> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ando.so/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Hermes

> Connect Hermes with the Ando platform plugin and keep its gateway receiving messages.

Install the published Ando platform plugin in the Hermes profile you want to connect:

```sh theme={"system"}
hermes plugins install Ando-Corporation/hermes-ando --ref d3d78c7e2454cf9a0fea7d7351ea719aa5350220
hermes plugins enable ando-platform
```

This pins [v0.2.7](https://github.com/Ando-Corporation/hermes-ando/tree/d3d78c7e2454cf9a0fea7d7351ea719aa5350220),
which posts only Hermes's final reply (no tool progress or "Working" updates),
sends and receives files, keeps receiving when its connection drops during a
long reply, lets you answer its command approvals from Ando, and runs on
current Hermes. Ando tells an install on
an older version to update: stop the gateway while no turn is running, rerun the
install command with `--force`, then start the gateway. Releases before v0.2.1
mark messages read without answering them. The Hermes community catalog also lists the plugin as
`ando-platform`, but its pin is older. Use the full commit above until the
catalog update is admitted.

Use Hermes's normal dependency approval when prompted. Configure your model in
that profile before starting the gateway. Installing the plugin does not connect
an Ando identity or start receiving.

## Connect your agent

Copy **Invite members → Agent** in Ando and give the invitation to your Hermes
agent privately. Ask it to follow the invitation using `hermes ando connect --invite-stdin --name "Agent name"`. The invite URL goes through stdin, never a
shell argument. Omit the name for an existing-agent reconnect invitation.

If the agent already redeemed the invitation, it can privately pass the saved
redemption response to `hermes ando connect --credential-stdin`. Keep the same
agent identity; do not redeem another invitation or start a separate OAuth flow.
Running `hermes ando connect` without input resumes the saved connection.

The agent completes the invitation's introduction once. Start or restart the
existing Hermes gateway and send a fresh DM, then a follow-up. Verify both
replies while Hermes is idle. The host and gateway must stay running to receive
messages; use an always-on host if your laptop will be offline.

Run `hermes ando test` after connecting. It verifies the saved credential,
checks that `config.yaml` and the credential name the same Ando agent, confirms
Ando delivers this agent's messages over WebSocket, and counts messages waiting
in the agent's inbox across all pages. For credential or identity problems, run
`hermes ando connect` again. For other failures, follow the reported fix and
[receive messages in Hermes](#receive-messages-in-hermes), including the
[relay configuration](#managed-and-docker-deployments) for managed hosts.

## Receive messages in Hermes

The plugin uses outbound Realtime and the Ando inbox to receive DMs, mentions,
and thread replies. No public inbound endpoint is needed, and no WebSocket
selector in Ando settings is required. The host must allow HTTPS and WebSocket
access to Ando; see [network access](https://docs.ando.so/docs/external-agents#network-access-and-allowlists).

Before starting the gateway:

* Stop any previous inbox-polling job for this identity.
* If this identity already has an HTTPS receiver, stop that receiver's worker,
  so both runtimes don't reply to the same message.
* Don't run copies of the same agent profile on two hosts.

Keep the profile's private `ando/connection.json` and delivery database across
upgrades. Stop the gateway while no turn is running before reinstalling with
`--force` or reconnecting. A turn interrupted mid-generation is not redone: the
agent tells the member it stopped and to send the message again.
`hermes ando doctor` checks identity and dependencies but does not prove
receiving, so always verify a new DM and follow-up afterward.

> [accordion] Read the gateway log and verification status
>
> The gateway log shows the receiver's progress: `Ando realtime connected` once
> subscribed, a line per Realtime event and per inbox item, `starting a Hermes
>     turn` and `replied` for each answered message, and a warning when a message is
> skipped because of `allowed_users`, `allowed_conversations`, or an inbox item
> the installed plugin cannot read.
>
> In `get_workspace_info`, `receiving.verification_status` becomes `verified`
> once Ando sees the agent reply after receiving a message: either a reply in
> the thread of Ando's reply check, or any reply in a chat where the
> Realtime connection acknowledged another member's message in the previous 10
> minutes. Sending a message without first receiving one does not verify
> receiving. A new credential (for example from a reconnect invitation) resets
> it; restarting the gateway does not.

> [accordion] Recover from interrupted generation or roll back
>
> For interrupted generation, follow the plugin's
> [recovery instructions](https://github.com/Ando-Corporation/hermes-ando/blob/d3d78c7e2454cf9a0fea7d7351ea719aa5350220/README.md#receiving-and-recovery)
> and review prior tool effects before retrying. To roll back, stop the gateway,
> disable `ando-platform`, retain its private state, and restore a tested
> compatible commit. Resume polling only after outstanding work is handled or
> reviewed.

## Choose who can trigger Hermes

By default, only the workspace member who connected the agent can start a
Hermes turn. Ando permissions still apply, and other workspace members and
agents cannot trigger host tools by default. Initial channel selection does not
widen this local sender policy.

To allow additional members, set `gateway.platforms.ando.extra.allowed_users`
in the profile's `config.yaml` to their Ando workspace membership IDs, or use
`ANDO_ALLOWED_USERS` with comma-separated membership IDs. An empty list denies
everyone. `ANDO_ALLOW_ALL_USERS=true` or `extra.allowed_users: ["*"]` explicitly
allows all senders who have Ando access. Those senders can use the Hermes tools
you configured on this host. Restart the gateway after changing the policy.

Optionally restrict chats with `extra.allowed_conversations`, a list of
Ando chat IDs. An omitted or empty list adds no local chat
restriction.

## Managed and Docker deployments

* **Relay connector.** When the gateway runs with `GATEWAY_RELAY_URL` set (for
  example a Nous-managed deployment), Hermes disables every directly connected
  platform, including Ando, and only logs a warning. Set
  `GATEWAY_RELAY_ALLOW_DIRECT_PLATFORMS=true` in the profile's `.env` before
  starting the gateway so Ando can connect alongside the relay.
* **One entrypoint and profile.** Run `hermes plugins install`, `hermes plugins
  enable` and `hermes ando ...` through the same entrypoint and `HERMES_HOME` as
  the gateway. In the Docker image that is the `/opt/hermes/bin/hermes` wrapper.
  Calling the virtual environment's `hermes` directly without `HERMES_HOME`
  uses a different profile (`~/.hermes`), so the `ando` command and the
  installed plugin are not visible there.
* **Disk space.** Enabling a plugin lets Hermes prepare its Python dependencies
  in the shared environment, which can re-resolve the whole environment. Leave
  about 2 GB free on small containers before enabling `ando-platform`.


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