hermes fallback Command — Complete Reference & Examples

Overview

hermes fallback manages the fallback provider chain. When the primary model fails because of a rate limit, overload, or connection error, Hermes tries each fallback provider in order until one succeeds.

hermes fallback {list,ls,add,remove,rm,clear}

Subcommands

list / ls — Show the fallback chain

hermes fallback list
hermes fallback ls

Displays the current fallback chain. If no subcommand is given, list is used by default.

add — Append a provider to the chain

hermes fallback add

Opens the same interactive provider/model picker used by hermes model and appends the selected provider to the fallback chain.

remove / rm — Remove an entry

hermes fallback remove
hermes fallback rm

Opens an interactive picker to choose which entry to delete from the fallback chain.

clear — Remove all fallbacks

hermes fallback clear

Removes every provider from the fallback chain.

Common Scenarios

Inspect the current chain

hermes fallback
hermes fallback list

Shows which providers will be tried if the primary model fails.

Add a backup provider

hermes fallback add

Use this after configuring your primary model to ensure you have an alternative during outages.

Remove a provider you no longer use

hermes fallback remove

Keeps the chain clean and avoids trying expired credentials.

Reset the chain

hermes fallback clear

Use when you want to rebuild the fallback chain from scratch.

Tips

• Fallback providers are tried only for rate-limit, overload, or connection errors, not for all model failures.
• Keep the chain ordered by reliability and cost; expensive providers are best placed near the end.
• Make sure each fallback provider has valid credentials in hermes auth or in the corresponding environment variable.
• A fallback entry is not a model override — it is only used when the primary model cannot respond.