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Creating Skills

Skills are the preferred way to add new capabilities to Hermes Agent. They're easier to create than tools, require no code changes to the agent, and can be shared with the community.

Should it be a Skill or a Tool?​

Make it a Skill when:

  • The capability can be expressed as instructions + shell commands + existing tools
  • It wraps an external CLI or API that the agent can call via terminal or web_extract
  • It doesn't need custom Python integration or API key management baked into the agent
  • Examples: arXiv search, git workflows, Docker management, PDF processing, email via CLI tools

Make it a Tool when:

  • It requires end-to-end integration with API keys, auth flows, or multi-component configuration
  • It needs custom processing logic that must execute precisely every time
  • It handles binary data, streaming, or real-time events
  • Examples: browser automation, TTS, vision analysis

Skill Directory Structure​

Bundled skills live in skills/ organized by category:

skills/
├── research/
│   └── arxiv/
│       ├── SKILL.md              # Required: main instructions
│       └── scripts/              # Optional: helper scripts
│           └── search_arxiv.py
├── productivity/
│   └── ocr-and-documents/
│       ├── SKILL.md
│       ├── scripts/
│       └── references/
└── ...

SKILL.md Format​

---
name: my-skill
description: Brief description (shown in skill search results)
version: 1.0.0
author: Your Name
license: MIT
metadata:
  hermes:
    tags: [Category, Subcategory, Keywords]
    related_skills: [other-skill-name]
---

# Skill Title

Brief intro.

## When to Use
Trigger conditions — when should the agent load this skill?

## Quick Reference
Table of common commands or API calls.

## Procedure
Step-by-step instructions the agent follows.

## Pitfalls
Known failure modes and how to handle them.

## Verification
How the agent confirms it worked.

Skill Guidelines​

No External Dependencies​

Prefer stdlib Python, curl, and existing Hermes tools (web_extract, terminal, read_file). If a dependency is needed, document installation steps in the skill.

Progressive Disclosure​

Put the most common workflow first. Edge cases and advanced usage go at the bottom. This keeps token usage low for common tasks.

Include Helper Scripts​

For XML/JSON parsing or complex logic, include helper scripts in scripts/ — don't expect the LLM to write parsers inline every time.

Test It​

Run the skill and verify the agent follows the instructions correctly:

hermes chat --toolsets skills -q "Use the X skill to do Y"

Should the Skill Be Bundled?​

Bundled skills (in skills/) ship with every Hermes install. They should be broadly useful to most users:

  • Document handling, web research, common dev workflows, system administration
  • Used regularly by a wide range of people

If your skill is specialized (a niche engineering tool, a specific SaaS integration, a game), it's better suited for a Skills Hub — upload it to a registry and share it via hermes skills install.

Publishing Skills​

To the Skills Hub​

hermes skills publish skills/my-skill --to github --repo owner/repo

To a Custom Repository​

Add your repo as a tap:

hermes skills tap add owner/repo

Users can then search and install from your repository.

Security Scanning​

All hub-installed skills go through a security scanner that checks for:

  • Data exfiltration patterns
  • Prompt injection attempts
  • Destructive commands
  • Shell injection

Trust levels:

  • builtin — ships with Hermes (always trusted)
  • trusted — from openai/skills, anthropics/skills
  • community — any findings = blocked unless --force