Hermes Agent

Hermes Agent is an AI agent with browser automation, terminal access, skills, and messaging integrations. The Kernel browser plugin routes Hermes's browser_* tools through Kernel cloud browsers and handles browser creation and cleanup for you.

Install the plugin

Install and enable the plugin from the Kernel repository:

hermes plugins install kernel/hermes-browser-plugin --enable

You need:

• A current Hermes Agent installation with browser-provider plugin support
• A Kernel API key
• Node.js 20 or newer for Hermes's agent-browser dependency

Configure Hermes Desktop

1. Open Capabilities → Tools → Browser Automation.
2. Select Kernel.
3. If agent_browser isn't installed, click Run setup and wait for the one-time installation to finish.
4. Open the three-dot menu next to KERNEL_API_KEY and enter your Kernel API key.
5. Optionally set KERNEL_PROXY_NAME and KERNEL_PROFILE_NAME from their three-dot menus.
6. In a terminal, run the following command so Hermes's cleanup timer matches the plugin's 10-minute Kernel browser timeout:

hermes config set browser.inactivity_timeout 600

7. Restart any running Hermes chat or gateway so it reads the updated settings.

Configure the Hermes CLI

Select Kernel and match Hermes's cleanup timeout to the plugin's browser timeout:

hermes config set browser.cloud_provider kernel
hermes config set browser.inactivity_timeout 600

If plugin installation didn't prompt for your API key, add KERNEL_API_KEY to the active Hermes profile's .env file. This command prints the file's location:

hermes config env-path

Install agent-browser once if Hermes hasn't installed it yet:

hermes tools post-setup agent_browser

Verify your setup:

hermes plugins list
hermes config show
hermes doctor

Configure a default profile or proxy

The Kernel provider supports these settings in the active Hermes profile:

When you set KERNEL_PROFILE_NAME, the plugin saves browser changes back to that profile when the browser ends. This preserves cookies, logins, and other session state for future runs.

Understand browser cleanup

The plugin creates every Kernel browser with a 10-minute inactivity timeout. Hermes also maintains its own browser cleanup timer, which defaults to two minutes and refreshes whenever Hermes runs a browser_* tool. Matching it to 10 minutes prevents Hermes from deleting the browser before Kernel's timeout.

When Hermes cleans up a session, it closes agent-browser, deletes the Kernel browser, and removes the session from its local registry. Hermes also runs this cleanup when its process exits normally. Kernel's 10-minute timeout remains the remote fallback if Hermes crashes or loses its connection.

Verify browser routing

Start Hermes with browser tools enabled:

hermes chat --verbose --toolsets browser

Then ask Hermes:

Use browser_navigate, not web search, to open https://example.com. Call browser_snapshot, report the exact title and stealth_features, and tell me whether any cloud fallback warning occurred.

A successful run has these results:

1. The page title is Example Domain.
2. stealth_features includes stealth.
3. The tool result has no fallback_warning.
4. A matching browser appears in the Kernel Dashboard.
5. Exiting Hermes or waiting for cleanup removes the browser.

Hermes can fall back to local Chromium if a cloud provider fails. A successful navigation alone doesn't confirm that Hermes used Kernel; verify both the tool result and the Kernel Dashboard.

Update the plugin

Pull the latest version and restart Hermes Desktop, your active chat, or the gateway:

hermes plugins update browser-kernel

Next steps

• Use Live View to inspect an active Hermes browser
• Create reusable browser state with Profiles
• Configure a named Proxy
• Learn how Kernel terminates browser sessions