> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Tools & toolsets

> 40+ built-in tools, the toolset system, and per-platform configuration

Hermes ships with over 40 tools organized into named **toolsets**. Every platform (CLI, Telegram, Discord, etc.) uses the same core tool list. You can enable or disable individual tools without touching code.

## What tools are

Tools are functions the agent calls during a conversation. When you ask Hermes to do something, it decides which tools to invoke, runs them, reads the results, and continues reasoning. Tools are the mechanism behind everything from running a terminal command to searching the web to creating a scheduled task.

Each tool has:

* A name the model uses to call it
* A JSON schema describing its parameters
* A handler function that runs the actual logic
* An optional availability check (e.g., requiring an API key)

## The toolset system

Tools are grouped into **toolsets** — named collections you can enable or disable together. The default toolset for the CLI is `hermes-cli`, which includes every core tool. You can compose custom toolsets from individual tools or from other toolsets.

Some toolsets are **composite**: they include other toolsets by reference. For example, the `debugging` toolset includes `web`, `file`, and direct `terminal`/`process` tools.

Configure active toolsets in `~/.hermes/config.yaml`:

```yaml theme={null}
toolsets:
  - hermes-cli
```

## Core tools

The `_HERMES_CORE_TOOLS` list defines every tool enabled on all platforms by default.

### Web

| Tool          | Description                                              |
| ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| `web_search`  | Search the web and return titles, URLs, and descriptions |
| `web_extract` | Scrape and summarize content from specific URLs          |

The web backend is configurable (`firecrawl`, `parallel`, or `tavily`). Set `web.backend` in `config.yaml` or choose during `hermes tools` setup.

### Terminal & processes

| Tool       | Description                                                                                  |
| ---------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `terminal` | Execute shell commands; supports foreground, background, PTY mode, and per-command `workdir` |
| `process`  | Manage background processes: poll, wait, list, kill                                          |

The `terminal` tool routes to whichever backend is configured (`local`, `docker`, `ssh`, `modal`, `daytona`, or `singularity`). See [Terminal backends](/user-guide/features/terminal-backends) for details.

**Background mode** — pass `background=true` to get a `session_id` immediately. Use `process(action="wait")` to block until it completes, or `process(action="poll")` to check progress without blocking.

**PTY mode** — pass `pty=true` for interactive CLI tools (Python REPL, Codex, Claude Code) that require a pseudo-terminal.

### File operations

| Tool           | Description                                                                               |
| -------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `read_file`    | Read files with line numbers and pagination (`offset`/`limit`); use instead of `cat`      |
| `write_file`   | Write or overwrite a file; creates parent directories automatically                       |
| `patch`        | Targeted find-and-replace using fuzzy matching (9 strategies); use instead of `sed`/`awk` |
| `search_files` | Search file contents (regex) or find files by glob; use instead of `grep`/`find`/`ls`     |

### Vision & image generation

| Tool             | Description                                    |
| ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| `vision_analyze` | Analyze an image and answer questions about it |
| `image_generate` | Generate an image from a text description      |

### Browser automation

| Tool                 | Description                                              |
| -------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| `browser_navigate`   | Open a URL in a managed browser                          |
| `browser_snapshot`   | Capture a DOM/accessibility snapshot of the current page |
| `browser_click`      | Click an element by selector or coordinates              |
| `browser_type`       | Type text into a focused input                           |
| `browser_scroll`     | Scroll the page or a specific element                    |
| `browser_back`       | Navigate back                                            |
| `browser_press`      | Press a keyboard key                                     |
| `browser_close`      | Close the current tab                                    |
| `browser_get_images` | Extract image URLs from the page                         |
| `browser_vision`     | Analyze the current page with vision                     |
| `browser_console`    | Read the browser console log                             |

### Code execution & delegation

| Tool            | Description                                                                                     |
| --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `execute_code`  | Run a Python script that calls tools via RPC; collapses multi-step pipelines into a single turn |
| `delegate_task` | Spawn an isolated subagent with its own context window for complex parallel subtasks            |

### Planning & memory

| Tool             | Description                                                       |
| ---------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `todo`           | Create and track a task list for multi-step work                  |
| `memory`         | Read and write persistent memory (MEMORY.md / USER.md)            |
| `session_search` | Full-text search across past conversations with LLM summarization |

### Skills

| Tool           | Description                                     |
| -------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| `skills_list`  | List available skills with filtering and search |
| `skill_view`   | Read the content of a specific skill            |
| `skill_manage` | Create, edit, patch, or delete skills           |

### Scheduling & messaging

| Tool             | Description                                                               |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `cronjob`        | Create, list, edit, pause, resume, trigger, and remove scheduled jobs     |
| `send_message`   | Send a message to any connected platform (Telegram, Discord, Slack, etc.) |
| `text_to_speech` | Convert text to audio using Edge TTS, ElevenLabs, or OpenAI               |
| `clarify`        | Ask the user a clarifying question (multiple-choice or open-ended)        |

### Mixture of agents

| Tool                | Description                                                    |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `mixture_of_agents` | Run advanced multi-model reasoning for complex problem-solving |

### Honcho memory (optional)

| Tool              | Description                                |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| `honcho_context`  | Retrieve context from Honcho user modeling |
| `honcho_profile`  | Read the Honcho user profile               |
| `honcho_search`   | Search Honcho memory                       |
| `honcho_conclude` | Write session conclusions to Honcho        |

Honcho tools are gated on the Honcho integration being active. See [Memory](/user-guide/features/memory) for setup.

### Home Assistant (optional)

| Tool               | Description                        |
| ------------------ | ---------------------------------- |
| `ha_list_entities` | List Home Assistant entities       |
| `ha_get_state`     | Get the current state of an entity |
| `ha_list_services` | List available services            |
| `ha_call_service`  | Call a Home Assistant service      |

Home Assistant tools are gated on the `HASS_TOKEN` environment variable.

## Tool categories

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Web" icon="globe">
    `web_search`, `web_extract` — research and content extraction
  </Card>

  <Card title="Terminal" icon="terminal">
    `terminal`, `process` — command execution and process management
  </Card>

  <Card title="Files" icon="file">
    `read_file`, `write_file`, `patch`, `search_files` — file manipulation
  </Card>

  <Card title="Browser" icon="browser">
    11 browser tools — full web automation via Browserbase
  </Card>

  <Card title="Vision" icon="eye">
    `vision_analyze`, `image_generate` — image analysis and generation
  </Card>

  <Card title="Memory & Skills" icon="brain">
    `memory`, `todo`, `session_search`, `skills_list`, `skill_view`, `skill_manage`
  </Card>

  <Card title="Delegation" icon="share">
    `execute_code`, `delegate_task` — code execution and subagent spawning
  </Card>

  <Card title="Scheduling" icon="clock">
    `cronjob`, `send_message` — cron jobs and cross-platform messaging
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Enabling and disabling tools

### `hermes tools` command

Run `hermes tools` from your terminal to open an interactive menu for enabling or disabling tools per platform:

```bash theme={null}
hermes tools
```

This writes your choices to `~/.hermes/config.yaml` under the `toolsets` key.

### `/tools` slash command

Inside a running chat session, use `/tools` to see which tools are currently active.

### Per-platform configuration

Each platform can have its own toolset. The platform toolsets (`hermes-cli`, `hermes-telegram`, `hermes-discord`, etc.) all use the same `_HERMES_CORE_TOOLS` list by default. To restrict a platform, define a custom toolset:

```yaml theme={null}
# ~/.hermes/config.yaml
toolsets:
  - web
  - file
  - terminal
```

Or reference one of the built-in scenario toolsets:

| Toolset          | Description                                                  |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `safe`           | No terminal; includes web, vision, image generation, and MoA |
| `debugging`      | Terminal + web + file tools                                  |
| `research`       | Web + vision                                                 |
| `browser`        | Full browser automation + web search                         |
| `code_execution` | `execute_code` only                                          |
| `delegation`     | `delegate_task` only                                         |

<Note>
  Changing toolsets takes effect on the next session start. Toolset changes mid-conversation would break Anthropic prompt caching and significantly increase API costs.
</Note>