Hermes Agent CLI Command Line

CLI (Command Line Interface) is the most native way to interact with Hermes Agent, and also the most feature-complete entry point.

This chapter systematically introduces the three operation modes of CLI, session management, slash commands, TUI interface, shortcut operations, and scripting usage techniques.

Three Running Modes

Hermes CLI provides three operation modes, from simple Q&A to interactive sessions to pure keyboard operation, covering different usage scenarios.

Mode 1: Interactive session (hermes chat)

This is the most commonly used mode—launching a continuous multi-turn conversation session.

Start an interactive session (using the default Profile):

hermes chat

After starting, you enter the conversation interface, the prompt changes to, and after typing a message, press Enter to send; Agent begins to reply:

Once in an interactive session, you can send multiple messages continuously, and Agent will remember the previous conversation context.

This is the most natural way to use it in daily development—just like chatting with a colleague on Slack.

Mode 2: One-time query (-q / --query)

No need to enter an interactive session; pass in a question directly and get a reply, suitable for scripting and quick queries.

-qKey features of the modes:

• Non-interactive; Agent exits immediately after completing the reply.
• Returns a standard exit code, allowing scripts to determine success or failure.
• Supports pipes and redirection

Mode 3: TUI terminal interface (hermes --tui)

TUI (Terminal User Interface) provides a full-screen terminal interface with pure keyboard operation.

Unique advantages of TUI mode:

• The sidebar can simultaneously display conversation, file changes, and tool call history.
• Pure keyboard operation, no mouse required
• Suitable for long-duration deep work scenarios

Comparison of Three Modes

Session Management

A session is the basic unit of conversation in the CLI. Each session has its own independent context, token count, and session ID.

Continue and Resume Sessions

When resuming a session, Agent retains the full conversation context, including previous tool call records and LLM reasoning history.

Start new session

New sessions do not retain previous conversation context, but persistent memory (MEMORY.md and USER.md) remains visible.

Session Title Management

Hermes automatically generates a session title after the first round of conversation; you can also manually name it:

Context compression

When the conversation history becomes too long and approaches the context window limit, you can manually trigger compression:

Automatic compression is triggered by Hermes when the context approaches the limit. /compress simply allows you to trigger it manually in advance. Both have the same effect.

Common Slash Commands

In interactive session and TUI mode, with/Input starting with / is recognized as a slash command.

The following are the most commonly used CLI commands, grouped by function.

Session Control

Task Control

/undo is a conversation-level undo—it removes the last Q&A round from the session history, returning Agent's context to the state before the previous reply. This is different from /retry (which keeps the original Q&A and asks Agent to re-answer).

Models and configuration

Security and approval

Memory and skills

Other

Quick Actions and Tips

Keyboard shortcuts

In interactive session, the following shortcuts can improve operational efficiency:

Multi-line Input

When you need to send messages containing line breaks (such as code blocks):

Pipes and Redirection

-qThe mode natively supports standard Unix pipes:

Combined with Profile command aliases

Each Profile automatically generates dedicated command aliases, no need to-pflag:

Approvals and Security Controls

Approval Mode

When executing dangerous commands in the CLI, Hermes displays an approval prompt:

Agent 请求执行: rm -rf /tmp/build/*
原因: 清理构建缓存
[approve/deny]: _

You can decide in real time within the session to approve or reject.

The approval mode is configured in config.yaml:

YOLO mode

When you are sure what Agent is about to do is safe (such as operations in a project you are familiar with), you can temporarily skip approval:

YOLO mode only takes effect in the current session; new sessions automatically restore the approval mode configured in config.yaml. This ensures that temporary relaxation does not become a permanent vulnerability.

Scripted usage

Using Hermes in shell scripts

-qThe mode's exit codes and standard output allow Hermes to integrate seamlessly into shell scripts:

Integrate with Git Hooks

The following is a Git pre-commit hook example—letting Agent check the code before committing.

Scheduled Execution

Combined with the system's cron or Hermes' built-in Cron system, CLI tasks can be executed periodically—but it is recommended to use Hermes' built-in Cron (viahermes cron create), because it can directly deliver results to the message platform.