HermesWatcher
Search⌘K For brandsSetup help
StartStart hereSetup plannerInstall Hermes AgentChat from your phoneYour first 24 hours
Use casesWorkflow blueprintsCase studiesUse-case collectionsCommunity libraryPrompt library
LearnWhat is Hermes Agent?GuidesTopicsFAQCommand cheat sheetGlossarySOUL.md gallery
ToolsTools & integrationsAll messaging platformsSkills directoryPlugins directorySkills, plugins & MCP
TroubleshootReleases
Work with usServicesNewsletterFor brands: partner with usFor AI agentsContactAboutFollow @HermesWatcher on X ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Smol machines

smol machines' own plugin: runs Hermes's terminal, file and code tools in a smol machine, a microVM with its own Linux kernel on this computer (macOS on Apple Silicon, or Linux with KVM), as a terminal backend (`hermes config set terminal.backend smolmachines`). It needs no Docker and no account.

Good to know before installing

Installs the `smolmachines` Python SDK (>=1.27.2,<2), which carries the VM engine. Everything runs on this computer: the plugin always asks the SDK for a local machine, so nothing is sent to smol machines' cloud, even with SMOL_CLOUD_TOKEN set or the smol CLI signed in (Hermes strips SMOL_CLOUD_TOKEN from the commands it runs). Creating a machine pulls its image (default `python:3.12-slim`, from Docker Hub), and the engine pulls with this computer's Docker registry login when one is configured (`~/.docker/config.json`, including a credential helper such as the macOS keychain), read-only and sent only to the registry being pulled from. A machine has outbound network access and mounts nothing from this computer. With `terminal.container_persistent` (the Hermes default) each Hermes home and session keeps one machine, which keeps running after Hermes exits until stopped or deleted with the smolvm CLI, otherwise the machine is deleted when the session ends. Because the machine is a disposable sandbox, Hermes skips its dangerous-command prompts there, as it does for its other container backends.

From the plugin's catalog listing.

How to install

  1. Install it. Hermes asks for any API keys it needs, then asks whether to turn it on.
    hermes plugins install smolmachines
  2. Said no? Turn it on later:
    hermes plugins enable smolmachines
  3. Restart Hermes so it loads the plugin.

Some plugins also need a sign-in or settings: see Full setup & settings. Memory plugins ask whether to become your memory provider instead. Steps follow the official plugins guide (opens in a new tab).

Category
Coding & developer tools
Maintained by
smol-machines (Community)
Needs
No API keys declared
Needs Hermes
0.21.6 or newer
Version
0.1.0
In the catalog
2026-10-29

Full setup & settings ↗Source code ↗

More in coding & developer tools

All coding & developer tools plugins

New Hermes Agent updates every day on X. Follow @HermesWatcher

← All plugins