Nous Research Updates Hermes Agent in Blank Slate Mode Pinning Toolkits with platform_toolsets.cli and disabled_toolsets

Nous Research has added a Blank Slate setup mode to the open source Hermes Agent. It transforms the ordinary ride. Instead of a fully loaded default, you start with almost nothing.

Hermes Agent is a self-developing agent framework from Nous Research. It works with your device. The team announced a new mode in X. Blank Slate now joins two existing options: Quick Setup and Full Setup.

The TL;DR

• A blank slate starts the agent with everything turned off except the provider and model, File Operations, and Terminal.
• Web, browser, code usage, view, memory, deployment, cron, capabilities, plugins, and MCP occupancy are disabled.
• Writes a graphic platform_toolsets.cli list plus agent.disabled_toolsets pinning the place.
• Nothing skips loading later – even after that hermes update.
• Re-enable anything with hermes tools, hermes skills opt-in --syncor hermes setup agent.

What is a Blank Slate

In a new installation, hermes setup now offers three modes. The option sets your starting point.

• Quick Setup uses the Nous Portal. It does not require API keys and uses free OAuth login. It sets up the model and Tool Gateway tools. The documentation calls for the recommended fast method.
• Full Setup is the opposite. You go through every provider, tool, and option yourself. You bring your keys.
• Blank Slate is a third option. For building an agent from the ground up. It all starts with the bare minimum required to use an agent. That’s a minimum of three pieces: the provider and model, the File Operations toolset, and the Terminal toolset.

The disabled list is transparent. Automatically disable: web, browser, code execution, view, memory, deployment, cron, capabilities, plugins, and MCP servers. Compression, checkpoints, smart routing, and memory capture are also disabled.

Two Ways Behind the Foundation

The Blank Slate doesn’t stop at the beginning. After a small foundation is used, you choose one of two methods.

• The first method keeps everything closed. You are now done with a small agent. You get file and terminal access, and nothing else.
• The second route goes through all the configurations. Opt-in to tools, capabilities, plugins, MCP, and messaging. You only enable what each program needs.

Choose Blank Slate if you want a small, fully managed agent. The point is to enable what you need and don’t do it anymore.

Why Planning Format Matters

Blank Slate doesn’t just change features at runtime. Writes the disk resolution.

The mode writes clearly platform_toolsets.cli list. It writes again agent.disabled_toolsets. Together, these two keys pin your agent’s location.

The result is strong. Nothing you didn’t select was ever loaded. That holds even after that hermes update. An update cannot silently re-enable the toolset you left behind.

Hermes also separates the secrets from the settings. The tokens live on it ~/.hermes/.env. Non-privacy settings remain in them ~/.hermes/config.yaml. The CLI moves each value to the correct file.

Setup modes are compared

Use Cases with examples

The three conditions are a perfect fit for the Blank Slate:

• Security-sensitive deployments are first. You are looking for an agent that does not have a web browser. Blank Slate sends file and terminal access only. Nothing accesses the network unless you add it.
• A team setup that can be reproduced a second time. Pin is a set of tools known to every machine. Updates will not flood the configuration. New tools never appear without going into the open.
• The place of teaching or auditing is the third. You start small and add one set of tools at a time. Each skill becomes a deliberate choice.

Here is a little flow. Install, run setup, select Blank Slate, and finish now.

curl -fsSL  | bash
source ~/.bashrc                 # or source ~/.zshrc
hermes setup                     # choose Blank Slate, then "finish now"
hermes                           # file + terminal only

Later, add one more skill if the job requires it.

hermes tools                     # re-enable a toolset, e.g. web
hermes skills opt-in --sync      # seed skills on demand
hermes setup agent               # tune compression, routing, memory

Local Setup Note

Hermes Agent requires a model with at least 64,000 context tokens. Small windows were rejected at first. Most managed models meet this easily.

Local models require a clear core size of 64K. For example, use --ctx-size 65536 for llama.cpp. A small Blank Slate agent in the local model has yet to clear this floor.

Interactive Descriptor