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Profile Commands Reference
This page covers all commands related to Hermes profiles. For general CLI commands, see CLI Commands Reference.
hermes profile
hermes profile <subcommand>
Top-level command for managing profiles. Running hermes profile without a subcommand shows help.
| Subcommand | Description |
|---|---|
list | List all profiles. |
use | Set the active (default) profile. |
create | Create a new profile. |
delete | Delete a profile. |
show | Show details about a profile. |
alias | Regenerate the shell alias for a profile. |
rename | Rename a profile. |
export | Export a profile to a tar.gz archive. |
import | Import a profile from a tar.gz archive. |
hermes profile list
hermes profile list
Lists all profiles. The currently active profile is marked with *.
Example:
$ hermes profile list
default
* work
dev
personal
No options.
hermes profile use
hermes profile use <name>
Sets <name> as the active profile. All subsequent hermes commands (without -p) will use this profile.
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
<name> | Profile name to activate. Use default to return to the base profile. |
Example:
hermes profile use work
hermes profile use default
hermes profile create
hermes profile create <name> [options]
Creates a new profile.
| Argument / Option | Description |
|---|---|
<name> | Name for the new profile. Must be a valid directory name (alphanumeric, hyphens, underscores). |
--clone | Copy config.yaml, .env, and SOUL.md from the current profile. |
--clone-all | Copy everything (config, memories, skills, sessions, state) from the current profile. |
--clone-from <profile> | Clone from a specific profile instead of the current one. Used with --clone or --clone-all. |
Examples:
# Blank profile — needs full setup
hermes profile create mybot
# Clone config only from current profile
hermes profile create work --clone
# Clone everything from current profile
hermes profile create backup --clone-all
# Clone config from a specific profile
hermes profile create work2 --clone --clone-from work
hermes profile delete
hermes profile delete <name> [options]
Deletes a profile and removes its shell alias.
| Argument / Option | Description |
|---|---|
<name> | Profile to delete. |
--yes, -y | Skip confirmation prompt. |
Example:
hermes profile delete mybot
hermes profile delete mybot --yes
hermes profile show
hermes profile show <name>
Displays details about a profile including its home directory, configured model, gateway status, skills count, and configuration file status.
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
<name> | Profile to inspect. |
Example:
$ hermes profile show work
Profile: work
Path: ~/.hermes/profiles/work
Model: anthropic/claude-sonnet-4 (anthropic)
Gateway: stopped
Skills: 12
.env: exists
SOUL.md: exists
Alias: ~/.local/bin/work
hermes profile alias
hermes profile alias <name> [options]
Regenerates the shell alias script at ~/.local/bin/<name>. Useful if the alias was accidentally deleted or if you need to update it after moving your Hermes installation.
| Argument / Option | Description |
|---|---|
<name> | Profile to create/update the alias for. |
--remove | Remove the wrapper script instead of creating it. |
--name <alias> | Custom alias name (default: profile name). |
Example:
hermes profile alias work
# Creates/updates ~/.local/bin/work
hermes profile alias work --name mywork
# Creates ~/.local/bin/mywork
hermes profile alias work --remove
# Removes the wrapper script
hermes profile rename
hermes profile rename <old-name> <new-name>
Renames a profile. Updates the directory and shell alias.
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
<old-name> | Current profile name. |
<new-name> | New profile name. |
Example:
hermes profile rename mybot assistant
# ~/.hermes/profiles/mybot → ~/.hermes/profiles/assistant
# ~/.local/bin/mybot → ~/.local/bin/assistant
hermes profile export
hermes profile export <name> [options]
Exports a profile as a compressed tar.gz archive.
| Argument / Option | Description |
|---|---|
<name> | Profile to export. |
-o, --output <path> | Output file path (default: <name>.tar.gz). |
Example:
hermes profile export work
# Creates work.tar.gz in the current directory
hermes profile export work -o ./work-2026-03-29.tar.gz
hermes profile import
hermes profile import <archive> [options]
Imports a profile from a tar.gz archive.
| Argument / Option | Description |
|---|---|
<archive> | Path to the tar.gz archive to import. |
--name <name> | Name for the imported profile (default: inferred from archive). |
Example:
hermes profile import ./work-2026-03-29.tar.gz
# Infers profile name from the archive
hermes profile import ./work-2026-03-29.tar.gz --name work-restored
hermes -p / hermes --profile
hermes -p <name> <command> [options]
hermes --profile <name> <command> [options]
Global flag to run any Hermes command under a specific profile without changing the sticky default. This overrides the active profile for the duration of the command.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
-p <name>, --profile <name> | Profile to use for this command. |
Examples:
hermes -p work chat -q "Check the server status"
hermes --profile dev gateway start
hermes -p personal skills list
hermes -p work config edit
hermes completion
hermes completion <shell>
Generates shell completion scripts. Includes completions for profile names and profile subcommands.
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
<shell> | Shell to generate completions for: bash or zsh. |
Examples:
# Install completions
hermes completion bash >> ~/.bashrc
hermes completion zsh >> ~/.zshrc
# Reload shell
source ~/.bashrc
After installation, tab completion works for:
hermes profile <TAB>— subcommands (list, use, create, etc.)hermes profile use <TAB>— profile nameshermes -p <TAB>— profile names