Hermes Agent with Venice | Venice API Docs

Hermes Agent is an open-source, self-hosted AI agent built by Nous Research. It features persistent memory, autonomous skill creation, and a built-in learning loop that gets more capable the longer it runs. Point it at the Venice API and your agent gets access to 230+ models and tools across text, image, video, audio, embeddings, and more.

Hermes Agent Docs

Full documentation, provider setup, and configuration options on the official Hermes Agent docs.

Why Venice + Hermes Agent?

The Venice API gives your Hermes Agent access to the full Venice platform through a single OpenAI-compatible endpoint.

Capability	What you get
Text and chat	Private and anonymized models (GLM, Qwen, Claude, GPT, and more)
Image	Generation, editing, upscaling, and background removal
Video	Generation and transcription
Audio	Speech synthesis (TTS), music generation, and speech-to-text
Embeddings	Vector embeddings for RAG and semantic search
Tools	Web scraping, web search, text parsing, and crypto RPC

Private Inference

Zero data retention. Prompts are never stored or logged

Persistent Memory

Hermes remembers context across sessions and restarts

15+ Platforms

Reach your agent on Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, and more

Setup

1. Install Hermes Agent

macOS / Linux
WSL2 (Windows)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

Install WSL2 first, then run the same command:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

After installation, reload your shell:

source ~/.zshrc   # or: source ~/.bashrc

2. Configure Venice as your provider

Run the model setup wizard:

hermes model

Select Custom endpoint (self-hosted / VLLM / etc.) and enter the following when prompted:

Field	Value
API base URL	`https://api.venice.ai/api/v1`
API key	Your Venice API key
Model name	A Venice model ID (see below)

Get an API key from venice.ai/settings/api if you don’t have one yet.

You can also configure Venice directly in ~/.hermes/config.yaml:

model:
  default: zai-org-glm-5
  provider: custom
  base_url: https://api.venice.ai/api/v1
  api_key: ${VENICE_API_KEY}

And set the key in ~/.hermes/.env:

VENICE_API_KEY=your-key-here

3. Pick a model

When the wizard asks for a model, choose one based on your use case:

Use case	Model	Privacy
General	`zai-org-glm-5`	Private
Reasoning	`kimi-k2-6`	Private
Coding	`claude-opus-4-7`	Anonymized
Vision	`z-ai-glm-5v-turbo`	Anonymized
Uncensored	`venice-uncensored-1-2`	Private

Change your model anytime with no restart needed:

hermes model              # full wizard

Or switch mid-session:

/model custom:claude-opus-4-7

4. Start chatting

Open the classic CLI or the modern TUI:

hermes            # classic CLI
hermes --tui      # modern TUI (recommended)

Try a prompt to verify everything works:

Summarize this repo in 5 bullets and tell me what the main entrypoint is.

Connect messaging platforms

Once the CLI works, connect your messaging apps through the gateway:

hermes gateway setup

This walks you through connecting Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, and other platforms. Your agent becomes reachable from any connected channel, all powered by Venice.

hermes gateway      # start the messaging gateway

Privacy modes

Venice models in Hermes Agent follow the same privacy tiers as the Venice API:

Private models (GLM, Qwen, DeepSeek, Llama, Venice Uncensored) run on Venice’s GPU fleet. Prompts are never stored or logged.
Anonymized models (Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok) are proxied through Venice with all identifying information stripped. The third-party provider sees Venice as the customer, not you.

Venice API skills

Hermes Agent has a built-in skills system compatible with the Agent Skills format. Venice publishes official skills that teach your agent how to use every Venice endpoint (chat, image generation, video, audio, embeddings, augment tools, and more). Install Venice skills directly from GitHub:

hermes skills install veniceai/skills

Or search for individual skills:

hermes skills search venice

Hermes will discover each skill by its SKILL.md frontmatter and load it on demand.

Key commands

Command	Description
`hermes`	Start chatting
`hermes model`	Change provider or model
`hermes tools`	Configure which tools are enabled
`hermes gateway`	Start the messaging gateway
`hermes --continue`	Resume your last session
`hermes doctor`	Diagnose issues
`hermes update`	Update to the latest version

Resources

Hermes Agent Docs

Official documentation

GitHub

Source code and releases

Venice Model Catalog

Browse available models

Venice Privacy

How Venice protects your data

Docs

Getting Started

Text & Chat

Image, Video & Audio

Agents & Integrations

Coding Tools

Agent Tooling

SDKs & Frameworks

Hermes Agent

Hermes Agent Docs

Why Venice + Hermes Agent?

Private Inference

Persistent Memory

15+ Platforms

Setup

1. Install Hermes Agent

2. Configure Venice as your provider

3. Pick a model

4. Start chatting

Connect messaging platforms

Privacy modes

Venice API skills

Key commands

Resources

Hermes Agent Docs

GitHub

Venice Model Catalog

Venice Privacy

Hermes Agent Docs

​Why Venice + Hermes Agent?

Private Inference

Persistent Memory

15+ Platforms

​Setup

​1. Install Hermes Agent

​2. Configure Venice as your provider

​3. Pick a model

​4. Start chatting

​Connect messaging platforms

​Privacy modes

​Venice API skills

​Key commands

​Resources

Hermes Agent Docs

GitHub

Venice Model Catalog

Venice Privacy

Why Venice + Hermes Agent?

Setup

1. Install Hermes Agent

2. Configure Venice as your provider

3. Pick a model

4. Start chatting

Connect messaging platforms

Privacy modes

Venice API skills

Key commands

Resources