Hermes Agent safe setup for beginners

What Hermes can touch. Whatever its computer can: files, a terminal, a browser, and any account you connect. That's powerful, so set limits.

Approval modes (in the config, approvals.mode):

• smart (default): a helper AI judges risk. Low-risk commands run. Dangerous ones are blocked. Unsure cases ask you.
• manual: always asks you before dangerous commands. Best for beginners.
• off: no safety prompts. Nous says use it only in trusted test setups.

Never use YOLO mode with real accounts. /yolo or --yolo approves every command without asking.

Scheduled jobs and approvals. By default, if a scheduled job hits a dangerous command, it's denied. Keep that default.

Who can message your bot. Use the allowlist (Telegram's QR setup fills in your user ID). Don't leave your bot open to anyone.

Use a separate email account. Nous's email guide says to use a dedicated account for Hermes, not your personal email.

Sandboxes. Hermes can run commands inside Docker or other sandboxes instead of directly on your computer. Ask a tech-savvy friend to help if Docker is new to you.

Don't connect yet: banking, your main email, or work systems, until you've used Hermes for a few weeks.

Keep it updated: run hermes update, or let the desktop app update.