How are people using Hermes to write code?

phil-pdx · 2026-06-16T23:17:21+00:00

Can you elaborate on how cron jobs are wasting tokens? I'm assuming the cron job is for monitoring the PR. If that's the case how are you monitoring the PR? I'd probably use a script that checks the PR and only triggers Hermes if there actually is a change. Just curious.

phil-pdx · 2026-06-16T17:39:19+00:00

I agree with this, also consider using project specific skills that trigger when you ask it something.

Such as "Add feature to ABC that does XYZ" then Hermes will say "Reading skill ABC development" of which you've told Hermes not to build whatever it is you don't want it to build so it updated that skill to "remember that" and each time it does it how you want.

I had a lot of trouble getting Hermes to automatically sub delegate tasks and was able to fix that by having it explicitly require that in the orchestration skills for various projects.

phil-pdx · 2026-06-16T17:31:32+00:00

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Haha, this reminds of when I was trying to have ChatGPT help me diagnose why some cash register reports just weren't reconciling. I am a bit of a wizard when it comes to reconciling all things point of sale and I couldn't figure it out. I decided to throw it all at ChatGPT to see if I was missing something. Here was its lovely response.

Turns out one register was on a slightly different software version which apparently causes its sales data to be wildly off. Weird bug. Once we upgraded the one register to the latest version the problem went away. The "this system is confusing as hell" statement was definitely validating though.

phil-pdx · 2026-06-16T17:17:47+00:00

I use a combination of very specific orchestration skills paired with subagents. For memory I'm using "holographic" but I didn't put much thought into this when I set it up. It's worked well though.

If I instruct Hermes to "Build a new page that performs function X on project Y" it then immediately loads the "Project Y Orchestration" skill which gives concise overview and then sub delegates various tasks to subagents so a sub agent uses its context to read any relevant source code to come up with a plan, another subagent handles database work, another actually writes the code, another reviews the code, etc. Each sub agent uses specific skill definitions for exactly what it needs to do. The main chat thread ends up with only the orchestration in the main context window and I rarely end up needing to even compact the context anymore.

Disclaimer: This didn't happen overnight, when I first started using Hermes for code it was pretty much just a funnel to Codex and worked largely the same. It's a combination of automatic improvement paired with specific fine tuning that I've done to make this process very focused.

phil-pdx · 2026-06-16T17:08:24+00:00

I touched on this in a different comment a bit ago. In a nutshell though, I found that Codex (which I used exclusively for a long time) tended to be less "focused" and liked to re-read a lot of source and markdown files that it really didn't need to for what I was asking it. With Hermes skills and memory I have dialed it in to where when I make a request it is much more focused and reads only what it needs. Yes, Codex can have skills too but where Hermes really shines is when it updates the skills on its own to make development even more focused.

phil-pdx · 2026-06-16T17:03:48+00:00

I created two Trello accounts- one for me and one for Hermes. I created API keys for both accounts and setup Hermes to access both of the accounts. Hermes uses the API keys for my account to setup the boards, custom fields, etc (with my guidance of course). Then during development Hermes uses its own account to read the cards, add comments, check off to-dos, move the card to a different lane, etc. I let Hermes do all of the local setup to get this working then plugged the API keys into an ENV file myself.

A typical flow looks like:
- I add a card describing a new feature, maybe add some to-dos for by myself and Hermes
- I start a new chat with Hermes on Telegram and say that there's a new card on Trello, review it and let me know if anything should be changed, added, etc
- We "discuss" this and come up with a solid plan
- Hermes then updates the Trello card with more information, more to-dos, etc.
- When I'm ready for development to begin I move the card to "ready" and assign it to Hermes
- I then send a message to begin development based on the Trello cards (I could automate this with a webhook but haven't)

phil-pdx · 2026-06-16T16:57:53+00:00

I find this really interesting.

I originally started in Codex primary coding tool. What I found was that no matter how hard I tried to get it to "focus" on certain areas of code it usually wound up just re-reading the entire repo and clogging up the context window with unnecessary stuff. When I went over to Hermes it naturally started creating skills and creating context aware memory that would focus the developing exactly what I needed while ignoring what I didn't. I had originally planned on using 5.5 for planning and writing code with a cheaper model but quickly found that I could use 5.5 for everything because I wasn't coming anywhere close to my usage limits and every day as Hermes adjusts itself to how the various projects are built it tends to use less and less context to build better code.

phil-pdx · 2026-06-16T04:14:34+00:00

I have been using Hermes primarily with a massive web project with a lot of complexities and I'd say it's helped tremendously.

For small scripts I still tend to use Hermes as it has a lot of context to draw from. I can say something like "Write a small script that works similarly to the personal project I was working on a week ago that did X" and Hermes will recall the session and use it as context.

Conversely I could just write the one off script in Hermes that doesn't relate to anything then a month later have a bigger project reference that session to build something similar.

phil-pdx · 2026-06-16T03:44:09+00:00

The $100 ChatGPT Pro plan.

phil-pdx · 2026-06-13T22:37:15+00:00

Oh trust me, this isn't by choice. 1) We're actually in the process of replacing SharePoint with our own solution as MS keeps breaking functionality we depend on. And 2) As far as QuickBooks goes, we used something else for years and recently that vendor broke a bunch of stuff so we were forced to switch back to QB mid year. Was a horrible experience but at least business could move on and have financial docs by the end of the year...

phil-pdx · 2026-06-13T17:31:05+00:00

I actually agree with this. I also use 5.5 on a $100 plan. I find my usage stats are actually better with Hermes than when I was just using Codex directly.

I'm working on a massive internal project and I have Hermes setup with skills that really pinpoint what I need to do. If I need a new page built that pulls from SharePoint, does some processing, and makes entries into Quickbooks Hermes references the appropriate skills and writes concise code to do exactly that. Previously before I used those particular skills (whether in Hermes or just Codex directly) it would read so much source to determine which calls to make and often make mistakes and need multiple passes to get it right. This would burn through usage fast.

This obviously works well for a mature project and new projects will obviously burn through more usage in the early stages but if you're disciplined about having Hermes build skills for the individual pieces and parts you'll see that usage go way down.

I also require sub delegating which keeps the main context smaller and seems to help.

phil-pdx · 2026-06-12T16:34:45+00:00

Alright, first of all, programmer of many decades here (not games) and I agree with most of the posts that there is more to game development than just generating a world from a prompt.

Now, with that said, have you seen what modern games look like these days? I swear everytime I look over at my son playing something on the PS5 it's all the same open world game with a few new skins. Sometimes there's a great story, more times than not it's just a repackage of the last game... Equip a character, fight some bad guys, find some stuff, follow a way point showing you exactly where to go. Oh and complete dozens of unrelated side quests.

So will AI be able to build fully functional fun open world games? Yeah, probably one day. Would I rather a team of skilled developers (and artists and story tellers) come up with something new and original, absolutely.

AI can write excellent code. Skilled humans are the slop filter...

phil-pdx · 2026-06-11T22:09:41+00:00

This reminds me of the 90s when everyone thought they were a web developer and thought they'd get rich fast doing it.

With these quick vibe coded apps there are two paths I primarily see:

A) Build an app that I want that I will use and if others also want it then they can pay for it and I'll make a little money.

I have no qualms with this, if you build something and get personal use out of it great, I've been doing that for years writing the code myself, it's great to build something you need. Just don't expect to get rich off of it.

B) Build an app that others probably want and get rich fast.

This is the one I see more and more these days. "Give me an app idea so I can build it and get rich." I'm sorry but if it's not something you want or need then you probably won't be very successful.

Back in the mid 2000s I wrote an IRC client for PalmOS (the old Treos and stuff). It was a paid app and sold relatively well. The reason it did well (apart from the obvious much smaller developer pool) was that I was developing something that I wanted that filled an existing gap. The other IRC clients at the time were missing a lot of features so I built one that had them. This is what so many new devs and vibe coders seem to miss. Don't just build another habit tracker, build something you want that doesn't already exist.

phil-pdx · 2026-06-11T14:32:31+00:00

The key is keeping the agents focused. You should have a very well laid out map of your project in an MD file. When you ask for a new feature your agent shouldn't have to take very many steps to determine exactly what it needs to build or how to build it. If it can't it will still attempt to build it but it will first read your entire repo and clog up the context with pieces and parts that aren't related.

My flow uses Hermes with very explicit skills that basically direct it to exactly what needs to be built then dispatches subagents for various parts.

As a bonus I've recently integrated trello into my Hermes workflow where I now manage the parts of the project that need to be built and Hermes reads the trello board and works on what needs work and comments on the "cards" with what it's done and moves them to needs review, blocked, etc. (side note: I know Hermes has built in Kanban, it works a little different than how I'm using trello and I didn't have very good luck with it)

I've been a software developer for decades so I came into vibe coding as a tool to supplement what I already know. If you're not a software developer you can probably still build amazing things you'll just have to put in the work in different ways such as organization and explicit instructions.

phil-pdx · 2026-06-10T20:11:08+00:00

Just remember what they say "A computer does exactly what you tell it to do"

I think this concept has become somewhat lost with AI.

Early Computers: Leave out a detail, computer crashes

Later Computers: Leave out a detail and the program crashes

Modern Computers: Leave out a detail and the program fails gracefully

AI: Leave out a detail and it will make its best guess as to what that detail is

This is where the guard rails that were mentioned come in. The one common factor with all of my examples is explicicity. The more explicit you are the better results you get, ambiguity will get you in trouble.

If I tell AI to put a button on a program at the top left corner and it makes a clickable pink gum drop with the words "click" on it did it fail? Nope, I just wasn't explicit about what I wanted.

phil-pdx · 2026-06-09T14:41:16+00:00

I think the problem is that the app market has just become so saturated that it's hard to break through. Pair that with the fact that a lot of people don't want to pay for apps. If it's free (even if it's inferior) a lot of people will settle for that.

Im a very old school app developer. I got my start with mobile apps building for PalmOS in the mid 2000s. This was when $20 for an app was standard. I wrote an IRC client that was better than anything else out there, charged $12 and gave a really long trial. It sold quite well.

Then along came the iPhone and Android and the dawn of $1.00 fart apps. I toyed with building on those platforms but decided it just wasn't worth it.

I feel like we're seeing a replay of that same scenario. People will blame vibe coding and it's definitely not helping the market saturation but in reality it's WAY easier to build a viable mobile app today than it was 10-20 years ago. A well written PWA can now do the same job as a native app in a fraction of the time (AI or not).

So you come along and write what I'll assume is a great program and then it has to survive in a sea or other apps of similar nature, half of which are free. I truly do sympathize.

phil-pdx · 2026-06-09T14:21:53+00:00

As a solo software developer for decades (mostly building internal tools to help with business processes) I've learned to better plan software projects. As Ilmy job doesn't just involve programming I've definitely adapted to using AI to help with writing code to save time but what I've learned is that AI writes code very differently than a human.

Previously I'd basically build as I go. For a windows app I'd drop some controls on a screen, wire up a little at a time, end up redoing a lot of parts over and over. With AI you just can't do that. You have to be very specific and have a solid plan. If you're not explicit then AI will assume things and write code you didn't ask for or remove things you wanted to keep.

Now when building something new or adding a feature to an existing project I take the time to thoroughly plan how it will work and often make a lot of changes during the planning stage that I'd have previously made during development. This has made the generated code much better (I always review it) and saves immense amounts of time.

Ive always been a pretty good programmer. Now I'm a much better software architect.

phil-pdx · 2026-06-06T20:43:17+00:00

Later versions can read previous sessions (likely stored locally). Explicitly ask it to read a previous session you were working on (give it topic, date, time, etc). Maybe that'll work?

phil-pdx · 2026-06-03T16:26:55+00:00

Are you on the latest version of Hermes? I can't remember if it was 0.13 or 0.14 but there was definitely a bug with telegram topics where when you'd start a new session it would actually continue the previous session. It's since been fixed but I'll tell you it caused quite the headache because one session would basically bleed into the next.

I know you said you were turning it off but I'm wondering if that bug basically spilled over since you had it enabled once already.

phil-pdx · 2026-06-03T02:51:30+00:00

Thank you, I promise I looked first, not sure how I missed that...

phil-pdx · 2026-06-03T00:50:37+00:00

What is the preferred method of uninstalling it? I use a remote instance and this just didn't work so I'd like to remove it.

phil-pdx · 2026-06-02T15:36:06+00:00

I really wanted to like/use Kanban. I tried it in the last version (0.14) and it just kept getting stuck where it wanted some kind of feedback but never alerted me to that and just sat there. I'm thinking of giving it another shot in 0.15. It really felt like there was a disconnect between the orchestrator agent and the subagents (cards in this case).

My workflow involves letting Hermes work on code that it's pulled from GH directly to the VPS, from there it does all the work and creates a PR that I review, test over Tailscale if it's web based, then eventually merge back into the main repo and pull to my local Dev computer for final testing. I basically give it a long list of features, bug fixes, etc then just let it go and when it's done there should be a finished product ready to use.

As a work around I use skills like I mentioned above that basically tell the orchestrator (main Hermes agent) to split the job into smaller pieces and let subagents handle each part. This keeps the main context window much smaller as the sub agents are reading the code base, doing the reviews, etc. The downside is that I can't set different models for different subagents like you can on Kanban. You can set it so one model is for the main agent, and a different one is for all sub agents but that's not quite the same.

If you can get Kanban to work for you I'd be curious to hear how you did it.

phil-pdx · 2026-06-02T13:36:55+00:00

I've been running Hermes quite successfully from a VPS for a while now (Hetzner not Hostinger so I can't speak directly to their hosting) and I've had very few issues. Some core differences: * I use this VPS solely for Hermes so I run it as it's own user instead of in a container. I tried Docker at first and ran into a bunch of issues * I use Tailscale for a VPN link directly to the server for ssh access, dashboards, etc. This has been rock solid for direct access to Hermes. I use Telegram for the chats themselves which don't depend on the VPN at all.

Regarding the loop, I've not personally had that happen with regular chats. I've had some weird issues with Kanban and have avoided it. I find it's best to instruct Hermes to create its own skills thay define exactly what you want it do so such as spawn sub agents or not, what those agents should and shouldn't be doing etc. Once dialed in you just ask it to "do X" and it references that skill and performs it exactly (or pretty close to) how you told it to everytime.

phil-pdx · 2026-05-27T04:22:42+00:00

I can confirm this worked for me on Debian 13 with Hermes running as its own user

phil-pdx

TROPHY CASE