hermes-skills/hermes-capability-lookup/SKILL.md

name, description, version, author, metadata

name	description	version	author	metadata
hermes-capability-lookup	Use when asked if Hermes supports X or how to integrate X.	1.0.0	Hermes Agent	hermes related_skills hermes-agent native-mcp searxng-smart-search

Hermes Capability Lookup

Trigger: "does Hermes have X?", "can Hermes use X?", "is there a skill for X?", "how do I integrate X with Hermes?"

Lookup workflow (in order)

1. Local profile skills — search_files pattern *<name>* in ~/.hermes/profiles/<profile>/skills/ plus skills_list. Zero hits = not installed locally (may still exist upstream).
2. Official docs — hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs. Key pages: /docs/user-guide/features/memory-providers (bundled memory providers), /docs/reference/skills-catalog, /docs/integrations/. Read via mcp_searxng_web_url_read (one url per call).
3. Upstream repo — github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent. SearXNG query: site:github.com NousResearch hermes-agent <term>. GitHub issue bodies are extractable via web_url_read (nav chrome dominates but the body is in the result).
4. If not bundled — identify integration paths (below), present options with a recommendation (user requires Recommended + Why on every options list).

Bundled memory providers (9, as of 2026-08)

Honcho, OpenViking, Mem0, Hindsight, Holographic, RetainDB, ByteRover, Supermemory, Memori.

• Only ONE external provider active at a time; built-in MEMORY.md/USER.md always active.
• hermes memory setup = interactive picker; hermes memory status; hermes memory off.
• Full comparison table on the docs memory-providers page.

Integration paths for external memory systems

1. MCP registration (config-only, minutes) — add the external tool's MCP server under mcp_servers in config.yaml (see native-mcp skill). Hermes gets the tools immediately. Caveat: capture side may not run — e.g. claude-mem's worker only fills from Claude Code hooks, so Hermes gets read-only search over whatever Claude Code recorded.
2. Custom memory-provider plugin — implement Hermes' MemoryProvider contract: prefetch()/queue_prefetch(), sync_turn(), on_session_end(), on_memory_write(action, target, content). Docs: /docs/developer-guide/memory-provider-plugin. This is how third-party providers wire in (e.g. the local cognee integration, GitHub issue #14368).
3. HTTP API bridge — if the external system exposes a REST API (claude-mem worker API), a provider plugin or script can POST observations and GET search results.

Pitfalls

• mcp_searxng_web_url_read takes url (singular string), NOT urls (list). One URL per call; batch multiple pages as parallel calls.
• "Not bundled" is a dated fact — re-verify against current docs before asserting.
• GitHub issue pages via web_url_read return heavy nav chrome; the issue body is still in the result — search result descriptions often already carry the key sentence.

References

• references/hook-system.md — verified Hermes hook taxonomy: full VALID_HOOKS set, the "no end-of-turn hook" finding, pre_verify gate (file-edit + 3-nudge cap), shell-hook allowlist consent, response shapes, SOUL/USER.md paths
• references/claude-mem-integration.md — claude-mem: architecture, worker REST API, MCP tools, Hermes integration options
• references/cognee-status.md — cognee in Hermes: not bundled, issue #14368 canonical reference, lessons for Lance/Kuzu-backed providers