Plugins

Plugins

Hermes has a plugin system for adding custom tools, hooks, and integrations without modifying core code.

If you want to create a custom tool for yourself, your team, or one project, this is usually the right path. The developer guide’s Adding Tools page is for built-in Hermes core tools that live in tools/ and toolsets.py.

→ Build a Hermes Plugin — step-by-step guide with a complete working example.

Quick overview

Drop a directory into ~/.hermes/plugins/ with a plugin.yaml and Python code:

~/.hermes/plugins/my-plugin/
├── plugin.yaml      # manifest
├── __init__.py      # register() — wires schemas to handlers
├── schemas.py       # tool schemas (what the LLM sees)
└── tools.py         # tool handlers (what runs when called)

Start Hermes — your tools appear alongside built-in tools. The model can call them immediately.

Minimal working example

Here is a complete plugin that adds a hello_world tool and logs every tool call via a hook.

~/.hermes/plugins/hello-world/plugin.yaml

name: hello-world
version: "1.0"
description: A minimal example plugin

~/.hermes/plugins/hello-world/__init__.py

"""Minimal Hermes plugin — registers a tool and a hook."""

import json


def register(ctx):
    # --- Tool: hello_world ---
    schema = {
        "name": "hello_world",
        "description": "Returns a friendly greeting for the given name.",
        "parameters": {
            "type": "object",
            "properties": {
                "name": {
                    "type": "string",
                    "description": "Name to greet",
                }
            },
            "required": ["name"],
        },
    }

    def handle_hello(params, **kwargs):
        del kwargs
        name = params.get("name", "World")
        return json.dumps({"success": True, "greeting": f"Hello, {name}!"})

    ctx.register_tool(
        name="hello_world",
        toolset="hello_world",
        schema=schema,
        handler=handle_hello,
        description="Return a friendly greeting for the given name.",
    )

    # --- Hook: log every tool call ---
    def on_tool_call(tool_name, params, result):
        print(f"[hello-world] tool called: {tool_name}")

    ctx.register_hook("post_tool_call", on_tool_call)

Drop both files into ~/.hermes/plugins/hello-world/, restart Hermes, and the model can immediately call hello_world. The hook prints a log line after every tool invocation.

Project-local plugins under ./.hermes/plugins/ are disabled by default. Enable them only for trusted repositories by setting HERMES_ENABLE_PROJECT_PLUGINS=true before starting Hermes.

What plugins can do

Every ctx.* API below is available inside a plugin’s register(ctx) function.

Capability	How
Add tools	ctx.register_tool(name=..., toolset=..., schema=..., handler=...)
Add hooks	ctx.register_hook("post_tool_call", callback)
Add slash commands	ctx.register_command(name, handler, description) — adds /name in CLI and gateway sessions
Dispatch tools from commands	ctx.dispatch_tool(name, args) — invokes a registered tool with parent-agent context auto-wired
Add CLI commands	ctx.register_cli_command(name, help, setup_fn, handler_fn) — adds hermes <plugin> <subcommand>
Inject messages	ctx.inject_message(content, role="user") — see Injecting Messages
Ship data files	Path(__file__).parent / "data" / "file.yaml"
Bundle skills	ctx.register_skill(name, path) — namespaced as plugin:skill, loaded via skill_view("plugin:skill")
Gate on env vars	requires_env: [API_KEY] in plugin.yaml — prompted during hermes plugins install
Distribute via pip	[project.entry-points."hermes_agent.plugins"]
Register a gateway platform (Discord, Telegram, IRC, …)	ctx.register_platform(name, label, adapter_factory, check_fn, ...) — see Adding Platform Adapters
Register an image-generation backend	ctx.register_image_gen_provider(provider) — see Image Generation Provider Plugins
Register a context-compression engine	ctx.register_context_engine(engine) — see Context Engine Plugins
Register a memory backend	Subclass MemoryProvider in plugins/memory/<name>/__init__.py — see Memory Provider Plugins (uses a separate discovery system)
Register an inference backend (LLM provider)	register_provider(ProviderProfile(...)) in plugins/model-providers/<name>/__init__.py — see Model Provider Plugins (uses a separate discovery system)

Plugin discovery

Source	Path	Use case
Bundled	<repo>/plugins/	Ships with Hermes — see Built-in Plugins
User	~/.hermes/plugins/	Personal plugins
Project	.hermes/plugins/	Project-specific plugins (requires HERMES_ENABLE_PROJECT_PLUGINS=true)
pip	hermes_agent.plugins entry_points	Distributed packages
Nix	services.hermes-agent.extraPlugins / extraPythonPackages	NixOS declarative installs — see Nix Setup

Later sources override earlier ones on name collision, so a user plugin with the same name as a bundled plugin replaces it.

Plugin sub-categories

Within each source, Hermes also recognizes sub-category directories that route plugins to specialized discovery systems:

Sub-directory	What it holds	Discovery system
plugins/ (root)	General plugins — tools, hooks, slash commands, CLI commands, bundled skills	PluginManager (kind: standalone or backend)
plugins/platforms/<name>/	Gateway channel adapters (ctx.register_platform())	PluginManager (kind: platform, one level deeper)
plugins/image_gen/<name>/	Image-generation backends (ctx.register_image_gen_provider())	PluginManager (kind: backend, one level deeper)
plugins/memory/<name>/	Memory providers (subclass MemoryProvider)	Own loader in plugins/memory/__init__.py (kind: exclusive — one active at a time)
plugins/context_engine/<name>/	Context-compression engines (ctx.register_context_engine())	Own loader in plugins/context_engine/__init__.py (one active at a time)
plugins/model-providers/<name>/	LLM provider profiles (register_provider(ProviderProfile(...)))	Own loader in providers/__init__.py (lazily scanned on first get_provider_profile() call)

User plugins at ~/.hermes/plugins/model-providers/<name>/ and ~/.hermes/plugins/memory/<name>/ override bundled plugins of the same name — last-writer-wins in register_provider() / register_memory_provider(). Drop a directory in, and it replaces the built-in without any repo edits.

Plugins are opt-in (with a few exceptions)

General plugins and user-installed backends are disabled by default — discovery finds them (so they show up in hermes plugins and /plugins), but nothing with hooks or tools loads until you add the plugin’s name to plugins.enabled in ~/.hermes/config.yaml. This stops third-party code from running without your explicit consent.

plugins:
  enabled:
    - my-tool-plugin
    - disk-cleanup
  disabled:       # optional deny-list — always wins if a name appears in both
    - noisy-plugin

Three ways to flip state:

hermes plugins                    # interactive toggle (space to check/uncheck)
hermes plugins enable <name>      # add to allow-list
hermes plugins disable <name>     # remove from allow-list + add to disabled

After hermes plugins install owner/repo, you’re asked Enable 'name' now? [y/N] — defaults to no. Skip the prompt for scripted installs with --enable or --no-enable.

What the allow-list does NOT gate

Several categories of plugin bypass plugins.enabled — they’re part of Hermes’ built-in surface and would break basic functionality if gated off by default:

Plugin kind	How it’s activated instead
Bundled platform plugins (IRC, Teams, etc. under plugins/platforms/)	Auto-loaded so every shipped gateway channel is available. The actual channel turns on via gateway.platforms.<name>.enabled in config.yaml.
Bundled backends (image-gen providers under plugins/image_gen/, etc.)	Auto-loaded so the default backend “just works”. Selection happens via <category>.provider in config.yaml (e.g. image_gen.provider: openai).
Memory providers (plugins/memory/)	All discovered; exactly one is active, chosen by memory.provider in config.yaml.
Context engines (plugins/context_engine/)	All discovered; one is active, chosen by context.engine in config.yaml.
Model providers (plugins/model-providers/)	All 33 providers discover and register at the first get_provider_profile() call. The user picks one at a time via --provider or config.yaml.
Pip-installed backend plugins	Opt-in via plugins.enabled (same as general plugins).
User-installed platforms (under ~/.hermes/plugins/platforms/)	Opt-in via plugins.enabled — third-party gateway adapters need explicit consent.

In short: bundled “always-works” infrastructure loads automatically; third-party general plugins are opt-in. The plugins.enabled allow-list is the gate specifically for arbitrary code a user drops into ~/.hermes/plugins/.

Migration for existing users

When you upgrade to a version of Hermes that has opt-in plugins (config schema v21+), any user plugins already installed under ~/.hermes/plugins/ that weren’t already in plugins.disabled are automatically grandfathered into plugins.enabled. Your existing setup keeps working. Bundled standalone plugins are NOT grandfathered — even existing users have to opt in explicitly. (Bundled platform/backend plugins never needed grandfathering because they were never gated.)

Available hooks

Plugins can register callbacks for these lifecycle events. See the Event Hooks page for full details, callback signatures, and examples.

Hook	Fires when
pre_tool_call	Before any tool executes
post_tool_call	After any tool returns
pre_llm_call	Once per turn, before the LLM loop — can return {"context": "..."} to inject context into the user message
post_llm_call	Once per turn, after the LLM loop (successful turns only)
on_session_start	New session created (first turn only)
on_session_end	End of every run_conversation call + CLI exit handler
on_session_finalize	CLI/gateway tears down an active session (/new, GC, CLI quit)
on_session_reset	Gateway swaps in a new session key (/new, /reset, /clear, idle rotation)
subagent_stop	Once per child after delegate_task finishes
pre_gateway_dispatch	Gateway received a user message, before auth + dispatch. Return {"action": "skip" | "rewrite" | "allow", ...} to influence flow.

Plugin types

Hermes has four kinds of plugins:

Type	What it does	Selection	Location
General plugins	Add tools, hooks, slash commands, CLI commands	Multi-select (enable/disable)	~/.hermes/plugins/
Memory providers	Replace or augment built-in memory	Single-select (one active)	plugins/memory/
Context engines	Replace the built-in context compressor	Single-select (one active)	plugins/context_engine/
Model providers	Declare an inference backend (OpenRouter, Anthropic, …)	Multi-register, picked by --provider / config.yaml	plugins/model-providers/

Memory providers and context engines are provider plugins — only one of each type can be active at a time. Model providers are also plugins, but many load simultaneously; the user picks one at a time via --provider or config.yaml. General plugins can be enabled in any combination.

Pluggable interfaces — where to go for each

The table above shows the four plugin categories, but within “General plugins” the PluginContext exposes several distinct extension points — and Hermes also accepts extensions outside the Python plugin system (config-driven backends, shell-hooked commands, external servers, etc.). Use this table to find the right doc for what you want to build:

Want to add…	How	Authoring guide
A tool the LLM can call	Python plugin — ctx.register_tool()	Build a Hermes Plugin · Adding Tools
A lifecycle hook (pre/post LLM, session start/end, tool filter)	Python plugin — ctx.register_hook()	Hooks reference · Build a Hermes Plugin
A slash command for the CLI / gateway	Python plugin — ctx.register_command()	Build a Hermes Plugin · Extending the CLI
A subcommand for hermes <thing>	Python plugin — ctx.register_cli_command()	Extending the CLI
A bundled skill that your plugin ships	Python plugin — ctx.register_skill()	Creating Skills
An inference backend (LLM provider: OpenAI-compat, Codex, Anthropic-Messages, Bedrock)	Provider plugin — register_provider(ProviderProfile(...)) in plugins/model-providers/<name>/	Model Provider Plugins · Adding Providers
A gateway channel (Discord / Telegram / IRC / Teams / etc.)	Platform plugin — ctx.register_platform() in plugins/platforms/<name>/	Adding Platform Adapters
A memory backend (Honcho, Mem0, Supermemory, …)	Memory plugin — subclass MemoryProvider in plugins/memory/<name>/	Memory Provider Plugins
A context-compression strategy	Context-engine plugin — ctx.register_context_engine()	Context Engine Plugins
An image-generation backend (DALL·E, SDXL, …)	Backend plugin — ctx.register_image_gen_provider()	Image Generation Provider Plugins
A TTS backend (any CLI — Piper, VoxCPM, Kokoro, xtts, voice-cloning scripts, …)	Config-driven — declare under tts.providers.<name> with type: command in config.yaml	TTS setup
An STT backend (custom whisper binary, local ASR CLI)	Config-driven — set HERMES_LOCAL_STT_COMMAND env var to a shell template	Voice Message Transcription (STT)
External tools via MCP (filesystem, GitHub, Linear, Notion, any MCP server)	Config-driven — declare mcp_servers.<name> with command: / url: in config.yaml. Hermes auto-discovers the server’s tools and registers them alongside built-ins.	MCP
Additional skill sources (custom GitHub repos, private skill indexes)	CLI — hermes skills tap add <repo>	Skills Hub · Publishing a custom tap
Gateway event hooks (fire on gateway:startup, session:start, agent:end, command:*)	Drop HOOK.yaml + handler.py into ~/.hermes/hooks/<name>/	Event Hooks
Shell hooks (run a shell command on events — notifications, audit logs, desktop alerts)	Config-driven — declare under hooks: in config.yaml	Shell Hooks

Note

Not everything is a Python plugin. Some extension surfaces intentionally use config-driven shell commands (TTS, STT, shell hooks) so any CLI you already have becomes a plugin without writing Python. Others are external servers (MCP) the agent connects to and auto-registers tools from. And some are drop-in directories (gateway hooks) with their own manifest format. Pick the right surface for the integration style that fits your use case; the authoring guides in the table above each cover placeholders, discovery, and examples.

NixOS declarative plugins

On NixOS, plugins can be installed declaratively via the module options — no hermes plugins install needed. See the Nix Setup guide for full details.

services.hermes-agent = {
  # Directory plugin (source tree with plugin.yaml)
  extraPlugins = [ (pkgs.fetchFromGitHub { ... }) ];
  # Entry-point plugin (pip package)
  extraPythonPackages = [ (pkgs.python312Packages.buildPythonPackage { ... }) ];
  # Enable in config
  settings.plugins.enabled = [ "my-plugin" ];
};

Declarative plugins are symlinked with a nix-managed- prefix — they coexist with manually installed plugins and are cleaned up automatically when removed from the Nix config.

Managing plugins

hermes plugins                               # unified interactive UI
hermes plugins list                          # table: enabled / disabled / not enabled
hermes plugins install user/repo             # install from Git, then prompt Enable? [y/N]
hermes plugins install user/repo --enable    # install AND enable (no prompt)
hermes plugins install user/repo --no-enable # install but leave disabled (no prompt)
hermes plugins update my-plugin              # pull latest
hermes plugins remove my-plugin              # uninstall
hermes plugins enable my-plugin              # add to allow-list
hermes plugins disable my-plugin             # remove from allow-list + add to disabled

Interactive UI

Running hermes plugins with no arguments opens a composite interactive screen:

Plugins
  ↑↓ navigate  SPACE toggle  ENTER configure/confirm  ESC done

  General Plugins
 → [✓] my-tool-plugin — Custom search tool
   [ ] webhook-notifier — Event hooks
   [ ] disk-cleanup — Auto-cleanup of ephemeral files [bundled]

  Provider Plugins
     Memory Provider          ▸ honcho
     Context Engine           ▸ compressor

• General Plugins section — checkboxes, toggle with SPACE. Checked = in plugins.enabled, unchecked = in plugins.disabled (explicit off).
• Provider Plugins section — shows current selection. Press ENTER to drill into a radio picker where you choose one active provider.
• Bundled plugins appear in the same list with a [bundled] tag.

Provider plugin selections are saved to config.yaml:

memory:
  provider: "honcho"      # empty string = built-in only

context:
  engine: "compressor"    # default built-in compressor

Enabled vs. disabled vs. neither

Plugins occupy one of three states:

State	Meaning	In plugins.enabled?	In plugins.disabled?
enabled	Loaded on next session	Yes	No
disabled	Explicitly off — won’t load even if also in enabled	(irrelevant)	Yes
not enabled	Discovered but never opted in	No	No

The default for a newly-installed or bundled plugin is not enabled. hermes plugins list shows all three distinct states so you can tell what’s been explicitly turned off vs. what’s just waiting to be enabled.

In a running session, /plugins shows which plugins are currently loaded.

Injecting Messages

Plugins can inject messages into the active conversation using ctx.inject_message():

ctx.inject_message("New data arrived from the webhook", role="user")

Signature: ctx.inject_message(content: str, role: str = "user") -> bool

How it works:

• If the agent is idle (waiting for user input), the message is queued as the next input and starts a new turn.
• If the agent is mid-turn (actively running), the message interrupts the current operation — the same as a user typing a new message and pressing Enter.
• For non-"user" roles, the content is prefixed with [role] (e.g. [system] ...).
• Returns True if the message was queued successfully, False if no CLI reference is available (e.g. in gateway mode).

This enables plugins like remote control viewers, messaging bridges, or webhook receivers to feed messages into the conversation from external sources.

Note

inject_message is only available in CLI mode. In gateway mode, there is no CLI reference and the method returns False.

See the full guide for handler contracts, schema format, hook behavior, error handling, and common mistakes.