hermes chat Command — Complete Reference & Examples

Overview

hermes chat starts an interactive conversation with Hermes Agent. With no arguments it opens the default REPL/TUI. Pass -q to run a single prompt and exit. You can override the model, provider, toolsets, skills, reasoning effort, session handling, and safety/approval behavior.

Usage

hermes chat [OPTIONS]
hermes           # shorthand for hermes chat

Options

Flag	Description
`-q QUERY`, `--query QUERY`	Single query (non-interactive).
`--image IMAGE`	Attach a local image to a single query.
`-m MODEL`, `--model MODEL`	Override the model for this session.
`-t LIST`, `--toolsets LIST`	Comma-separated toolsets to enable.
`--reasoning LEVEL`	Reasoning effort: `none`, `minimal`, `low`, `medium`, `high`, `xhigh`, `max`, `ultra`.
`-s SKILLS`, `--skills SKILLS`	Preload one or more skills (comma-separated or repeat).
`--provider PROVIDER`	Override the inference provider.
`-v`, `--verbose`	Verbose output.
`-Q`, `--quiet`	Quiet mode for programmatic use (suppresses banner, spinner, tool previews).
`--resume SESSION_ID`, `-r SESSION_ID`	Resume a previous session by ID.
`--no-restore-cwd`	Do not change into the resumed session’s recorded working directory.
`--continue [SESSION_NAME]`, `-c [SESSION_NAME]`	Resume a session by name, or the most recent if omitted.
`--worktree`, `-w`	Run in an isolated git worktree (for parallel agents).
`--accept-hooks`	Auto-approve unseen shell hooks without prompting.
`--checkpoints`	Enable filesystem checkpoints before destructive file operations.
`--max-turns N`	Maximum tool-calling iterations per turn (default 500 or `agent.max_turns`).
`--yolo`	Bypass all dangerous command approval prompts.
`--pass-session-id`	Include the session ID in the system prompt.
`--ignore-user-config`	Ignore `~/.hermes/config.yaml` and use built-in defaults.
`--ignore-rules`	Skip `AGENTS.md`, `SOUL.md`, memory injection, and preloaded skills.
`--safe-mode`	Disable all customizations (config, rules, plugins, MCP servers).
`--source SOURCE`	Session source tag (default: `cli`).
`--tui`	Launch the modern TUI.
`--cli`	Force the classic prompt_toolkit REPL.
`--dev`	With `--tui`: run TypeScript sources via `tsx`.

Examples

# Interactive session
hermes chat

# Single query
hermes chat -q "Explain the project structure"

# Use a specific model and toolsets
hermes chat -q "Refactor the auth module" -m anthropic/claude-sonnet-4 -t file,terminal

# Attach an image
hermes chat --image ~/screenshot.png -q "Describe this UI"

# Resume the most recent session
hermes chat -c

# Resume a named session
hermes chat -c "debug session"

# Preload skills and run in isolated worktree
hermes chat -s git-workflow,code-review --worktree

# Enable checkpoints and bypass approvals for automation
hermes chat --checkpoints --yolo -q "Run the full test suite"

# Quiet programmatic output
hermes chat -Q -q "Return just the file list"

# Troubleshooting: fully isolated run
hermes chat --safe-mode

Tips

Use -Q when piping or scripting; the output contains only the final response and session info.
Use --checkpoints when running destructive file operations so you can restore with /rollback.
Use --reasoning to increase or decrease reasoning effort for a single session.
--safe-mode is the fastest way to verify whether a problem is caused by your config, rules, or plugins.