The best Hermes Agent plugins give Hermes abilities it doesn’t have out of the box — real long-term memory, a voice, a live news feed, multi-device control. With hundreds of free plugins now in the catalogue (I walk through them in the video below), here are the 10 I’d install first, and how to stay safe doing it.
Key takeaways
- A memory provider is the single most valuable plugin.
- Newswire, Tailscale and a voice plugin round out my core set.
- Install from Hermes Desktop with one click, or
hermes plugins install. - Check every community plugin’s GitHub repo first.
Best Hermes Agent plugins: my top 10
| # | Plugin | Why it’s worth it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A memory provider (Honcho, Hindsight or Mem0) | Makes Hermes remember you properly across sessions |
| 2 | Hermes Newswire | A live news feed for any topic inside Hermes Desktop |
| 3 | Hermes Tailscale | Control Hermes securely across your devices |
| 4 | A voice plugin | Talk to Hermes like Jarvis — pick the most-starred one |
| 5 | Brave Search | An independent search index for research |
| 6 | Hermes Office 2 | Watch your agents work in a visual office |
| 7 | Home Assistant | Control smart-home devices with ha_* tools |
| 8 | WhatsApp gateway | Chat with Hermes on WhatsApp |
| 9 | Job search | Personalised job hunting |
| 10 | herald-os-bridge | Powers Herald OS if you use it as your interface |
Why a memory plugin comes first
Hermes has good built-in memory, but a provider plugin takes it further: Honcho models you as a user over time, Hindsight builds a knowledge graph, and Mem0 extracts facts with semantic search. Install one with hermes plugins install honcho (or hindsight, or mem0), then run hermes memory setup. Only one external provider can be active at a time. My best Hermes Agent memory guide compares them all.
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How to install the best Hermes Agent plugins
- Open the plugin catalogue on the Hermes docs site or in Hermes Desktop’s capabilities section.
- Click Open in Hermes Desktop, choose a profile and click Install.
- Or install from the terminal with
hermes plugins install <name>. - Configure it in its settings, then test it in a spare profile.
My plugins marketplace guide walks through the catalogue step by step.
Plugins to skip
- Duplicates — one voice plugin, not five.
- Abandoned plugins — check the last-updated date.
- Anything asking for keys you don’t understand.
- Plugins you won’t use weekly — every plugin is something else to update.
Stay safe with community plugins
Community plugins are written by anyone and run with your agent’s access. Read the GitHub repo and README before installing, check the stars and last update, and test in a spare profile.
Plugins vs skills vs MCP
Plugins add code to Hermes — new tools, memory backends, desktop panes or platforms. Skills are instructions Hermes follows for a job. MCP servers connect outside services as tools. Many problems can be solved any of the three ways; the rule I use is skill first (simplest), MCP if a good server exists, and a plugin when you need something Hermes can’t do any other way.
My starter plugin stack
- Honcho for memory, if Hermes is your personal assistant.
- Hermes Newswire set to your niche.
- One voice plugin — the most-starred.
- Hermes Tailscale if you use Hermes on more than one device.
- Brave Search for research.
Five plugins, each solving one problem. That’s plenty for most people.
What plugins changed for Hermes
Before the plugin catalogue, adding a capability to Hermes meant terminal commands, config files and sometimes hours on a GitHub project that didn’t work. Now it’s one click from Hermes Desktop, with ratings and last-updated dates to help you choose. That’s a big shift: it means non-technical users can customise their agent the way developers always could. The flip side is that it’s easy to over-install, which is why I’m strict about keeping only the plugins I use every week. Fewer plugins, chosen carefully, gives you a faster and more reliable agent than a long list of experiments.
A good test before installing anything: write down the job you want the plugin to do and how you’ll know it’s working. If you can’t answer both, you probably don’t need it yet. If you can, install it, test it in a spare profile for a few days, and only then add it to your main setup. That simple habit has saved me hours of debugging plugins that conflicted with each other, and it keeps Hermes quick to start and easy to update.
How I’d get started this week
Install one memory provider and one plugin that solves a daily annoyance — a news feed, a voice, or multi-device access. Use them for a week before adding anything else. If a plugin hasn’t earned its place by the end of the week, uninstall it. A lean plugin setup is faster, more reliable and much easier to keep updated.
How to judge a Hermes plugin
- Stars — a rough signal of how many people trust it.
- Last updated — recent updates mean it’s maintained.
- Official or community — official plugins come from Nous; community plugins are reviewed but written by anyone.
- Permissions — what does it need access to?
- README quality — clear docs usually mean a careful developer.
If a plugin fails two of those checks, skip it and look for another.
Keeping plugins healthy
Update plugins when Hermes updates, and if something starts behaving oddly, switch off the most recently installed plugin first. Keep a spare profile with no plugins so you can always check whether a problem is Hermes or a plugin.
The bottom line on the best Hermes Agent plugins
The best Hermes Agent plugins are the few you’ll actually use: a memory provider, a voice, a news feed and Tailscale if you use several devices. Start there and add plugins only when you have a specific job for them.
FAQ: best hermes agent plugins
What are the best Hermes Agent plugins?
A memory provider (Honcho, Hindsight or Mem0), Hermes Newswire, Hermes Tailscale, a voice plugin and Brave Search.
How do I install a Hermes plugin?
Click Open in Hermes Desktop in the catalogue, or run hermes plugins install followed by the plugin name.
Are Hermes plugins free?
The catalogue plugins are free; some connect to services that need their own account.
Are Hermes community plugins safe?
Check each GitHub repo and README first and test in a spare profile.
How many Hermes plugins are there?
Hundreds — I counted around 500 when I recorded my plugins video.
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About Julian Goldie
I’m Julian Goldie — founder of Goldie Agency, best-selling author, and an AI educator with 428K+ YouTube subscribers. I’ve spent 10+ years in SEO and online business and I test every AI agent on my own work before I recommend it. Join the AI Profit Boardroom for the daily builds, or book a free strategy session to talk through yours.
Related reading
Last updated October 2026. This page is a living guide to best hermes agent plugins — the facts here move fast and it is updated as they do.
