# Hermes

> Register Vikey as a provider in ~/.hermes/config.yaml for Hermes Agent.

Hermes Agent calls Vikey through the OpenAI chat completions format.

Tested with Hermes Agent 0.21.2 on 12 November 2026.

## Steps

1. Install Hermes if you do not have it:

    ```bash
    curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash
    ```

2. Keep the API key in an environment variable:

    ```bash
    export VIKEY_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY
    ```

3. Add the Vikey provider and make it the default model in `~/.hermes/config.yaml`:

    ```yaml title="~/.hermes/config.yaml"
    model:
      default: vikey/agent-gpt
      provider: vikey
      base_url: https://api.vikey.ai/v1
      key_env: VIKEY_API_KEY
      api_mode: chat_completions

    providers:
      vikey:
        name: Vikey
        base_url: https://api.vikey.ai/v1
        key_env: VIKEY_API_KEY
        model: vikey/agent-gpt
        models:
          vikey/agent-gpt: {}
          openai/gpt-6.1-sol: {}
          deepseek/deepseek-v4.1-flash: {}
    ```

4. Run `hermes`. To change models, run `hermes model`, choose **Vikey**, then the model.

Another way, without editing the file:

```bash
hermes config set providers.vikey.name "Vikey"
hermes config set providers.vikey.base_url "https://api.vikey.ai/v1"
hermes config set providers.vikey.key_env "VIKEY_API_KEY"
hermes model
```

## Common problems

| What you see | Cause | Fix |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `Connection error` or a timeout in Hermes Desktop (macOS) | A TLS problem in Hermes Desktop's built-in HTTP client, not in your config or the Vikey API | Temporarily set `base_url` to `http://api.vikey.ai/v1`, restart Hermes Desktop, and switch back to `https` once Hermes fixes it |
| `401` | `VIKEY_API_KEY` is not read | Export it again and start Hermes from the same terminal |
| `Model '...' not found` | A typo in the model id | Copy the id from the [pricing page](https://vikey.ai/en/pricing) |

Use `http://` only as a temporary fix for the TLS problem above. Requests over `http` are not encrypted.

Source: https://docs.vikey.ai/en/agents/hermes/