How to Install Hermes Agent on Ubuntu

July 8, 2026 Β· Reading time: 5 minutes

Hermes Agent is an open-source AI agent by Nous Research that runs on your own server. Unlike cloud solutions, you have full control over your data, memory, and configuration. This guide shows you how to get it running on an Ubuntu VPS in under a minute.

What You'll Need

  • VPS with Ubuntu 22.04+ β€” even the cheapest 1 GB RAM one works (we recommend Contabo from €4.40)
  • LLM API key β€” OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, OpenRouter, or any compatible provider
  • SSH access to your server

Step 1: Connect to Server

SSH into your VPS:

$ ssh root@your-server-ip

Step 2: Run Installer

One command installs everything β€” Python 3.11, Node.js, ripgrep, ffmpeg, and Hermes itself:

# Install Hermes Agent $ curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash
πŸ’‘ Tip: The installer auto-detects what's missing and installs it. The only prerequisites are git, curl, and xz-utils β€” usually pre-installed on Ubuntu.

Step 3: Reload Shell and Run

# Reload shell $ source ~/.bashrc # Start interactive chat $ hermes

Step 4: Configure LLM Provider

Hermes walks you through configuration on first run:

$ hermes model $ hermes setup

Supported providers: Nous Portal, OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, DeepSeek, xAI Grok, and dozens more.

Step 5: Set Up Telegram Bot (Optional)

$ hermes gateway setup $ hermes gateway

Running 24/7 as a Service

$ hermes gateway install $ systemctl --user enable hermes-gateway $ sudo loginctl enable-linger $USER

Minimum Requirements

πŸ’Ύ RAM1 GB min, 2 GB recommended
βš™οΈ CPU1 vCPU minimum
πŸ’Ώ Storage10–20 GB SSD
⚠️ GPUNot required β€” Hermes calls external LLM APIs
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Troubleshooting

hermes: command not found

Reload shell: source ~/.bashrc or exec bash

Missing API key

Run hermes model and select a provider.

Gateway won't start

Check logs: tail -f ~/.hermes/logs/gateway.log

That's it! Your own AI agent is running on your server, with full data and privacy control. Explore more articles β†’

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