DingTalk Setup

Hermes Agent integrates with DingTalk (钉钉) as a chatbot, letting you chat with your AI assistant through direct messages or group chats. The bot connects via DingTalk's Stream Mode — a long-lived WebSocket connection that requires no public URL or webhook server — and replies using markdown-formatted messages through DingTalk's session webhook API.

Before setup, here's the part most people want to know: how Hermes behaves once it's in your DingTalk workspace.

How Hermes Behaves

Context	Behavior
DMs (1:1 chat)	Hermes responds to every message. No @mention needed. Each DM has its own session.
Group chats	Hermes responds when you @mention it. Without a mention, Hermes ignores the message.
Shared groups with multiple users	By default, Hermes isolates session history per user inside the group. Two people talking in the same group do not share one transcript unless you explicitly disable that.

Session Model in DingTalk

By default:

• each DM gets its own session
• each user in a shared group chat gets their own session inside that group

This is controlled by config.yaml:

group_sessions_per_user: true

Set it to false only if you explicitly want one shared conversation for the entire group:

group_sessions_per_user: false

This guide walks you through the full setup process — from creating your DingTalk bot to sending your first message.

Prerequisites

Install the required Python packages:

pip install dingtalk-stream httpx

• dingtalk-stream — DingTalk's official SDK for Stream Mode (WebSocket-based real-time messaging)
• httpx — async HTTP client used for sending replies via session webhooks

Step 1: Create a DingTalk App

1. Go to the DingTalk Developer Console.
2. Log in with your DingTalk admin account.
3. Click Application Development → Custom Apps → Create App via H5 Micro-App (or Robot depending on your console version).
4. Fill in:
   • App Name: e.g., Hermes Agent
   • Description: optional
5. After creating, navigate to Credentials & Basic Info to find your Client ID (AppKey) and Client Secret (AppSecret). Copy both.

Credentials shown only once

The Client Secret is only displayed once when you create the app. If you lose it, you'll need to regenerate it. Never share these credentials publicly or commit them to Git.

Step 2: Enable the Robot Capability

1. In your app's settings page, go to Add Capability → Robot.
2. Enable the robot capability.
3. Under Message Reception Mode, select Stream Mode (recommended — no public URL needed).

tip

Stream Mode is the recommended setup. It uses a long-lived WebSocket connection initiated from your machine, so you don't need a public IP, domain name, or webhook endpoint. This works behind NAT, firewalls, and on local machines.

Step 3: Find Your DingTalk User ID

Hermes Agent uses your DingTalk User ID to control who can interact with the bot. DingTalk User IDs are alphanumeric strings set by your organization's admin.

To find yours:

1. Ask your DingTalk organization admin — User IDs are configured in the DingTalk admin console under Contacts → Members.
2. Alternatively, the bot logs the sender_id for each incoming message. Start the gateway, send the bot a message, then check the logs for your ID.

Step 4: Configure Hermes Agent

Option A: Interactive Setup (Recommended)

Run the guided setup command:

hermes gateway setup

Select DingTalk when prompted, then paste your Client ID, Client Secret, and allowed user IDs when asked.

Option B: Manual Configuration

Add the following to your ~/.hermes/.env file:

# Required
DINGTALK_CLIENT_ID=your-app-key
DINGTALK_CLIENT_SECRET=your-app-secret

# Security: restrict who can interact with the bot
DINGTALK_ALLOWED_USERS=user-id-1

# Multiple allowed users (comma-separated)
# DINGTALK_ALLOWED_USERS=user-id-1,user-id-2

Optional behavior settings in ~/.hermes/config.yaml:

group_sessions_per_user: true

• group_sessions_per_user: true keeps each participant's context isolated inside shared group chats

Start the Gateway

Once configured, start the DingTalk gateway:

hermes gateway

The bot should connect to DingTalk's Stream Mode within a few seconds. Send it a message — either a DM or in a group where it's been added — to test.

tip

You can run hermes gateway in the background or as a systemd service for persistent operation. See the deployment docs for details.

Troubleshooting

Bot is not responding to messages

Cause: The robot capability isn't enabled, or DINGTALK_ALLOWED_USERS doesn't include your User ID.

Fix: Verify the robot capability is enabled in your app settings and that Stream Mode is selected. Check that your User ID is in DINGTALK_ALLOWED_USERS. Restart the gateway.

"dingtalk-stream not installed" error

Cause: The dingtalk-stream Python package is not installed.

Fix: Install it:

pip install dingtalk-stream httpx

"DINGTALK_CLIENT_ID and DINGTALK_CLIENT_SECRET required"

Cause: The credentials aren't set in your environment or .env file.

Fix: Verify DINGTALK_CLIENT_ID and DINGTALK_CLIENT_SECRET are set correctly in ~/.hermes/.env. The Client ID is your AppKey, and the Client Secret is your AppSecret from the DingTalk Developer Console.

Stream disconnects / reconnection loops

Cause: Network instability, DingTalk platform maintenance, or credential issues.

Fix: The adapter automatically reconnects with exponential backoff (2s → 5s → 10s → 30s → 60s). Check that your credentials are valid and your app hasn't been deactivated. Verify your network allows outbound WebSocket connections.

Bot is offline

Cause: The Hermes gateway isn't running, or it failed to connect.

Fix: Check that hermes gateway is running. Look at the terminal output for error messages. Common issues: wrong credentials, app deactivated, dingtalk-stream or httpx not installed.

"No session_webhook available"

Cause: The bot tried to reply but doesn't have a session webhook URL. This typically happens if the webhook expired or the bot was restarted between receiving the message and sending the reply.

Fix: Send a new message to the bot — each incoming message provides a fresh session webhook for replies. This is a normal DingTalk limitation; the bot can only reply to messages it has received recently.

Security

warning

Always set DINGTALK_ALLOWED_USERS to restrict who can interact with the bot. Without it, the gateway denies all users by default as a safety measure. Only add User IDs of people you trust — authorized users have full access to the agent's capabilities, including tool use and system access.

For more information on securing your Hermes Agent deployment, see the Security Guide.

Notes

• Stream Mode: No public URL, domain name, or webhook server needed. The connection is initiated from your machine via WebSocket, so it works behind NAT and firewalls.
• Markdown responses: Replies are formatted in DingTalk's markdown format for rich text display.
• Message deduplication: The adapter deduplicates messages with a 5-minute window to prevent processing the same message twice.
• Auto-reconnection: If the stream connection drops, the adapter automatically reconnects with exponential backoff.
• Message length limit: Responses are capped at 20,000 characters per message. Longer responses are truncated.