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* feat(dashboard): unify multi-profile management — one machine dashboard, global profile switcher The dashboard becomes a machine-level management surface with one write-target selector, replacing per-profile dashboard fragmentation. Backend: - profile param (query or body) on /api/config (get/put/raw), /api/env (get/put/delete/reveal), /api/mcp/servers (list/add/remove/test/enabled), /api/mcp/catalog (list/install), /api/model/info, /api/model/set — all scoped through the existing _profile_scope() context manager - model/set restructured: expensive-model warning (await) runs before the scope; the config write runs sync inside the scope in a worker thread - MCP catalog installs + git-bootstrap entries spawn 'hermes -p <profile>' - chat PTY: ?profile= on /api/pty points the child's HERMES_HOME at the profile dir (its own gateway subprocess, config/skills/memory/state.db all profile-bound); in-process gateway attach skipped when scoped CLI launch unification: - '<profile> dashboard' routes to the machine dashboard: attach (open browser at ?profile=) when one is listening, else re-exec pinned to the default profile with --open-profile preselecting the launcher - --isolated preserves the old dedicated per-profile server behavior - start_server(initial_profile=...) appends ?profile= to the auto-open URL Frontend: - ProfileProvider + sidebar ProfileSwitcher: ONE global selector, URL- persisted (?profile=), mirrored into fetchJSON which auto-appends the param to the scoped endpoint families (explicit params win) - app-wide amber banner names the managed profile - SkillsPage's page-local selector (from the skills-scoping PR) folded into the global context — single source of truth - ChatPage threads the scope into the PTY WS URL; switching profiles remounts the terminal into a fresh scoped session Omitted profile keeps legacy behavior everywhere. * docs(dashboard): document machine-level multi-profile management - web-dashboard.md: 'Managing multiple profiles' section (switcher, URL deep-links, unified launch, --isolated, scoped Chat, what stays per-profile) + --isolated in the options table - profiles.md: 'From the dashboard' subsection + set-as-active vs switcher clarification - cli-commands.md: --isolated flag + profile-alias launch example * fix(dashboard): address profile-unification review findings Review findings (dev review on PR #44007): 1. HIGH — stale page state on profile switch: pages load data on mount and didn't consume the profile scope, so a page opened under profile A kept showing A's state while writes silently targeted the newly selected B. Fixed structurally: ProfileKeyedRoutes wraps the routed page tree and keys it by the selected profile, remounting every page (fresh state + refetch) on switch. ChatPage keeps its own remount (channel keyed on scopedProfile). 2. HIGH — /api/model/auxiliary read was unscoped while /api/model/set wrote scoped (Models page could show default's aux pins while editing worker's). Endpoint now takes profile + _profile_scope, added to PROFILE_SCOPED_PREFIXES, HTTPException re-raise so ghost profiles 404 instead of 500. Regression test asserts read/write symmetry with differing worker/default aux config. 3. MEDIUM — tools post-setup spawned unscoped from the profile-aware drawer. Now spawns 'hermes -p <profile> tools post-setup <key>' (same mechanism as hub installs); drawer threads its profile prop. Most hooks install machine-level artifacts where the scope is inert, but hooks reading config/env now see the drawer's HERMES_HOME. 4. LOW — ty warnings: env Optional asserts before subscript/membership, fastapi import replaced with web_server.HTTPException re-use. 298 tests green across the four affected suites; tsc -b + vite build green; aux scoping E2E-verified with real imports. * fix(dashboard): address second profile-unification review (gille) 1. BLOCKER — profile scope dropped on sidebar navigation: ProfileProvider derived the selection from the current URL, and nav links are bare paths, so clicking Config from /skills?profile=worker silently reset the write target. State is now the source of truth; an effect re-asserts ?profile= onto the new location after every navigation (URL stays a synchronized projection for deep links/refresh), and an incoming URL param (e.g. 'Manage skills & tools' links) still wins. 2. BLOCKER — /api/model/options unscoped while model/set wrote scoped: the picker context (current model/provider, custom providers, per-profile .env auth state) now loads inside _profile_scope; added to PROFILE_SCOPED_PREFIXES. Test: a worker-only current-model pin appears in the scoped payload and not the unscoped one. 3. BLOCKER — MCP test-server probe escaped the scope after the config read: the probe now re-enters _profile_scope inside the worker thread so env-placeholder expansion resolves against the selected profile's .env. Known limit (documented): the probe's dedicated MCP event-loop thread doesn't inherit the contextvar (OAuth token paths). Test asserts get_hermes_home() inside the probe == the worker profile dir. 4. BLOCKER — broad excepts swallowed unknown-profile 404s: /api/model/info degraded to 200-with-empty-model-info and /api/mcp/catalog to a silently-empty catalog. Both re-raise HTTPException; 404 regression tests added for info/options/catalog. Polish: scope banner clears the fixed mobile header (mt-14 lg:mt-0); --open-profile hidden via argparse.SUPPRESS (internal re-exec flag); attach-path test now asserts the opened ?profile= URL. (Stale-page-state + /api/model/auxiliary findings from this review were already fixed in92bcd1568— the review ran againste600f6951.) 35 tests in the two new suites + 274 in the adjacent ones, all green; tsc -b + vite build green; scoping E2E-verified with real imports. * docs(dashboard)+fix: self-review pass — Profiles page section, REST profile-param tip, body-beats-query precedence Docs: - web-dashboard.md: add the missing 'Profiles' subsection to Pages (cards, create/builder, manage-skills jump, set-as-active vs switcher distinction, editors); REST API section gets a profile-scoped-endpoints tip documenting ?profile= / body profile / 404 semantics / /api/pty - (profiles.md + cli-commands.md were already updated ine600f6951) Precedence fix: scoped endpoints taking BOTH a query param and a body field now resolve body.profile first. The SPA's fetchJSON injects the query param from the GLOBAL switcher; an explicit body.profile (e.g. Profile Builder flows writing into a specific new profile) is the more specific intent and must not be overridden by whatever the sidebar happens to be set to. Matches the documented 'explicit beats global' contract in api.ts. Verified: 304 tests green across the four suites; tsc -b + vite build green; docusaurus build green (only pre-existing broken-link warnings, none from this PR's pages).
284 lines
11 KiB
Markdown
284 lines
11 KiB
Markdown
---
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sidebar_position: 2
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---
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# Profiles: Running Multiple Agents
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Run multiple independent Hermes agents on the same machine — each with its own config, API keys, memory, sessions, skills, and gateway state.
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## What are profiles?
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A profile is a separate Hermes home directory. Each profile gets its own directory containing its own `config.yaml`, `.env`, `SOUL.md`, memories, sessions, skills, cron jobs, and state database. Profiles let you run separate agents for different purposes — a coding assistant, a personal bot, a research agent — without mixing up Hermes state.
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When you create a profile, it automatically becomes its own command. Create a profile called `coder` and you immediately have `coder chat`, `coder setup`, `coder gateway start`, etc.
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## Quick start
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```bash
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hermes profile create coder # creates profile + "coder" command alias
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coder setup # configure API keys and model
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coder chat # start chatting
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```
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That's it. `coder` is now its own Hermes profile with its own config, memory, and state.
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## Creating a profile
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:::tip
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Quickest setup: run `hermes setup --portal` inside the new profile to wire up models + tools at once. See [Nous Portal](/integrations/nous-portal).
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:::
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### Blank profile
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```bash
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hermes profile create mybot
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```
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Creates a fresh profile with bundled skills seeded. Run `mybot setup` to configure API keys, model, and gateway tokens.
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If you plan to use this profile as a kanban worker (or want the kanban orchestrator to route work to it), pass `--description "<role>"` at create time so the orchestrator knows what it's good at:
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```bash
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hermes profile create researcher --description "Reads source code and external docs, writes findings."
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```
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You can also set or auto-generate the description later with `hermes profile describe` — see the [Kanban guide](./features/kanban#auto-vs-manual-orchestration) for the full routing model.
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### Clone config only (`--clone`)
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```bash
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hermes profile create work --clone
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```
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Copies your current profile's `config.yaml`, `.env`, and `SOUL.md` into the new profile. Same API keys and model, but fresh sessions and memory. Edit `~/.hermes/profiles/work/.env` for different API keys, or `~/.hermes/profiles/work/SOUL.md` for a different personality.
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### Clone everything (`--clone-all`)
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```bash
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hermes profile create backup --clone-all
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```
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Copies **everything** — config, API keys, personality, all memories, full session history, skills, cron jobs, plugins. A complete snapshot. Useful for backups or forking an agent that already has context.
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### Clone from a specific profile
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```bash
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hermes profile create work --clone --clone-from coder
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```
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:::tip Honcho memory + profiles
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When Honcho is enabled, `--clone` automatically creates a dedicated AI peer for the new profile while sharing the same user workspace. Each profile builds its own observations and identity. See [Honcho -- Multi-agent / Profiles](./features/memory-providers.md#honcho) for details.
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:::
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## Using profiles
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### Command aliases
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Every profile automatically gets a command alias at `~/.local/bin/<name>`:
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```bash
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coder chat # chat with the coder agent
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coder setup # configure coder's settings
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coder gateway start # start coder's gateway
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coder doctor # check coder's health
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coder skills list # list coder's skills
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coder config set model.default anthropic/claude-sonnet-4
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```
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The alias works with every hermes subcommand — it's just `hermes -p <name>` under the hood.
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### The `-p` flag
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You can also target a profile explicitly with any command:
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```bash
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hermes -p coder chat
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hermes --profile=coder doctor
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hermes chat -p coder -q "hello" # works in any position
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```
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### Sticky default (`hermes profile use`)
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```bash
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hermes profile use coder
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hermes chat # now targets coder
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hermes tools # configures coder's tools
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hermes profile use default # switch back
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```
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Sets a default so plain `hermes` commands target that profile. Like `kubectl config use-context`.
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### Knowing where you are
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The CLI always shows which profile is active:
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- **Prompt**: `coder ❯` instead of `❯`
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- **Banner**: Shows `Profile: coder` on startup
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- **`hermes profile`**: Shows current profile name, path, model, gateway status
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## Profiles vs workspaces vs sandboxing
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Profiles are often confused with workspaces or sandboxes, but they are different things:
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- A **profile** gives Hermes its own state directory: `config.yaml`, `.env`, `SOUL.md`, sessions, memory, logs, cron jobs, and gateway state.
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- A **workspace** or **working directory** is where terminal commands start. That is controlled separately by `terminal.cwd`.
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- A **sandbox** is what limits filesystem access. Profiles do **not** sandbox the agent.
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On the default `local` terminal backend, the agent still has the same filesystem access as your user account. A profile does not stop it from accessing folders outside the profile directory.
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If you want a profile to start in a specific project folder, set an explicit absolute `terminal.cwd` in that profile's `config.yaml`:
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```yaml
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terminal:
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backend: local
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cwd: /absolute/path/to/project
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```
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Using `cwd: "."` on the local backend means "the directory Hermes was launched from", not "the profile directory".
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Also note:
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- `SOUL.md` can guide the model, but it does not enforce a workspace boundary.
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- Changes to `SOUL.md` take effect cleanly on a new session. Existing sessions may still be using the old prompt state.
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- Asking the model "what directory are you in?" is not a reliable isolation test. If you need a predictable starting directory for tools, set `terminal.cwd` explicitly.
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## Running gateways
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Each profile runs its own gateway as a separate process with its own bot token:
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```bash
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coder gateway start # starts coder's gateway
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assistant gateway start # starts assistant's gateway (separate process)
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```
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### Different bot tokens
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Each profile has its own `.env` file. Configure a different Telegram/Discord/Slack bot token in each:
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```bash
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# Edit coder's tokens
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nano ~/.hermes/profiles/coder/.env
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# Edit assistant's tokens
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nano ~/.hermes/profiles/assistant/.env
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```
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### Safety: token locks
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If two profiles accidentally use the same bot token, the second gateway will be blocked with a clear error naming the conflicting profile. Supported for Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, and Signal.
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### Persistent services
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```bash
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coder gateway install # creates hermes-gateway-coder systemd/launchd service
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assistant gateway install # creates hermes-gateway-assistant service
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```
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Each profile gets its own service name. They run independently.
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:::note Inside the official Docker image
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Per-profile gateways are supervised by [s6-overlay](https://github.com/just-containers/s6-overlay) (PID 1 in the container), so `hermes profile create <name>` automatically registers an s6 service slot at `/run/service/gateway-<name>/`. `hermes -p <name> gateway start/stop/restart` dispatches to `s6-svc` instead of spawning a bare process — crashes are auto-restarted and `docker restart` preserves the previously-running set of gateways. See [Per-profile gateway supervision](/user-guide/docker#per-profile-gateway-supervision) for details.
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:::
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## Configuring profiles
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Each profile has its own:
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- **`config.yaml`** — model, provider, toolsets, all settings
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- **`.env`** — API keys, bot tokens
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- **`SOUL.md`** — personality and instructions
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```bash
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coder config set model.default anthropic/claude-sonnet-4
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echo "You are a focused coding assistant." > ~/.hermes/profiles/coder/SOUL.md
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```
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If you want this profile to work in a specific project by default, also set its own `terminal.cwd`:
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```bash
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coder config set terminal.cwd /absolute/path/to/project
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```
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### From the dashboard
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The [web dashboard](features/web-dashboard.md#managing-multiple-profiles)
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is a machine-level surface that can manage **any** profile's config, API
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keys, skills, MCPs, and model via the profile switcher in its sidebar — no
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per-profile dashboard needed. `coder dashboard` routes to the machine
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dashboard with the `coder` profile preselected. The dashboard's Chat tab
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also follows the switcher, spawning a conversation under the selected
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profile's home.
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Note: "Set as active" on the dashboard's Profiles page is the sticky
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default for **future CLI/gateway runs** (same as `hermes profile use`) —
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to edit a profile from the dashboard, use the switcher instead.
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## Updating
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`hermes update` pulls code once (shared) and syncs new bundled skills to **all** profiles automatically:
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```bash
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hermes update
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# → Code updated (12 commits)
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# → Skills synced: default (up to date), coder (+2 new), assistant (+2 new)
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```
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User-modified skills are never overwritten.
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## Managing profiles
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```bash
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hermes profile list # show all profiles with status
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hermes profile show coder # detailed info for one profile
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hermes profile rename coder dev-bot # rename (updates alias + service)
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hermes profile export coder # export to coder.tar.gz
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hermes profile import coder.tar.gz # import from archive
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```
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## Deleting a profile
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```bash
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hermes profile delete coder
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```
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This stops the gateway, removes the systemd/launchd service, removes the command alias, and deletes all profile data. You'll be asked to type the profile name to confirm.
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Use `--yes` to skip confirmation: `hermes profile delete coder --yes`
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:::note
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You cannot delete the default profile (`~/.hermes`). To remove everything, use `hermes uninstall`.
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:::
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## Tab completion
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```bash
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# Bash
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eval "$(hermes completion bash)"
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# Zsh
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eval "$(hermes completion zsh)"
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```
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Add the line to your `~/.bashrc` or `~/.zshrc` for persistent completion. Completes profile names after `-p`, profile subcommands, and top-level commands.
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## How it works
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Profiles use the `HERMES_HOME` environment variable. When you run `coder chat`, the wrapper script sets `HERMES_HOME=~/.hermes/profiles/coder` before launching hermes. Since 119+ files in the codebase resolve paths via `get_hermes_home()`, Hermes state automatically scopes to the profile's directory — config, sessions, memory, skills, state database, gateway PID, logs, and cron jobs.
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This is separate from terminal working directory. Tool execution starts from `terminal.cwd` (or the launch directory when `cwd: "."` on the local backend), not automatically from `HERMES_HOME`.
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The default profile is simply `~/.hermes` itself. No migration needed — existing installs work identically.
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## Sharing profiles as distributions
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A profile you built on one machine can be packaged as a **git repository** and installed with one command on another machine — your own workstation, a teammate's laptop, or a community user's environment. The shared package includes the SOUL, config, skills, cron jobs, and MCP connections. Credentials, memories, and sessions stay per-machine.
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```bash
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# Install a whole agent from a git repo
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hermes profile install github.com/you/research-bot --alias
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# Update later when the author ships a new version (keeps your memories + .env)
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hermes profile update research-bot
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```
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See **[Profile Distributions: Share a Whole Agent](./profile-distributions.md)** for the full guide — authoring, publishing, update semantics, security model, and use cases.
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