Nous Research publishes Hermes Agent as open-source software and does not sell hardware. Its documentation lists seven terminal backends (local, Docker, SSH, Singularity, Modal, Daytona and Vercel Sandbox), so the agent is not tied to one kind of machine. That is why this page lists what the job needs rather than a minimum spec: where your model runs decides most of the hardware.
Hermes Agent runs persistently: it keeps its memory between sessions, works on a schedule and answers your messages while you are away. It needs a machine that stays switched on and online.
On ClawBox: A dedicated box that draws 7–15 W, with an active, near-silent fan. It ships running Hermes Agent only, so the machine has one job.
The agent itself is a Python program that plans, calls tools and keeps its memory. The heavy computing is the model's: with a cloud provider, the model runs on the provider's servers, not on your machine.
On ClawBox: 6-core Arm Cortex-A78AE CPU and 8 GB of LPDDR5 memory, shared by the CPU and the GPU.
To run models on the machine itself, with no API key and nothing to pay per token, you need a GPU. CPU-only VPS plans have no usable GPU for this.
On ClawBox: An NVIDIA Ampere GPU with 1024 CUDA cores: 67 TOPS. Local models run through Ollama, with granite4:micro-h as the shipping default.
Hermes Agent keeps its configuration, skills and long-term memory on the machine it runs on, and local models need room of their own.
On ClawBox: A 512 GB NVMe SSD.
It needs a steady connection to reach your model provider and the chat apps you talk to it through, such as Telegram.
On ClawBox: Gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi. No exposed ports by default, and you still get full root and SSH access.
Someone has to install Hermes Agent, connect a model and your chat channels, and keep the agent and the machine patched as new releases ship.
On ClawBox: Hermes Agent arrives installed and hardened. Releases are pinned, tested on the same hardware and delivered over the air, with security fixes fast-tracked.
All four can run Hermes Agent. What differs is what you pay, where it runs and who looks after it.
| Compared on | Rented VPS | Mac Mini | Your own PC | ClawBox Hermes Edition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you pay | Monthly rent for as long as it runs: €16–€24 a month for the CPU-only plans in our cloud VPS comparison | A one-off purchase, or nothing extra if you already own one | Nothing up front: it is hardware you already have | €749 once, with no subscription required |
| Stays on 24/7 | Yes, that is what it is for | If you leave it switched on and awake | Only while it is switched on and awake | Yes, at 7–15 W with a near-silent fan |
| Local models, no API key | No usable GPU on CPU-only plans | Runs on Apple silicon, which has no CUDA | Depends on its graphics card | Yes: 1024 CUDA cores, 67 TOPS, Ollama built in |
| Where it runs | In someone else's data centre | On your desk, on your network | At home, on your network | On your desk, on your network |
| Who installs and updates Hermes Agent | You | You | You | Pre-installed; tested releases arrive over the air |
| A good fit if | You already run servers and want nothing at home | You already own one and can dedicate it to the agent | You want to try Hermes Agent on hardware you already have | You want Hermes Agent running on hardware you own, without maintaining it |
Swipe the table sideways to see all four options.
The numbers behind each alternative, worked through in full: ClawBox vs cloud VPS, ClawBox vs Mac Mini and ClawBox vs home server.
Installing Hermes Agent yourself is a perfectly good answer if the building is the point. Here is what each path involves.
Source: Hermes Agent on GitHub
On the box, Hermes Agent lives at ~/.local/bin/hermes with its configuration in ~/.hermes, and Hermes Agent's own dashboard opens behind your normal ClawBox login. Read the Hermes Edition docs.
The same NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Super platform as every ClawBox, shipped running Hermes Agent.
Nous Research publishes Hermes Agent as open-source software, and its documentation lists seven terminal backends (local, Docker, SSH, Singularity, Modal, Daytona and Vercel Sandbox), so the agent is not tied to one machine. What it needs is a machine that stays on, a network connection, storage for its memory and skills, and a model: a cloud provider account, or a GPU if you want to run models locally. ClawBox Hermes Edition covers all of that with an NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Super: 8 GB LPDDR5, a 512 GB NVMe SSD and a 67 TOPS GPU.
Yes. A VPS keeps Hermes Agent online, and you install, connect and patch it yourself. You pay rent every month for as long as it runs, and CPU-only plans have no usable GPU for local models, so you would pair it with a cloud model provider. Our cloud VPS comparison works through the costs.
Yes, if you install it yourself and keep the machine switched on and awake around the clock. A Mac Mini runs on Apple silicon, which has no CUDA; on your own PC, local models depend on its graphics card. ClawBox Hermes Edition is the ready-to-run alternative: a dedicated 7–15 W box with Hermes Agent pre-installed.
Not if you use a cloud provider: the model then runs on the provider's servers and your machine only runs the agent. To run models locally, with no API key and nothing to pay per token, you need a GPU. ClawBox has an NVIDIA Ampere GPU with 1024 CUDA cores (67 TOPS) and runs local models through Ollama, with granite4:micro-h as the shipping default.
You do not have to. ClawBox Hermes Edition arrives with Hermes Agent installed and hardened. On first boot the box raises its own Wi-Fi access point; join it from your phone and a five-screen wizard covers welcome, security, Wi-Fi, provider and Telegram. No keyboard, no monitor, no terminal, no Docker.
€749 one-time, built to order and shipped from the EU within 1–3 working days. No ClawBox AI plan is included or required: bring your own provider key, billed by that provider directly, or run local models on the box. It comes with a two-year warranty and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
ClawBox Hermes Edition, €749 once. Plug it in, pair your phone, pick a model.
Hermes Agent is an independent open-source project by Nous Research; ClawBox Hermes Edition is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nous Research. Not affiliated with Hermès International S.A.