How to Install and Use Hermes Agent Skills (Step-by-Step Guide)

Hermes skins change how the agent looks; Hermes skills change what it can do. A skill is an on-demand knowledge document that teaches Hermes how to handle a specific task — run a code review, query a database, delegate work to another CLI, or search your notes. Once installed, a skill becomes a slash command you can invoke inside any Hermes conversation.

This guide walks through finding, installing, and using Hermes agent skills. If you already know you want to browse the catalog first, start at hermesskins.io/skills.

What a Hermes skill actually is

Skills live under:

~/.hermes/skills/<name>/

Each skill contains a SKILL.md file (and sometimes helper files) that describes:

What the skill does and when to use it.
Which slash commands it exposes.
What inputs it expects and what outputs it returns.
Any external tools, APIs, or environment variables it needs.

Skins change look; skills change behavior. You can have dozens of skills installed and only invoke the one you need for a given task.

Discover skills

Hermes comes with a built-in skill browser. Run:

/hermes skills browse

Use the arrow keys to preview skills, then press Enter to see details. To search by keyword:

/hermes skills search <query>

You can also find skills in a few community sources:

The official Hermes skills catalog (linked from the official docs).
The community skill index at skills.sh.
GitHub repos like itgoyo/hermes-skills.
Direct URLs shared by other Hermes users.

A good skill has a clear SKILL.md, examples, and a narrow scope. Avoid skills that ask for broad permissions without explaining why.

Install a skill

From the official catalog

hermes skills install official/research/arxiv

This installs the ArXiv research skill and makes commands like /arxiv recent diffusion model papers available.

From skills.sh

hermes skills install skills-sh/vercel-labs/agent-skills/json-render-react

From GitHub

hermes skills install openai/skills/k8s

From a direct URL

hermes skills install https://example.com/SKILL.md --name my-skill

In-chat shortcut

Inside Hermes, you can also type:

/skills install official/creative/songwriting-and-ai-music

The install command downloads the skill files into ~/.hermes/skills/<name>/ and registers any slash commands.

Verify and manage skills

List installed skills:

hermes skills list

Inspect a skill before using it:

hermes skills inspect <skill>

Update a skill to its latest version:

hermes skills update <skill>

Remove a skill you no longer need:

hermes skills uninstall <skill>

Use a skill

Installed skills become slash commands. For example, after installing the ArXiv skill:

/arxiv recent diffusion model papers

Hermes can also auto-load skills via skill_view when you ask naturally. If you say "search my Obsidian notes for the meeting summary," Hermes may invoke the Obsidian skill automatically if it is installed.

Concrete examples

Research: /arxiv recent papers on retrieval augmented generation
Coding workflow: /claude-code add error handling to src/utils.py
Project management: /notion create a task named 'Deploy v2' in Engineering
Web design reference: /popular-web-designs show Stripe's pricing page

Each skill defines its own commands, so run hermes skills inspect <skill> to see the exact syntax.

Browse and share skills on hermesskins.io

The marketplace is the easiest place to discover community skills and share your own.

Browse live skills at hermesskins.io/skills.
Browse matching skins at hermesskins.io/skins.
Upload your own skill or skin at hermesskins.io/upload.
Read the other guide: How to Create a Custom Hermes Skin.

Some of the most useful skills already listed include:

Claude Code — delegate coding tasks to the Claude Code CLI.
Popular Web Designs — reference 54 real design systems as HTML/CSS.
LLM Wiki — build and query an interlinked markdown knowledge base.
Requesting Code Review — run pre-commit security scans and quality gates.
Obsidian — read, search, create, and edit notes in your Obsidian vault.
Notion — manage Notion pages and databases from the terminal.

If you built a skill, upload it as a single folder or archive containing a clear SKILL.md. Keep it legal and value-adding — only upload skills you have permission to share.

Quick reference cheatsheet

| Command | What it does | |---------|--------------| | hermes skills browse | Open the interactive skill browser. | | hermes skills search <query> | Search installed and remote skills. | | hermes skills install <source> | Install a skill from catalog, GitHub, or URL. | | hermes skills inspect <skill> | Show a skill's commands and requirements. | | hermes skills list | List installed skills. | | hermes skills update <skill> | Update a skill to its latest version. | | hermes skills uninstall <skill> | Remove a skill. | | /<skill-command> | Invoke a skill inside Hermes. |

For the complete and up-to-date command reference, see the official Hermes skills docs and the working with skills guide.