--- title: Hermes product: vercel url: /docs/ai-gateway/coding-agents/hermes canonical_url: "https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/coding-agents/hermes" last_updated: 2026-07-30 type: conceptual prerequisites: - /docs/ai-gateway/coding-agents - /docs/ai-gateway related: - /docs/cli/ai-gateway - /docs/ai-gateway/observability-and-spend/observability - /docs/ai-gateway/sdks-and-apis/openai-chat-completions - /docs/ai-gateway/models-and-providers/provider-options - /docs/ai-gateway/observability-and-spend/budgets summary: Use the Hermes agent with the AI Gateway. install_vercel_plugin: npx plugins add vercel/vercel-plugin --- # Hermes [Hermes](https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent) is Nous Research's terminal-based coding agent. It ships an AI Gateway provider, so you can reach every model in the gateway catalog from Hermes with one API key and track spend in one place. ## Related pages > **For AI agents:** Follow these links to understand how this page connects to the rest of the Vercel ecosystem. For the full cross-link map (inbound, outbound, prerequisites, and semantic neighbors), see the .graph.md link below. - [How I use OpenCode with Vercel AI Gateway to build features fast](https://vercel.com/kb/guide/how-i-use-opencode-with-vercel-ai-gateway-to-build-features-fast?from=related) — How to route different AI models to different coding tasks automatically, cutting token costs by ~70% without losing qua - [How to build your own AI model router](https://vercel.com/kb/guide/how-to-build-your-own-ai-model-router?from=related) — Build an AI model router with Vercel AI Gateway. Keep routing, key, and retention decisions in your code while the gatew - [Hermes](https://vercel.com/docs/sandbox/ecosystem/hermes?from=related) — Run Hermes Agent terminal commands in isolated Vercel Sandbox microVMs, with models served through Vercel AI Gateway. - [Kilo Code](https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/coding-agents/kilo-code?from=related) — Learn about kilo code on Vercel. - [OpenCode](https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/coding-agents/opencode?from=related) — Use OpenCode with the AI Gateway. - [Models & Providers](https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/models-and-providers?from=related) — Work with models and providers in AI Gateway: provider routing and fallbacks, filtering, timeouts, caching, service tier - [Cursor](https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/coding-agents/cursor?from=related) — Learn about cursor on Vercel. Full cross-link map for this page: [/docs/ai-gateway/coding-agents/hermes.graph.md](/docs/ai-gateway/coding-agents/hermes.graph.md) > **💡 Note:** The Vercel CLI can do this for you. [`vercel ai-gateway coding-agents setup --agent hermes`](/docs/cli/ai-gateway#setup) provisions a key, adds a > `vercel-ai-gateway` provider to `~/.hermes/config.yaml` with model discovery > turned on, and exports `AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY` from a managed block in your > shell startup file. Switch models in-session with `/model > custom:vercel-ai-gateway:`. ## Configuring Hermes - ### Create an API key Go to the [**AI Gateway**](https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai-gateway\&title=Go+to+AI+Gateway) section in the Vercel dashboard sidebar and click **API keys** to create a new API key. - ### Add the key to Hermes Hermes reads `AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY` from your environment and from `~/.hermes/.env`. Export it in your shell: ```bash filename="Terminal" export AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY="your-ai-gateway-api-key" ``` To persist the key across sessions, add the same line to `~/.hermes/.env` instead. - ### Select AI Gateway as your provider Run the model picker: ```bash filename="Terminal" hermes model ``` Choose **Vercel AI Gateway**, then pick a model. Hermes fetches the live catalog with current pricing from the gateway, filtered to language models that support tool calling. Image, video, embedding, and reranking models from the [models page](/ai-gateway/models) don't appear in the picker. - ### Start Hermes You can also skip the picker and name the provider and model directly: ```bash filename="Terminal" hermes --provider ai-gateway -m openai/gpt-5.6-sol ``` The provider ID is `ai-gateway`. Hermes also accepts `vercel` and `vercel-ai-gateway` as aliases. Model IDs use the gateway's `creator/model-name` format. - ### (Optional) Set a fallback provider Hermes supports `ai-gateway` in fallback chains. Add it to `fallback_model` in `~/.hermes/config.yaml`, or run `hermes fallback` to configure it interactively. When a fallback activates, Hermes swaps the model and provider mid-session without losing your conversation. - ### (Optional) Monitor usage and spend View your usage, spend, and request activity in the [**AI Gateway**](https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai-gateway\&title=Go+to+AI+Gateway) section in the Vercel dashboard sidebar. See the [observability documentation](/docs/ai-gateway/observability-and-spend/observability) for more details. Hermes identifies itself to the gateway, so its requests are attributable in your analytics. ## Environment variables | Variable | Description | | --------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY` | Your AI Gateway API key. Required | | `AI_GATEWAY_BASE_URL` | Overrides the gateway base URL. Hermes defaults to the gateway's bare `/v1` surface. Set it to `https://ai-gateway.vercel.sh/coding-agent/v1`, the [coding agent surface](/docs/cli/ai-gateway#the-coding-agent-surface), to identify the traffic as coming from a coding agent | > **💡 Note:** Hermes calls AI Gateway through the [OpenAI-compatible Chat Completions > API](/docs/ai-gateway/sdks-and-apis/openai-chat-completions), so any model > that supports Chat Completions works. ## Next steps - Browse the [models catalog](/ai-gateway/models) for available models - Learn about [model routing and fallbacks](/docs/ai-gateway/models-and-providers/provider-options) - Configure [spend limits](/docs/ai-gateway/observability-and-spend/budgets) on your API key --- [View full sitemap](/docs/sitemap)