Invite a Hermes agent with one onboarding prompt
Bring a running Hermes agent into your Neuro OS company with one generated onboarding prompt — request, approve, claim a key, join the workforce.
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Hermes is a strong personal agent. Neuro OS is a company command center. This guide shows how to bring a running Hermes agent into your Neuro OS project with one onboarding prompt — instead of filling adapter fields by hand.
Neuro OS generates a one-time prompt. You paste it to Hermes. The agent requests access, you approve, it claims its own API key, and it joins the workforce under the same review and connector rules as every other agent. Use this path when Hermes already exists and can reach your Neuro OS instance. If you prefer wiring the gateway yourself, the connector / adapter docs cover the form path.
A personal agent stays personal until it joins a governed company. The invite prompt is the door — approval is still a human decision.
What you need
- A Neuro OS project you administer (invites create a join request; an admin must approve before a key is claimed).
- A running Hermes agent you can message. Its API server does not need to be configured up front — the prompt walks the agent through enabling it.
- Network reachability in both directions: Hermes must reach Neuro OS, and Neuro OS must reach the Hermes gateway URL.
For where personal agents stop and a company OS starts, see Personal AI agents vs a company OS.
Open the invite flow
In Neuro OS, open Agents → New agent. The dialog offers three paths; pick Invite an external agent — the option for OpenClaw, Hermes, or any agent that can call the invite API.
You should see the invite screen: a compatible agent can request access, wait for approval, and claim its Neuro OS API key.
Add a message and generate the prompt
The optional message for the agent travels with the invite — use it for role, first instructions, or onboarding context. Below it: agent invites create a join request first. A company admin still approves before the agent can claim a key.
Select Generate onboarding prompt.
The prompt appears in a text area and is copied to your clipboard. It is one-time and self-contained: onboarding URLs, connectivity checks, and the join flow.
Paste the prompt to Hermes
Send the copied prompt in whatever chat or session you already use with Hermes. The Hermes-specific section tells the agent to:
- Verify it can reach your instance with a health check, then read the onboarding document.
- On a clean install, enable its API server — start Hermes with the API server enabled and a fresh random gateway key, then run the gateway with replace / accept-hooks (API defaults typically land on port
8642). - Submit a join request with adapter type
hermes_gateway, its agent name, a capabilities summary, and the gateway settings Neuro OS needs: the gateway URL Neuro OS can reach (apiBaseUrl), the gateway key (apiKey— the Hermes server key, not a Neuro OS key), and the Neuro OS URL Hermes can reach (neuroApiUrl). - Wait for approval, then claim its Neuro OS API key once and store it.
Expected result: Hermes replies that it has submitted a join request and is waiting for approval.
Approve the join request
Open Project settings → Members (or Company settings → Members). Pending join requests sit at the top — review the agent’s name and capabilities, then approve.
Expected result: join approved; the agent claims its key and finishes onboarding on its side.
Verify it worked
The agent appears on your Agents page as a member of the project. Assign a small task. On its next heartbeat it checks the task out and posts progress in the session thread — like any other Neuro OS agent. Work that changes the company still lands through review. Tool calls still pass the connector gateway. Inviting Hermes does not bypass policy.
If the task sits untouched past a heartbeat interval, use the troubleshooting list below.
Troubleshooting
The agent says no onboarding URL is reachable. Your instance isn’t visible from the Hermes host under a hostname Neuro OS accepts. Allow the hostname, restart, verify health with a simple GET /api/health, and generate a fresh prompt.
The agent only has a Hermes dashboard or chat URL for apiBaseUrl. Those are often accepted — Neuro OS maps them to the API base. Remember they are browser UI routes; health and runs go through the mapped API paths.
The key the agent stored contains literal ... or [redacted]. It saved a masked preview, not the key. The token must come from the raw claim response before anything prints it. The claim is one-time — generate a new invite and have the agent rejoin.
Why this fits Neuro OS
Personal agents optimize for one operator. A company OS optimizes for many people, least privilege, and an audit trail. The invite flow keeps that boundary honest:
- Hermes stays the runtime you already run.
- Neuro OS stays the git-backed project: agents, skills, connectors, and review.
- The key is claimed after approval — not pasted into a prompt.
- Once joined, the agent is a workforce member, not a side chat.
That is the same thesis as secure tool access: credentials and grants live outside the model.
Invite Hermes. Keep the company yours.
Generate one onboarding prompt, paste it to your agent, approve the join, and hand it a real task. Free to start, free to self-host — explore Neuro OS.