I Gave My Hermes Agent a Phone Number (It's Crazy)
David introduces the most powerful Hermes setup that nobody seems to be covering — giving Hermes Agent an actual phone number. This unlocks an entirely new interaction modality where you can call your AI agent just like calling a friend.
- Overview of what the video will cover: Vapi integration, voice agent setup, and automation
- Why this is the "most powerful" configuration — combining voice AI with Hermes's tool-calling capabilities
- The concept of giving your personal AI agent a real, callable phone number
A walkthrough of getting Hermes Agent installed and configured as the foundation for the phone integration. Covers the basic setup steps needed before adding voice capabilities.
- Installation process and initial configuration steps
- Setting up API keys and model providers
- Verifying the base Hermes Agent works correctly before layering on voice
- Key dependencies and prerequisites for the phone number setup
David explains the strategic importance of phone calling as an AI interface. Voice is the most natural human communication method, and adding it to Hermes transforms the agent from a text tool into a true assistant.
- Voice as the most natural and fastest human-computer interaction modality
- Use cases: hands-free queries, on-the-go task management, urgent notifications
- Why phone numbers beat app-based voice — universal accessibility, no app required
- The convergence of voice AI quality reaching a usable threshold
Step-by-step guide to setting up Vapi — the voice AI platform that bridges phone calls to Hermes Agent. Covers account creation, API key generation, and phone number provisioning.
- Creating a Vapi account and navigating the dashboard
- Provisioning a phone number through Vapi's interface
- Understanding Vapi's pricing and phone number costs
- Generating and configuring API keys for Hermes integration
Installing and configuring the Vapi MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that allows Hermes Agent to directly control voice calls and phone interactions through its tool system.
- What MCP is and why it matters for Hermes tool integration
- Installing the Vapi MCP server package
- Configuring MCP connection settings in Hermes
- Testing the MCP connection to verify Vapi tools are available
Building the actual voice agent that handles phone calls. This includes configuring the voice personality, setting up the system prompt, and linking everything together.
- Designing the voice agent's personality and system instructions
- Choosing voice models and TTS settings for natural conversation
- Connecting the voice agent to Hermes's tool capabilities
- Configuring call handling: greeting, conversation flow, and hangup behavior
David demonstrates the complete setup by making actual phone calls to his Hermes Agent. The agent answers, processes requests, and executes tasks — all through a natural voice conversation.
- Calling the phone number and getting a response from Hermes
- Demonstrating real-time tool execution triggered by voice commands
- Showing the conversation flow and response latency
- Testing edge cases and showing how the agent handles complex requests
Taking the setup further with Hermes cron jobs — scheduling automated phone calls. Your agent can proactively call you with reminders, alerts, daily briefings, and more.
- Introduction to Hermes cron job capabilities
- Setting up scheduled outbound calls from your agent
- Use cases: morning briefings, calendar reminders, monitoring alerts
- Combining cron jobs with other Hermes tools for powerful automation workflows