Quick Start

Once you’ve installed the plugin, all skills, commands, and hooks are loaded automatically in every Hermes session. Hermes starts with fein as its default mode, which describes the full pipeline.

Use full mode deliberately

Use /blitz for small or well-scoped tasks. Use the default mode when the task benefits from review and specialist handoffs. Read the usage decision guide before choosing a full pipeline, especially with an expensive or slow model.

Start a Session

Launch Hermes as usual. The plugin wires itself in at startup. It does not require startup probes for external tools.

Try the Commands

All features are accessible via slash commands:

/mode        # Show current mode and role
/fein        # Full pipeline: explore → design → build → review
/sonar       # Research only: explore → analyze → stop
/blitz       # Fast execution: build directly
/review      # Trigger review of last output
/plan        # Trigger a planning session

Example workflow:

You:          /fein
Hermes:       Mode set to fein
You:          Research the auth patterns in this codebase
Hermes:       [Adventurer explores, Architect designs, Builder implements, Reviewer checks]

Modes at a Glance

Mode	Pipeline	When to Use
fein	Full: adventurer → architect → builder → reviewer	Production work, new features, anything that needs review
sonar	Research: adventurer → architect → stop	Understanding a codebase, exploring options, no creation
blitz	Build direct: builder only	Quick fixes, known territory, trivial changes

The mode directive is injected into every message automatically — no manual prompting needed.

Specialist Roles

The plugin ships with permission roles for each of the 8 specialists, controlling which tools they can use:

Specialist	Tool Access	Use Case
orchestrator	LLM reasoning + delegate_task only	Task decomposition and dispatch
adventurer	Read, search, browser, LLM	Exploring codebases and gathering info
architect	Read, search, browser, LLM	Designing solutions
builder	All tools (read, write, bash, browser, data, coding)	Implementing changes
diagnose	Read, bash, LLM, delegate_task	Root cause analysis
planner	Read, LLM	Multi-step planning
reviewer	Read, LLM	Code review (edit/write blocked)
writer	Read, LLM, browser	Documentation and content

Roles are assigned automatically when the orchestrator dispatches a specialist. The pre_tool_call hook enforces tool restrictions — no manual role switching needed.

Pairing with Platform Features

For multi-turn or long-running work, pair maestria pipelines with Hermes platform features:

Feature	How it helps	Links
/goal	Set a persistent objective (/goal draft Run the fein pipeline to implement OAuth). The goal loop survives session boundaries; mode and pipeline state restore on /goal resume.	Docs · GitHub
Mnemosyne (agent memory)	Cross-session agent memory remembers your mode preference, past pipeline context, and working patterns across sessions.	Docs · GitHub
Uteke (knowledge base)	Store specialist findings and pipeline decisions as searchable wiki documents for long-term project reference.	Docs · GitHub

Configure Mnemosyne or Uteke in config.yaml under memory:. See the Installation Guide for details.

Next Steps

• Commands — Full reference for all slash commands
• Core Concepts — Specialist reference and pipeline patterns