Hermes Agent clearly explained (and how to use it)

Hermes Agent clearly explained (and how to use it)

Author: Greg Isenberg April 20, 2026 Duration: 37:00
I sit down with Imran Muthuvappa to get a hands-on walkthrough of Hermes Agent, a personal AI agent that ships with built-in memory, 40+ tools, and pre-installed skills out of the box. Imran walks me through why he migrated from OpenClaw, how to install Hermes on a Mac or even an Android phone via Termux, and how he cut his token spend by roughly 90% using OpenRouter. We get into agent design (one agent vs. multiple), connecting Hermes to Telegram and Obsidian, and the kinds of prompts that turn a personal agent into a daily operating system. By the end, I have a practical roadmap to install Hermes, pick a model, and start automating real parts of my life and business Timestamps 00:00 – Intro 01:38 – Why Imran Left OpenClaw (Memory, Gateway, Tokens) 04:26 – Hermes Setup Tour and 40+ Built-In Tools 07:06 – Installing Hermes on Mac, Linux, and WSL 12:21 – Telegram and Android Agents 17:09 – Auditing Your Life With Your Agent 20:04 – Must-Know Hermes Tips: Updates, Tailscale, Telegram 21:07 – Should You Migrate From OpenClaw? 25:58 – Hermes + Obsidian as a Daily Dashboard 27:16 – Must-Use Prompts for a Personal Agent 31:29 – Must-Install Skills: Obsidian, Honcho Memory, G-Stack 33:04 – What G-Stack Is and Why It Matters 34:18 – Customization Is a Trap; Output Is the Skill 35:19 – Closing Thoughts Key Points Hermes Agent solves OpenClaw's three biggest pain points: built-in memory (writes to SQLite on successful tasks), gateway stability, and token visibility. Installation is a single command on Mac, Linux, or WSL, and Hermes ships with 40+ tools and popular skills (Apple Notes, Reminders, iMessage, Find My) pre-installed. Switching to Hermes with OpenRouter can cut token spend by roughly 90%, from about $130 per five days to around $10 per five days in Imran's case. You can run Hermes on a cheap Android phone via Termux + Termux API, unlocking SMS, sensors, and on-device social posting as a cheap alternative to a Mac Mini. The real skill is defaulting to your agent for work, then meta-prompting it nightly: "What am I procrastinating? What should I automate? What tool can you build me tonight?" Imran recommends pairing Hermes with Obsidian for a clean daily dashboard and installing G-Stack (a Y Combinator-style startup skill from Gary Tan) if you are building a product. The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/ The Vibe Marketer - Resources for people into vibe marketing/marketing with AI: https://www.thevibemarketer.com/ FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/ FIND IMRAN ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://x.com/imranye Alif: https://alif.build

Greg Isenberg, the CEO of Late Checkout who has previously advised platforms like Reddit and TikTok, hosts a twice-weekly conversation designed to spark entrepreneurial thinking. The Startup Ideas Podcast is less about dry business theory and more about opening a window into the process of identifying opportunities. Each episode serves as a catalyst, presenting listeners with actionable concepts and the reasoning behind them. You'll hear Greg dissect market gaps, consumer behaviors, and emerging trends, translating them into tangible ideas for potential ventures. The aim is to build a consistent habit of creative exploration, pushing beyond the initial "what if" to consider the "how" and "why." This podcast functions as a regular dose of inspiration for anyone feeling stuck in a rut or simply curious about the mechanics of building something new. It’s a resource for aspiring founders, side-hustlers, and innovators who appreciate seeing the blueprint before the ground is broken. Tuning in means joining a forward-thinking dialogue where the next big idea might just click into place.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The Startup Ideas Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Hermes Agent App Clearly Explained (and how to use it) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:48
In this episode, I sit down with Alex Finn for a full, screen-shared walkthrough of Hermes Desktop, the new desktop home for the Hermes AI agent. I open with a clear challenge: by the end, sell me on installing Hermes De…
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Duration: 24:41
In this solo episode I walk through Codex Sites end to end, building a real internal tool live so you can copy the exact workflow. I open by comparing Codex Sites with one-prompt tools like Replit and Lovable, then const…
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Duration: 14:00
In this solo episode, I break down the shift from a human-first internet to an agent-first one, where AI agents become the customers that discover, evaluate, pay, and recommend. I map the agent buying journey and the new…
Google's Biggest AI Announcements (I Was There) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:42
Live from Google I/O, I sit down with Logan Kilpatrick from the Google DeepMind team to unpack everything Google just announced and what it means for founders, developers, and anyone trying to build with AI right now. We…
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Duration: 1:08:23
I sit down with my friend Jonathan Courtney, a.k.a. Jicecream, to dig into the 9 biggest startup opportunities I see right now across B2C, AI, mobile, and IRL. We each pick ideas, trade reactions, and pressure-test them…
Andrew Wilkinson: AI Agents run my business and life [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:02
If you want more workflows and tactics to build a business with AI, check out this free workshop: https://www.ideabrowser.com/workshop I sit down with Andrew Wilkinson and we go deep on how he's restructured his work, hi…
The $1M+ Solo AI Agent Business (Full Course) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:55
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7 tiny AI agent ideas I built with Genspark Claw [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:52
Get started building your tiny AI Agent business with Genspark Claw: https://www.genspark.ai/?utm_source=po&utm_campaign=GregIsenberg In this solo episode, I share seven tiny, cash-flowing startup ideas you can build wit…
My AI Design Workflow That Doesn't Ship Slop [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:01
I sit down with Meng To for his second appearance on the pod to dig into design md, Google's newly open-sourced format for capturing the soul of a design and porting it across every medium and tool. Meng walks me through…
Hire a team of AI Agents [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:27
I'm joined again by Imran Muthuvappa to walk through how to build your own AI Chief of Staff using a tool called Nebula. Imran shows me how to spin up specialized agents that handle the work a real chief of staff would d…