Run the Setup Wizard
What this page covers
The setup wizard is the safest way to get Hermes into a coherent state: provider, model, terminal backend, tools, and optional gateway choices are handled by Hermes instead of hand-edited YAML.
Hermes changes quickly, so treat the official documentation as the source of truth and use the built-in CLI to inspect the local install before editing config by hand.
Fast path
```bash
hermes setup
```
```bash
hermes setup --portal
```
```bash
hermes setup model
hermes setup terminal
hermes setup gateway
hermes setup tools
hermes setup agent
```
```bash
hermes config check
hermes config migrate
```
```bash
hermes model
```
Practical checklist
- Use Quick Setup / Nous Portal when the goal is the lowest-friction first run.
- Use Full Setup when the user is bringing their own provider keys and wants to choose tools deliberately.
- Use Blank Slate for locked-down profiles; it enables only the minimal provider/model, file operations, and terminal toolsets.
- After any tool or config change, start a fresh session or reset so startup-snapshotted settings reload.
- Use `hermes config check` after updates to catch missing new options.
Common pitfalls
- Mixing wizard output with manual edits in the same pass and losing track of which value wins.
- Forgetting that toolset changes do not change the current conversation mid-session.
- Adding every feature at once before confirming basic chat works.
Verification checklist
- `hermes config` shows the expected model/provider and terminal backend.
- A fresh `hermes` or `hermes --tui` session starts without provider errors.
- `hermes tools list` reflects the intended enabled/disabled toolsets.
- `hermes doctor` is clean enough to continue.
Official reference
https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/getting-started/quickstart
