Gateway (your pocket surface)
Chat with your agent from an app you already use. We recommend Telegram; you may use Discord, Slack, Signal, WhatsApp, or another Hermes-supported platform.
Why gateway sits here
With Desktop installed and SOUL written, a messaging surface is the fastest proof the harness is real outside the laptop window. Wire one platform before deep tool theory; Part I then expands what the agent can do with hands (tools).
A harness confined to one desktop window is incomplete. Gateway is how you operate from your phone or, later, from an always-on host without daily SSH.
Pick your surface (you choose)
Hermes supports many messaging platforms ↗ (Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, Matrix, Teams, and more). You are free to use the one that fits your privacy, work, or household. This course does not require Telegram.
- Recommended default: Telegram ↗ — strong adoption, bot setup is common, and threads/topics help keep long agent chats tidy. Good for beginners who already use TG.
- Strong privacy default: Signal ↗ — when end-to-end culture matters most; setup is usually heavier (signal-cli path).
- Work defaults: Slack ↗ or Discord ↗ — when the agent should live where your team already chats.
- WhatsApp / others — valid if Hermes lists them in official messaging docs for your build; follow that platform’s page.
Universal trust rules (every platform)
- Allowlist ↗ or pairing so only your account can talk to the agent. If nobody is allowlisted, nobody should get through.
- Store tokens/secrets in the app env — never in a public channel or git.
- Do not open the bot to the whole internet “for a test.”
- Leave Desktop (or the gateway process) running while you prove the first reply.
Recommended walkthrough: Telegram
Use this if you chose Telegram. If you chose another platform, skip to that official page and complete the same proof checklist below.
Everything happens on one screen: Messaging in the Hermes sidebar, then Telegram in the platform list. Two fields matter — the bot token (required) and the allowed user IDs (technically optional, and the reason this lesson exists).
- Open Telegram → @BotFather →
/newbot→ copy the token it gives you. - Get your numeric user id from @userinfobot — you need it for the next step.
- In Hermes: Messaging → Telegram. Paste the bot token.
- Paste your user id into Allowed Telegram user IDs, then Save changes.
- Start the gateway. Leave Hermes running during the test.
- Message the bot: “Who are you and what are your hard limits?” — the answer should match your SOUL.
If you chose another platform
- Open the official Hermes page for Discord, Slack, Signal, WhatsApp, or your pick (links above).
- Create the bot/app or link the device as that page requires.
- Connect credentials in Desktop gateway / messaging for that platform.
- Restrict who can talk (allowlist, admin list, or pairing — whatever the platform supports).
- Send the SOUL check: “Who are you and what are your hard limits?”
Runtime notes
- The PC must stay awake while this machine hosts the gateway.
- One profile ≈ one bot/app identity when you need concurrent personas later.
- You can add a second platform after Part I — not before the tools proof.