The Hermes Agent OS GitHub repo is github.com/iamlukethedev/Herald-OS, and it gives you Herald OS, a free, open-source operating system where Hermes Agent is the interface for everything you do.
If you run a business, an agency or a content channel, the obvious question is whether it actually helps you get work done.
That's the question one member asks me all the time inside the AI Profit Boardroom.
"I have separate companies and clients, so how should I set up my Agent OS?"
Herald OS answers that better than anything else I've tested, and I'll show you exactly how.
You'll get what it is, who made it, what it costs, how to install it, six real ways a business can use it, the settings that protect your clients, and the limits you need to know before you rely on it.
What Is The Hermes Agent OS GitHub Repo, In Plain English?
Herald OS is an operating system built around an AI agent, and its code lives on GitHub for anyone to use.
Instead of opening apps and digging through folders yourself, you talk or type to Hermes, and it does the work across your whole computer.
It opens apps, organises files, remembers what matters to you, runs routines on a schedule and builds software while you watch.
Think of it as a front office for Hermes Agent.
Hermes is the worker, and Herald OS is the clean desk, filing system and calendar the worker sits at.
| Question a business owner asks | The answer |
|---|---|
| Where is it? | github.com/iamlukethedev/Herald-OS, with downloads on the releases page |
| Who made it? | Luke The Dev, an independent developer |
| Is it official Hermes? | No, it's not affiliated with Nous Research, and it runs on Nous Research's open-source Hermes Agent |
| What does it cost? | Nothing, because it's MIT-licensed, and you only pay for the model you connect |
| How mature is it? | It's alpha, version 0.1, first released on 6 October 2026 |
| What can it run on? | A Mac with Apple Silicon, a PC, Arch, Omarchy, other Linux or a virtual machine |
Hermes Agent itself has its own separate repo at github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent.
Herald OS doesn't replace it or fork it.
It plugs into your existing Hermes install through a plugin called herald-os-bridge, so your memories, sessions and automations stay put.
Why A Business Owner Should Care About Herald OS
Here's the before picture.
Back in March and April, running Hermes meant living in a terminal, and honestly, it was messy.
You couldn't see your schedule, your clients or your routines in one place.
Herald OS turns all of that into a dashboard that greets you in the morning and tells you what needs your attention.
I think it looks nicer than Hermes Desktop, and that matters more than people admit.
If a tool looks good, your team actually opens it.
🔥 Want my Hermes automation blueprints for your business? Inside the AI Profit Boardroom, I've got Hermes Agent trainings and automation blueprints you can copy for your own clients. You'll be learning with 3,400+ members, and there are four coaching calls a week where you can ask about your setup. → Get access here
How To Get Herald OS Running For Your Business
Every route needs Hermes Agent and a model provider, so set Hermes up first if you haven't.
curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash
source ~/.zshrc
hermes setup
The hermes setup step asks you to pick a model provider.
You can use a Nous Portal account or an API key for a provider like OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic or a local model.
Then pick the install route that matches the machine you're going to use.
| Machine | What to do |
|---|---|
| Apple Silicon Mac on macOS 13 or later | Download the DMG from the releases page, drag it to Applications, run the quarantine command below, then open it. |
| A spare PC | Download both ISO parts, join them with cat, write the ISO to an 8 GB USB stick and install Herald OS Linux. |
| Arch Linux | Clone the repo, run makepkg -si in packaging/arch/herald-os-bin, then run herald-os setup. |
| Omarchy | Install the Arch package, then run herald-os omarchy install. |
| Any other Linux | Unpack the tarball into /opt/herald-os and run herald-os setup, then herald-os-app. |
| Try it without changing your Mac | Run bash linux/vm/try.sh from the repo to boot the whole OS in a virtual machine. |
On a Mac, the alpha build isn't notarized by Apple yet, so run this once after installing.
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Herald OS.app"
It takes over the full screen, so Cmd+Ctrl+F toggles fullscreen and Cmd+Q quits.
My honest shortcut is that I asked Claude to set it up for me, and it was done in about two minutes.
My free Hermes Agent OS walkthrough covers the free route in more detail if you want it.
6 Ways A Business Can Use Herald OS
These are the ways I'd put it to work, built only from features I saw on screen or that the repo documents.
1. Give every client their own Space
Spaces are the answer to that member question about separate companies and clients.
Herald OS starts you with three spaces called Ideas, Work and Personal.
You can add a new space for each client, so each one keeps its own conversations and context.
You can also set a default space, so Herald OS opens on the client you work on most.
If you run an agency, this alone saves you from mixing one client's notes into another client's chat.
2. Start every morning with a briefing
The dashboard greets you with "Good morning, Julian. Your day already in motion."
Underneath, it shows today's schedule from your scheduled tasks and a list of what needs attention.
"Pick up where you left off" looks at the names of your recent documents, projects, chats and calendar events, then suggests where to continue.
You can switch that feature on or off, and the README says it's off until you turn it on.
Recent screenshots from your desktop also appear, which is handy when you grabbed something yesterday and forgot about it.
3. Run your routines as automations
The Automations page lets you manage routines and switch each one on or off.
Mine synced across from Hermes Desktop and my Agent OS straight away, because it's the same Hermes underneath.
I had a daily 6am to-do recap, a daily Japanese lesson and morning inbox triage running there.
For a business, inbox summaries and daily recaps are the obvious first wins.
The README also lists automations that run when you log in, come back after a break, the battery runs low or a program crashes.
4. Hand Hermes a mission instead of a prompt
Missions are for bigger goals that take several steps.
You give Hermes an active mission, such as building out a new website, and it plans the work step by step.
The README also describes a Studio where you say something like "build a website for a hair salon" and watch the files, code, commands and a live preview in one window.
That's a useful way to show a client a first draft quickly.
5. Keep files and sources in one place
The Files page covers recent files, favourites, projects, downloads, shared and deleted.
In the chat, Sources let you add files that Hermes can read, and Preview lets you look at what it made.
That means you can drop in a client brief and have Hermes work from it directly.
6. Talk to it while you work
Voice input is right on the dashboard.
The Voice settings let you switch the voice engine, change the speed, choose local voice or live voice, test it and see a list of voice commands.
It feels a bit like Jarvis, and it's great when your hands are busy.
🚀 Ready to put Hermes Agent OS GitHub to work in your business? Inside the AI Profit Boardroom you get step-by-step video trainings, my installable Agent OS and four coaching calls a week with 3,400+ members building real automations. → Join the AI Profit Boardroom
The Settings That Protect Your Business
If you let an agent touch client work, the settings are where you stay safe.
| Setting | What it does | What I'd set for client work |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-approve | Decides whether Hermes asks before acting, such as before sending messages | Keep it off, so Hermes asks first. |
| Runtimes | Chooses where agents run tasks, including Docker | Use Docker when you want jobs kept apart from your main machine. |
| Background agents | Sets how many agents can work in the background | Start low until you trust your routines. |
| Remember preferences | Lets Hermes keep your preferences | Switch it on so it learns how you like things done. |
| Activity history | Shows background work you forgot about | Check it weekly to see what ran. |
| Usage | Shows tokens used, your plan and your token balance | Watch it so a busy week doesn't surprise you. |
| Privacy | Controls what Hermes can see and lists folders and words it must leave out | Add your clients' names to the exclusions. |
The README adds a permission system with four tiers.
Read and act tools run straight away and are logged, mutate tools ask first, and destructive tools ask every single time.
Some places, such as your SSH keys, keychains and Hermes's own credentials, are always refused.
There's one more warning from my own screen.
When I opened the Memory page, my Telegram details were sitting right there.
So be careful what you screen-share, especially on a client call.
The Rest Of The Settings, In Brief
The General settings cover launching fullscreen, the default space, the default projects folder, do not disturb for the bell sound, stay awake, the screen saver, dictation and quitting the session.
You can change colours and themes, and the README says there are twelve themes plus themes made from an image.
Software access lets you add or remove coding agents and local models, such as Claude Code, Codex and LM Studio.
The Plugins section lets you paste a GitHub link to add a plugin.
There's a Hermes Agent section, plus notifications, networks, storage and accessibility.
The preferred model setting showed GPT-6 Astra on my machine, because I'd plugged it in through a CLI.
What Herald OS Won't Do For Your Business Yet
Herald OS is alpha, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise.
The Connections page, which holds tools, apps and external connections, didn't work or sync for me.
That's the kind of thing open-source projects fix fast, and I could have asked Claude to dig into it.
The interface was also cut off slightly at the top on my screen, although the sidebar resizes fine.
The README says to keep backups of anything you let an agent touch.
The Linux ISO has been tested in a virtual machine but not yet on real PC hardware.
So I'd run your internal routines on it first and keep client delivery on tools you already trust.
Keeping Herald OS Up To Date
On Herald OS Linux, herald-os update installs a new version, and herald-os rollback takes you back.
On a Mac, you download the new DMG and replace the app, and hermes update updates Hermes itself.
On Arch and Omarchy, you run git pull and makepkg -si again.
If something breaks, report it as an issue on the repo, and send anything security-related privately through the repo's Security tab.
If you want to add more abilities to Hermes, my post on the Hermes Agent plugins marketplace is a good next step.
🔥 Want to see how I run Hermes for real business work? The AI Profit Boardroom has my Hermes Agent courses, Agent OS trainings and four live coaching calls every week. → Join the AI Profit Boardroom
My Verdict For Business Owners
Herald OS is super clean, and my automations synced across quickly.
It's a great choice if you want a nice interface for Hermes but don't like Hermes Desktop.
Spaces make it the best answer I've found to the "separate clients" question.
Just remember it's alpha, so use approvals and keep backups.
If you'd like help planning which automations are worth building for your business, you can book a free SEO strategy session with my team.
Related Reading
- The free Hermes Agent OS guide covers running the whole setup without paying for software.
- AI automation for small business shows where agents save the most time first.
- How to start an AI agency explains how to turn setups like this into a service.
Also On Our Network
- 🌐 The step-by-step Herald OS install for operators
- 🌐 Every Herald OS feature scored in my verdict
- 🌐 How Herald OS fits an Agent OS workflow
- 🌐 Which models score best as your Hermes brain
FAQ: Hermes Agent OS GitHub For Business
What is the Hermes Agent OS GitHub repo?
It's Herald OS, at github.com/iamlukethedev/Herald-OS.
It's a free, MIT-licensed operating system that uses Hermes Agent as its interface, and it isn't affiliated with Nous Research.
Can I keep different clients separate in Herald OS?
Yes, you can add a Space for each client alongside Ideas, Work and Personal.
You can also choose which space opens by default.
Do my Hermes automations work in Herald OS?
Yes, because it runs on your normal Hermes install.
Mine synced across Herald OS, Hermes Desktop and my Agent OS.
Does Herald OS cost anything for a business?
Herald OS itself is free.
You pay for the model provider Hermes uses, unless you pick free models.
Is Herald OS ready for client work?
It's alpha at version 0.1, so I'd start with internal routines.
Keep approvals on, back up your files and expect a few rough edges like Connections.
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About Julian
I'm Julian Goldie, an SEO entrepreneur, author and founder of the AI Profit Boardroom, which has 3,400+ members.
I help business owners scale with AI agents, automation and SEO.
- I've built a 7-figure agency, Goldie Agency, with a team of around 50 people.
- I've grown a YouTube channel to 400,000+ subscribers.
- I wrote the Amazon best-sellers "SEO Link Building Mastery" and "Agency Marketing Mastery".
- My Udemy courses have taught over 50,000 students.
→ Get my best AI training inside the AI Profit Boardroom
Set up a Space per client, switch on one morning automation, and you'll see what your business can do with the Hermes Agent OS GitHub repo this week.
