7-Day BootcampResource HubBlogLearning Path

Hermes Messaging Channel Launch Playbook

🟡 Intermediate⏱ 13 min read📅 2026-04-19👤 HermesAgent 101 Team

A messaging channel is more than a successful login

Once Hermes enters chat, the product becomes easier to feel. Users can reach it from a phone, pass context inside a team thread, and ask for meeting cleanup two minutes after a call ends.

That convenience also widens risk. Terminal users behave cautiously because commands feel operational. Chat users behave casually. A channel without an allowlist, default workspace, approval rules, and logs quickly becomes a surface where nobody knows who asked Hermes to do what.

This playbook launches a low-risk, reviewable chat entry point.

Make three decisions before launch

1. Choose one primary entry point

Do not connect every platform on the first day. Pick the place where real requests already happen.

    1. Personal mobile work: a phone-first channel is natural.
    2. Team collaboration: an office IM or team chat works better.
    3. Global developer teams: Telegram, Discord, and Slack are often smoother.
    4. China-focused teams: Feishu, WeCom, and WeChat-style channels fit daily habits better.

The decision is not which tutorial has the most screenshots. It is where users will actually send tasks.

2. Define the default workspace

Every channel needs a default directory or project. Otherwise “please organize this” becomes dangerous: Hermes does not know where to read from or what to avoid.

For version one, allow only a learning folder or a test repository. Expand after the channel proves stable.

3. List risky actions

These actions should require approval by default:

    1. delete, overwrite, or move files;
    2. send external or group messages;
    3. create tickets, submit PRs, or push code;
    4. spend money, call paid APIs, or deploy services;
    5. save secrets, verification codes, or account details from chat.

Safe launch flow

  1. Update Hermes and read the current gateway documentation.
  2. Configure one channel only.
  3. Set allowed users or pairing.
  4. Set the default workspace.
  5. Start read-only: summarize, search, draft, and queue.
  6. Send the first low-risk test message.
  7. Check logs and session ownership.
  8. Test refusal paths: unknown user, file deletion, external send.

First test message

Do only a read-only check. Do not modify files or send external messages.
Tell me:
1. which channel received this message;
2. what the default workspace is;
3. which read-only tasks you can do now;
4. which actions require my confirmation.

This validates the channel, session ownership, default workspace, and approval boundary.

Attachment rules

Once chat supports files, users will upload screenshots, PDFs, CSVs, meeting notes, and web snippets. Version one should not let Hermes write attachments directly into the real project directory.

Recommended structure:

inbox/
  raw/
  working/
  output/
  logs/
    1. raw/ stores original attachments and stays read-only.
    2. working/ stores parsing and intermediate results.
    3. output/ stores final summaries, tables, or task lists.
    4. logs/ records source, processing time, and failure reason.

Group chat boundaries

Group chat should be conservative. Hermes should not respond to everyone by default and should not publish conclusions without clear context.

Recommended first version:

    1. respond only to allowlisted users;
    2. summarize and draft in groups, but do not perform write actions;
    3. require sender approval before external delivery;
    4. reject long-term memory for secrets or private data;
    5. label outputs with input source and time range.

Launch run card

channel: "Feishu / WeChat-style / Telegram / Discord / Slack"
owner: "person responsible for this channel"
allowed_users:
  - "primary operator"
default_workspace: "path/to/safe/workspace"
allowed_intents:
  - summarize
  - search approved docs
  - draft reply
  - queue task
approval_required:
  - send external message
  - write outside output folder
  - delete or overwrite files
  - create tickets or PRs
logs:
  - gateway status
  - message source
  - output path
stop_line:
  - unknown user
  - missing default workspace
  - request contains secrets

Acceptance checklist

    1. Unauthorized users cannot trigger Hermes.
    2. Hermes can state the current channel and default workspace.
    3. Write actions, external delivery, deployment, and spending require approval.
    4. Attachments use raw/working/output/logs.
    5. The gateway recovers after restart and failures leave logs.

Next step

← Back to GuidesGuide Index