> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.stagewhisper.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Hermes integration

> Pair your Hermes Agent with StageWhisper for BYO AI reasoning.

[Hermes Agent](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/) by Nous Research is an AI agent platform. The StageWhisper integration ships as a Hermes plugin that follows the same [BYO protocol](/agents/byo-protocol) as the OpenClaw plugin.

## How the plugin works

The StageWhisper Hermes plugin follows the standard [Hermes plugin architecture](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/guides/build-a-hermes-plugin):

```
~/.hermes/plugins/stagewhisper/
├── plugin.yaml      # Manifest — declares tools
├── __init__.py      # Registration — wires schemas to handlers
├── schemas.py       # LLM-readable tool schemas
├── tools.py         # Handler implementations
└── relay/           # StageWhisper SSE relay loop
```

The plugin provides tools that Hermes's LLM can call (`stagewhisper_pair`, `stagewhisper_relay`, `stagewhisper_unpair`) and runs a background relay that subscribes to StageWhisper's encrypted reasoning channel. When a reasoning job arrives, the relay decrypts it, passes it through Hermes's configured LLM provider, encrypts the result, and posts it back.

## Setup flow

1. Install and enable the plugin:

```bash theme={null}
pipx run --spec hermes-plugin-stagewhisper stagewhisper-hermes-install
```

If you use `uv`, this is equivalent:

```bash theme={null}
uvx --from hermes-plugin-stagewhisper stagewhisper-hermes-install
```

2. Configure your LLM provider environment in the shell or `~/.hermes/.env`
3. Generate a pairing code in StageWhisper desktop settings
4. Run the pairing command on the Hermes host: `stagewhisper-hermes pair --code <CODE>`
5. The pair command restarts the Hermes gateway. If that restart fails, run `hermes gateway restart`.
6. The plugin exchanges X25519 keys with the desktop and begins the encrypted relay after the gateway heartbeat arrives

## What the plugin receives

Like the OpenClaw plugin, the Hermes plugin receives:

* **Reasoning jobs** — Encrypted analysis prompts for live call coaching
* **Capability probes** — Self-description requests for the assistant settings panel
* **Assistant tasks** — User-approved tasks generated from call moments

Each is delivered via the encrypted SSE relay and processed through the [BYO protocol](/agents/byo-protocol).

## BYO mode and privacy

All content is end-to-end encrypted between the StageWhisper desktop and the Hermes plugin using XChaCha20-Poly1305 with X25519 key agreement. The StageWhisper backend is a blind relay. See [privacy](/guides/privacy) for the full breakdown.