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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsTo share a custom Hermes Agent that people can install and update, build it in a dedicated profile, add a distribution.yaml manifest, review the files you intend to publish, and distribute the profile through a Git repository. For a one-time transfer or backup, use Hermes export/import instead—but inspect the archive because it can contain personal information even though credential stores are excluded.
What a Hermes profile distribution is
A Hermes profile is a separate home directory for an agent’s configuration and persistent data. Depending on how it is set up, it can hold configuration, persona, memories, sessions, skills, cron jobs, and a state database. Profiles help keep distinct agents’ state separate; they are not shared-memory containers. The official profile documentation cautions against running two agent processes against the same profile because both write memory and may load each other’s writes when a session starts.
A profile distribution is a Git-based package of the authored agent setup, with a manifest that describes the package and an install and update path for recipients. It is suited to an agent you plan to maintain. Credentials, memories, and sessions should remain specific to each machine rather than being treated as shared package content. Hermes describes the concept in its profile distribution guide.
Build and prepare the profile
1. Create and exercise a dedicated profile
Create a profile for the agent you intend to share, then configure its model and API keys. Refine its SOUL.md, add the skills, MCP connections, and cron jobs it needs, and use the agent enough to check that the setup works as intended. Keep credentials out of files you plan to publish.
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2. Add a distribution manifest
Create distribution.yaml in the profile. The required field in the documented example is name; optional fields include version, description, hermes_requires, author, license, and env_requires. Use environment requirements to tell recipients which keys they must supply and which are optional. Consult the current manifest documentation for accepted fields and syntax.
3. Decide which files the distribution owns
The documented sample contains distribution.yaml, SOUL.md, config.yaml, mcp.json, a skills/ directory, and cron job configuration. By default, the documented distribution-owned paths include SOUL.md, config.yaml, mcp.json, skills/, cron/jobs.json, and distribution.yaml. Ownership matters when an update changes files that recipients may also have edited. Check the current guide’s merge and replacement behavior before promising that local changes will be preserved.
4. Add a .gitignore and inspect the repository
Curate the profile before committing it. Add a .gitignore that excludes credentials and private user data, then inspect the staged files to confirm that nothing sensitive or machine-specific is included. The distribution guide provides the project’s recommendations; a Git ignore rule is a safeguard, not a substitute for reviewing what will be published.
5. Publish the repository
Publish the curated profile to a Git host. Hermes documentation shows GitHub shorthand, HTTPS, SSH, self-hosted hosts, and local directories for testing as possible sources. Recipients can fork the repository and customize it through ordinary Git workflows. Choose repository access controls that match whether the agent is intended to be public or private.
Install and update a distribution
Install
Recipients install from a Git source or local directory with hermes profile install <source>. The command can also accept a local name and alias. The manifest provides package information such as its version, requirements, source, and declared environment variables. Check the distribution guide for current options and examples.
Update
Use hermes profile update <name> to update an installed distribution. The CLI reference says an update re-pulls the distribution while preserving user data, including memories, sessions, and authentication. The distribution guide describes local configuration preservation by default and an optional --force-config flag for deliberately resetting config.yaml to the distribution’s default. The exact effect of updates depends on the paths the distribution owns and the Hermes release, so consult the current command documentation before relying on a particular local customization surviving.
Choose a Git distribution or an export archive
| Consideration | Git profile distribution | Export/import archive |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | A maintained agent recipients should be able to install and update. | A one-time transfer, backup, or move without preparing a repository and manifest. |
| Sharing format | A Git repository with a distribution.yaml manifest. |
A snapshot archive, documented as .tar.gz. |
| Recipient updates | Use hermes profile update <name>. |
A snapshot has no distribution update path; create and share another export to provide a later snapshot. |
| Personal content and credentials | Curate the repository and exclude secrets and private user data before publishing. | Credentials are excluded, but memories, sessions, USER.md, and personal content in skills or persona files may remain. Inspect the archive before sharing. |
For a repository package, use hermes profile install <source> and hermes profile update <name>. For a one-time transfer, the documentation describes /export and /import as well as hermes profile export and hermes profile import. See the distribution guide and CLI reference for the current command behavior.
Protect agent data when sharing
- Keep concurrently running agents in separate profiles. A profile is an isolated state home, not a safe shared-memory directory.
- Keep credentials and private state out of Git. Use the guide’s
.gitignorerecommendations and inspect staged content before pushing. - Inspect exports, too. Excluding credential stores does not remove arbitrary personal content from memories, sessions, skills, persona files, or other included files.
- Share only the intended scope. A curated distribution and a profile export are different: an export is a snapshot and may be broader, particularly for named profiles.
Check these details against your Hermes release
Hermes’ profile distribution and CLI pages are live documentation and may change. In particular, verify command options, manifest fields, and file merge or replacement behavior against the current documentation before publishing instructions for a specific release. The documented workflow supports building a profile, declaring its requirements, and sharing it through Git; it does not by itself establish that every recipient’s local configuration will behave identically during every update.
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