Day 1 , Installation, Setup & First Productive Use

Today is about getting Hermes running and doing real work. Not a hello-world, not a "type this and watch it echo back" , by the end of today you'll have installed Hermes, connected it to a model provider, picked the interface that fits how you work, and completed a task you'd normally do by hand.

What you'll have by the end of today

• Hermes installed and passing hermes doctor
• A provider connected (Nous Portal OAuth or a manual API key)
• The CLI, TUI, and Desktop surfaces all working, you'll know which one fits your workflow
• Project context files (AGENTS.md or .hermes.md) wired up so Hermes knows your environment

Lessons

1. What Hermes Is (and Isn't) , places Hermes in the agent ecosystem, explains what "self-improving" actually means, and sets expectations for the rest of the course
2. Installation & Provider Setup , the installer, hermes setup --portal, hermes model, and verifying everything works with hermes doctor
3. The CLI, Your First Real Task , interactive chat, one-shot mode, slash commands, and completing a genuine task instead of a demo
4. The TUI & Desktop App , the three-pane terminal interface, the native Electron desktop app, and when to reach for which surface
5. Project Context Files , .hermes.md, AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, and SOUL.md , how Hermes discovers and loads project-specific instructions

Next: Day 2 , Memory, Skills & Self-Improvement