External memory providers: deeper long-term recall

What External memory providers is for

Hermes ships with built-in memory files, and you can add one external memory provider for richer recall and user modelling across sessions. The plugin catalog includes Honcho, OpenViking, Mem0, Hindsight, Holographic and Supermemory, and some can be self-hosted. hermes memory setup walks you through picking and configuring one. The external provider works alongside built-in memory rather than replacing it. It suits long-running personal assistants and project agents that need to remember context over weeks. Each provider has its own config file and API key, kept in the active profile's .env.

What you need

• An account or self-hosted server for the chosen provider, plus its API key where needed (for example MEM0_API_KEY or SUPERMEMORY_API_KEY)
• The provider's catalog plugin installed for the active profile

Set it up

1. 1

   Install the provider plugin, for example hermes plugins install honcho

2. 2

   Run hermes memory setup to choose and configure the provider, or hermes config set memory.provider <name>

3. 3

   Put the provider's secrets in the active profile's .env (~/.hermes/.env for the default profile)

Check it works

• Run hermes memory status to confirm which provider is active
• Run hermes plugins list to confirm the plugin is installed and enabled

Limits and failure points

• Only one external provider can be active at a time; use hermes memory off to disable it
• The bundled RetainDB and ByteRover providers are unmaintained and were scheduled to leave core on October 15, 2026
• Secret scrubbing only catches recognizable credential shapes, and Mem0's SDK sends anonymous telemetry unless MEM0_TELEMETRY=false

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