdAPI consumption tracking
Marketing Intelligence/Daily AI marketing briefs & competitor intel
AI Marketing Daily/Daily marketing roundups by date
Sister Sites/Per-site project trackers
JDL688/JDL688 sister site trackers & reviews
PBN Link Building/PBN campaign notes & performance reviews
Aged Domains/Aged domain project files

🔍 Hermes can search any note on demand — just ask.