Course 1 — Download and install the Hermes desktop app

Part of the Afterschool Agent onboarding programme. Before you start this course, make sure your laptop has full admin access and at least 8 GB of RAM.

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What this course does

By the end of this course, you will have:

• The Hermes desktop app installed on your laptop (Mac or Windows)
• A signed-in account visible in the app
• A working chat with the default agent ("Hermes")
• The app in your menu bar / system tray, ready to use every day

There is no terminal command in this course. You click through it like any other app.

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Lesson 1 — Download the installer

What you need

• A laptop with full admin access (not a school laptop)
• Internet connection for the download
• About 5 minutes

Steps

1. Open your web browser
2. Go to https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/
3. Click the "Download Desktop" button
4. The site will detect your operating system and offer the right installer:

• Mac: a file ending in .dmg
• Windows: a file ending in .exe

1. Save the file to your Downloads folder
2. Wait for the download to finish (around 200 MB)

Check

• You have a file called Hermes-Installer.dmg (Mac) or Hermes-Setup.exe (Windows) in your Downloads folder

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Lesson 2 — Install on Mac

What you need

• The downloaded .dmg file
• About 2 minutes

Steps

1. Open your Downloads folder
2. Double-click the Hermes-Installer.dmg file
3. A Finder window opens with the Hermes icon and a shortcut to Applications
4. Drag the Hermes icon onto the Applications shortcut
5. Wait for the copy to finish (about 30 seconds)
6. Open the Applications folder
7. Double-click Hermes
8. If macOS asks "Are you sure you want to open it?", click Open
9. The Hermes app opens

Check

• The Hermes app is in your Applications folder
• The app launches without errors

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Lesson 2 — Install on Windows

What you need

• The downloaded .exe file
• About 2 minutes

Steps

1. Open your Downloads folder
2. Double-click Hermes-Setup.exe
3. Windows may ask "Do you want to allow this app to make changes?" — click Yes
4. The installer opens. Click Install
5. Wait for the install to finish (about 1 minute)
6. Click Finish
7. The Hermes app opens automatically

Check

• The Hermes app is in your Start menu
• The app launches without errors

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Lesson 3 — Create your account

What you need

• The Hermes app open
• An email address
• About 2 minutes

Steps

1. When Hermes opens for the first time, you'll see a sign-up screen
2. Enter your email address
3. Create a password
4. Click Create account
5. Check your email for a verification link
6. Click the verification link
7. Return to the Hermes app and sign in

What you just did

You created a Hermes account. This account is what keeps your agent's memory, conversations, and skills tied to your laptop. If you ever install Hermes on a new device, you sign in with the same email and everything follows you.

Check

• You're signed in and see the main Hermes window
• Your email is shown in the top-right of the app

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Lesson 4 — First chat with the default agent

What you need

• The Hermes app open and signed in
• About 5 minutes

Steps

1. In the main Hermes window, you'll see a chat panel with a default agent called "Hermes"
2. Click in the message box at the bottom
3. Type: "Hello. My name is [your name]. I'm building my first agent."
4. Press Enter
5. Read the reply
6. Try a second question: "What can you do?"
7. Try a third question: "Help me plan tomorrow."

What's happening

The app is talking to a default agent ("Hermes") that's running on a small cloud model. This is your trial agent — it works, but it doesn't yet know you or the eight essentials. The next courses will set that up.

Check

• You had a 3-message conversation with the default agent
• The agent's replies were coherent (not gibberish)
• You can see the conversation history in the panel

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Lesson 5 — Pin Hermes to your menu bar / system tray

What you need

• The Hermes app open
• 1 minute

On Mac

1. While Hermes is running, look at the top-right of your screen for a small Hermes icon in the menu bar
2. Click it once — you should see "Open Hermes" and "Quit Hermes"
3. If you don't see the icon, go to Hermes → Settings → "Show in menu bar" and turn it on

On Windows

1. While Hermes is running, look at the bottom-right of your screen for the Hermes icon in the system tray
2. Right-click it — you should see "Show Hermes" and "Quit Hermes"
3. If you don't see it, click the small arrow to expand the hidden icons

Why this matters

Hermes runs in the background. Pinning it to the menu bar / tray means you can get to it in one click without hunting through folders.

Check

• You can see and click the Hermes icon in the menu bar (Mac) or system tray (Windows)

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Lesson 6 — Make it a habit

The deal

Open Hermes once a day for the next week. Five minutes. Just say hello, ask one question, and close it.

The point isn't to use the agent heavily — it's to make it part of your routine so the next courses (LM Studio, OpenCode) feel like a natural extension instead of a new piece of software.

What to try this week

• "What's a good question I should be asking myself today?"
• "Tell me something I probably don't know"
• "Help me plan tomorrow in one line"

Check

• You've opened Hermes once a day for 7 days
• You have a 7-message conversation history

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You're done with Course 1

When you finish this course, you have:

• The Hermes desktop app installed
• A signed-in account
• A working chat with the default agent
• Hermes in your menu bar / tray, ready when you need it

Next course: Course 2 — Connect your agent to OpenCode Go. That setup gives your agent access to bigger, smarter models for the hard questions.

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Troubleshooting

The installer won't open on Mac

• Right-click the .dmg → choose Open. Confirm the dialog. This is normal for apps downloaded outside the App Store.

Windows SmartScreen blocked the installer

• Click "More info" → "Run anyway". This is normal for new apps not yet on Microsoft's allowlist.

The app opens but asks for a verification code every time

• Your email client may be filtering the verification email. Check your spam folder.

I can't find the app after installing

• On Mac: open Finder → Applications → scroll for Hermes. Drag it to your Dock for easy access.
• On Windows: open Start menu → search "Hermes".

The default agent's replies are slow or wrong

• That's the small cloud model. Course 2 (LM Studio) gives you a better local model. Course 3 (OpenCode) gives you even smarter cloud models.

I need to talk to a person

• Email go@getonetoeight.org or message the Afterschool Agent on Telegram.