Install Optional Skills in Deliberate Stages
Optional skills ship in the Hermes Agent repository under optional-skills/, but they are not active by default. That boundary is useful: the catalog spans autonomous-agent CLIs, blockchain, creative tools, development operations, finance, MLOps, productivity, research, security, and other specialized domains. Install only the capability a real workflow needs, after reading its dedicated setup and usage page.[1]
Start from a task, not the catalog
Define the outcome first. If the task is querying Solana data, the catalog identifies the Solana skill; if it is optimizing transformer attention, it points to the Flash Attention skill. A category name is for discovery, while the complete official identifier is for installation. Avoid treating attractive descriptions as a reason to preload unrelated procedures.
The documented installation pattern is:[1]
hermes skills install official/<category>/<skill>For example, the catalog provides these exact commands:[1]
hermes skills install official/blockchain/solana
hermes skills install official/mlops/flash-attentionEach catalog entry links to a full skill page. Read that page before installation to identify required commands, packages, credentials, services, operating-system assumptions, and the actions the skill is designed to perform. A staged review is especially important for skills that operate infrastructure, payments, security tooling, external accounts, or autonomous coding systems.
Use a six-stage rollout
Stage one is selection: map one requested capability to one catalog entry. Stage two is inspection: read the full skill definition and supporting setup. Stage three is prerequisite preparation, keeping secret values in their intended credential stores rather than notes or prompts. Stage four is installation of only that skill. Stage five is a narrow, reversible trial. Stage six is a keep-or-remove decision based on observed value.
Removal uses the documented command:[1]
hermes skills uninstall <skill-name>Uninstalling an unused trial keeps the active skill inventory understandable. It also makes future skill matching more predictable because Hermes has fewer irrelevant procedures competing for attention.
Treat supporting files as part of the package
Official optional skills may include references/, templates/, and scripts/ alongside SKILL.md. Those files are not incidental: they can contain detailed procedures, reusable artifacts, and executable helpers. Review the whole skill package when evaluating behavior, and preserve its directory structure when contributing changes. The catalog's contribution guidance requires standard frontmatter and places support files in those named subdirectories.[1]
Staged-install checklist
- Write down the single workflow the skill must support.
- Select the exact official category and skill identifier.
- Read the linked definition, setup, and usage page.
- Prepare prerequisites without copying secrets into documentation.
- Install and test one optional skill at a time.
- Keep the skill only after a successful narrow verification.
Common pitfalls
- Installing many optional skills at once and losing track of which one changed behavior.
- Guessing an install identifier from the display name instead of using the catalog path.
- Skipping the dedicated skill page because the one-line description sounds sufficient.
- Assuming “ships with Hermes” means “active by default.”
- Reviewing
SKILL.mdwhile ignoring bundled scripts, templates, or references.
Verification
After installation, confirm the expected skill appears in the installed skill inventory and can be loaded for a fresh session. Run one small, reversible task that matches the skill's stated trigger, then compare the result with its documented verification steps. Confirm that no unrelated capability was installed. If the trial fails or the skill is unnecessary, use the documented uninstall command and verify it no longer appears in the installed inventory.