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DorkOS vs Hermes Agent

Hermes Agent vs DorkOS: different kinds of tool, so this page sticks to the ground they share.

Hermes Agent and DorkOS are different kinds of tool. This page covers only the ground they share.

The short answer

Hermes Agent and DorkOS both put an agent somewhere you can reach it, and that is where the resemblance stops. Hermes lives in your chat apps: you talk to it in Telegram or Slack, it runs jobs on a schedule, and it is free and open under the MIT licence. It is not built around coding agents, so there is no list of sessions and no swapping between Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode. One correction, because older write-ups get it wrong: Hermes was the standing example of an agent that would not talk to another agent. In its chat apps that is still deliberately true, but its desktop app now has a Bot Mode where a few bots pass work to each other under firm limits.

Made by
Nous Research
What it is
Assistant that lives in your chat apps
Price
The agent itself is free and open source, whatever else you buy. Nous sells credits for models and tools on top: a free tier, then $20 a month for Plus, $100 for Super and $200 for Ultra.
Source code
Open, you can read it
See Hermes Agent for yourself

Which one is for you

Use DorkOS if

  • you want every coding agent you run on one screen, not one company’s
  • you want agents that can book repeating work, but only with your say-so
  • you want agents that can hand work to each other instead of working alone
  • you want a limit that stops your agents answering each other all night
  • you want one list of everything waiting on you, instead of hunting through tabs

Use Hermes Agent if

  • you want an assistant inside the chat app you already use, with nothing new to install on your phone
  • you want to point it at any model you like, including one running on your own hardware
  • you want scheduled jobs that report back into a chat where other people can see them
  • you want something that will run happily on a very small server

Where the two overlap

Many agent tools, one placeCan you run more than one company’s coding agent from the same screen?DorkOSYesClaude Code, Codex, and OpenCode, all on one screenEvery Agent, One PlaceSession DurabilityMore on thisHermes AgentNoIt swaps models, not coding agents. Nothing in it puts Claude Code on one job and Codex on the next.
Runs on the plans you already pay forDoes it work through the plans you already pay for, or sell you the model use again?DorkOSYesYour own Claude, ChatGPT and OpenCode sign-ins do the work, so DorkOS adds nothing to your bill. You can send one agent, or one chat, to a different Claude account.Every Agent, One PlaceClaude AccountsHermes AgentYesPoint it at any model you like, including one on your own hardware. Nous sells credits if you would rather not.Where this comes from
Work that runs on a scheduleCan you hand over a job that runs at a set time without you sitting there?DorkOSYesSchedule agents to run on their own, so they work while you don'tTasks SchedulerNotificationsMore on thisHermes AgentYesYes. A built-in scheduler runs jobs unattended and delivers what they produced into whichever chat app you picked.Where this comes from
Agents that book their own workCan an agent set up a repeating job, with you approving it first?DorkOSYesAn agent has to ask before it books itself a repeating jobSchedule ApprovalsTasks SchedulerControl CenterMore on thisHermes AgentNoYou set the schedule up yourself. No agent asks you for one.
Agents that work togetherCan several agents find each other and pass work along?DorkOSYesYour agents can message you, and each other, wherever you already chatRelay MessagingRoomsAgent DiscoveryMore on thisHermes AgentPartlyTwo answers, depending where you look. In the chat apps, no: its own documentation calls wiring two Hermes bots to answer each other an unsupported setup. In its desktop app, a Bot Mode lets a small group of bots hand tasks to each other by name.Where this comes from
Limits on agents talking to agentsWhen your agents talk to each other, can you stop the bill running away?DorkOSYesAgents talk to each other without running up a billReply LimitsControl CenterRoomsMore on thisHermes AgentPartlyIts Bot Mode caps a group of bots at ten messages a turn and three rounds, so a room cannot spin. That is in its desktop app, not its chat apps.Where this comes from
Runs on your machineDoes the tool run on your own computer, with your work staying there?DorkOSYesDorkOS runs on your own machine: your projects, your sessions and your history stay there, under your own accounts.CLIWorkspacesRemote TunnelHermes AgentYesYes. You run it yourself, from a cheap server up to your own machine, and it is yours from there.Where this comes from
Open, and yours to runCan you read the source, run it yourself, and skip making an account?DorkOSYesFree and open source under the MIT licence. It runs on your own machine, and there is no DorkOS account to make.CLIRemote TunnelWorkspacesHermes AgentYesOpen under the MIT licence, and it runs on anything from a cheap server upwards.Where this comes from
Where you can use itCan you open your agents and watch them work from any screen you are near?DorkOSYesReal work from your phone, not just a screen to watchDorkOS on Your PhoneChat InterfaceNotificationsHermes AgentYesYes. Seven ways in, counting the terminal: Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal and email, so your phone is covered by whatever is already on it.Where this comes from
Saying yes from anywhereWhen an agent stops to ask permission, can you answer from wherever you are?DorkOSYesAn agent asks before it does something you cannot take backAction ApprovalsTool ApprovalDorkOS on Your PhoneTelegram AdapterMore on thisHermes AgentYesIt lives in your chat apps, so its questions arrive where you already type.Where this comes from
One list of what needs youIs there one place holding everything waiting on your answer?DorkOSYesOne list of everything waiting on you, and everything that happenedInboxNotificationsAlerts That Reach YouMore on thisHermes AgentNoIt reaches you in chat, so anything waiting on you sits in whichever chat app it used.
Adding your own toolsCan you add your own tools and share the setup with other people?DorkOSYesInstall a working agent, plugin, or skill in one commandMarketplaceMCP ServerConnectionsMore on thisHermes AgentYesYes. It reaches outside tools through MCP, the common standard for that, and skills are shared files you can add to.Where this comes from
Price and opennessWhat does the tool itself cost, and can you read its source code?DorkOSYesFree and open source. You pay only for the model plan your agents already use.CLIHermes AgentYesThe agent is free and open under the MIT licence. The paid tiers buy credits for models and tools, not features of the agent itself.Where this comes from

Many agent tools, one place

DorkOSYes

Each chat picks its own agent tool. Start a job on Claude Code, run the next on Codex, keep a third on OpenCode, without leaving the tab or changing any setup. All three land in one list, and they keep running for as long as DorkOS does.

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Work that runs on a schedule

DorkOSYes

You write the job once and say when it runs: every night, every Monday, every hour. DorkOS starts the agent at that time on your own machine, then messages you when it finishes or needs a decision. Remembering is not your job.

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Agents that book their own work

DorkOSYes

An agent can propose a repeating job. It never starts one on its own. You get a card naming the agent, quoting its reason, and showing the next three run times and the exact instructions. One button runs it once, supervised, before you agree to it forever.

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Agents that work together

DorkOSYes

Your agents share rooms the way people share a group chat. They see each other, answer each other, and hand a job along. You set how often they may reply, per room, so a busy channel never turns into a runaway bill.

Hermes AgentPartly

The internet is still repeating the old version, so this is worth getting right. The refusal is real, deliberate, and about the chat apps: their documentation says setting several Hermes profiles to reply to one another in a shared channel is not supported, and the safe default ignores other bots entirely. Bot Mode is separate, a plugin for its desktop app, where two to six bots pull each other in by name under hard caps of ten messages a turn and three rounds. So it is not "it cannot" but "not where you would first try, and with a fixed ceiling where it can". DorkOS puts agents in shared rooms, with a ceiling you choose.

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Limits on agents talking to agents

DorkOSYes

Four dials cap the replies your agents may trade: how many in a row, how much of one conversation a single agent may take, how many per room each hour, and how many across every room each hour. Set them once, or room by room. No room can skip the dial that covers everything.

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Saying yes from anywhere

DorkOSYes

An agent that needs permission asks, and the question follows you: the browser on your phone, a Telegram or Slack message, or a notification banner on your Mac. Only the person you name gets asked, so it is never broadcast to every chat you have connected.

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One list of what needs you

DorkOSYes

One bell holds every question, approval and finished run, with the things waiting on you above the things that merely happened. What you have read stays read on your other devices. A question left unanswered for the few minutes you chose rings your phone.

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Adding your own tools

DorkOSYes

DorkOS does not replace a marketplace of editor add-ons built up over years. It adds the other half: package a working agent, with its instructions and its tools, and hand the whole thing to someone else in one command. Signing those tools in to outside services is the part still finding its feet.

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Questions people ask

Can two Hermes agents talk to each other?
In the chat apps, no, and that is on purpose: its documentation calls setting two Hermes bots to answer each other an unsupported arrangement. Its desktop app has a Bot Mode where a small group of bots pass tasks to each other for a limited number of rounds. So the old line that Hermes flatly cannot do it is out of date, but the caution behind it is real.
Is Hermes Agent a coding agent?
No. It is a general assistant that happens to be very good at living in chat. For work on a codebase you would still reach for Claude Code, Codex or OpenCode, which is what DorkOS runs.
Can I use Hermes and DorkOS together?
Yes. They want different jobs and neither gets in the other one’s way. Hermes is your assistant in chat, and DorkOS is where coding work runs and gets watched.
Does DorkOS work in Telegram and Slack too?
Yes, for a narrower job: you talk to your agents and get told when something needs you. Hermes reaches more chat apps than DorkOS does, and we say so.

Dig into the DorkOS side

How we checked

We last checked these facts on August 24, 2026. Tools in this space change fast. If something is out of date, tell us and we will fix it.

Your whole team is one step away.

Get started.

Terminal

~ $ curl -fsSL https://dorkos.ai/install | bash

Run in your terminal

Checks Node.js, installs via npm, offers setup wizard.

Desktop app for macOS
Other ways to install
  • Windows download the alpha installer, or use the terminal today.
  • Linux — install with the one-liner or npm; the web app runs the same everywhere.
  • Server — running DorkOS somewhere other than your own machine? Run it in Docker.
Open SourceMIT LicensedRuns on Your Machine

One person. Ten agents. Ship around the clock.