---
title: Hermes Setup Video Follow-up Audit
date: 2026-05-21
tags:
  - atlas
  - hermes
  - operations
  - memory-hygiene
  - profiles
  - skills
---

# Hermes Setup Video Follow-up Audit

Source: YouTube video `NvakBZyc1Sg`, summarized in Discord thread by Wrack/Atlas.

Wrack requested follow-ups: **1, 2, 4, 5** from the video-derived action list:

1. Audit compression threshold / auxiliary model config.
2. Compact static persistent memory because it was near capacity.
4. Ensure profile-local credentials remain synced for specialist workers.
5. Keep turning recurring workflows into skills rather than memory bloat.

## Result

Completed on 2026-05-21.

## 1. Compression and auxiliary/fallback config

Default profile was already aligned with the video's recommendation to compress before context reaches 100%.

Observed default profile config:

```yaml
model:
  default: gpt-5.5
  provider: openai-codex

fallback_providers:
  - provider: zai
    model: glm-5.1
    base_url: https://api.z.ai/api/paas/v4

compression:
  enabled: true
  threshold: 0.5
  target_ratio: 0.2
  rollover:
    enabled: true
    auto_rollover: true
    threshold: 0.5

session_rollover:
  enabled: true
  threshold: 0.5

auxiliary:
  compression:
    provider: zai
    model: glm-5.1
```

Specialist profile summary:

| Profile | Primary provider/model | Compression threshold | Aux compression |
|---|---|---:|---|
| default | openai-codex / gpt-5.5 | 0.5 | zai / glm-5.1 |
| engineer | openai-codex / gpt-5.5 | 0.5 | zai / glm-5.1 |
| reviewer | openai-codex / gpt-5.5 | 0.5 | zai / glm-5.1 |
| researcher | openai-codex / gpt-5.5 | 0.5 | zai / glm-5.1 |
| writer | openai-codex / gpt-5.5 | 0.5 | zai / glm-5.1 |
| ops | zai / glm-5.1 | 0.5 | zai / glm-5.1 |
| orchestrator | zai / glm-5.1 | 0.5 | zai / glm-5.1 |
| glm-simple | zai / glm-5.1 | 0.5 | zai / glm-5.1 |

No config changes were needed for compression.

## 2. Static memory compaction

Persistent memory and user profile were near capacity. A small compaction pass was completed without intentionally dropping durable facts.

Compacted entries included:

- Atlas/Hermes repo authority/remotes policy.
- Obsidian vault and Hermes/AI brief location.
- Obsidian autostart / Local REST API note.
- CoreWeave/FMLA/benefits entry.
- Family entry.

Approximate post-compaction state reported by the memory tool:

- General memory: about **95%** full.
- User profile: about **96%** full.

Guideline reaffirmed: static memory should store durable facts only; procedures belong in skills, project notes, or session history.

## 4. Profile-local credential sync and smoke test

Before the audit, specialist profiles had no profile-local `auth.json` files.

The default profile's `~/.hermes/auth.json` was copied to:

- `~/.hermes/profiles/orchestrator/auth.json`
- `~/.hermes/profiles/researcher/auth.json`
- `~/.hermes/profiles/writer/auth.json`
- `~/.hermes/profiles/ops/auth.json`
- `~/.hermes/profiles/engineer/auth.json`
- `~/.hermes/profiles/reviewer/auth.json`
- `~/.hermes/profiles/glm-simple/auth.json`

Each file was installed with mode `600`.

Verified with `hermes --profile <profile> auth list` that each specialist profile could see the same provider credential set:

- `anthropic`
- `copilot`
- `openai-codex`
- `zai`

Smoke-test flow:

```bash
~/.hermes/scripts/specialist-profile-smoke-watchdog.sh
```

First run reported a timeout for `ops`, but direct longer smoke test succeeded:

```bash
timeout 180 hermes -p ops chat -q 'Reply exactly: ok' --toolsets safe -Q
# -> ok
```

Rerunning the watchdog was silent/successful.

## 5. Recurring workflows captured as a skill

Created local skill:

```text
~/.hermes/skills/devops/recurring-hermes-workflows/SKILL.md
```

Purpose: capture the durable workflow pattern from the video and Atlas practice:

- periodic report → Hermes cron;
- health threshold alert → script-only cron, quiet on success;
- durable multi-step project → Kanban;
- repeatable procedure → skill plus scripts/references;
- user feedback loop → compact durable preferences, not raw rating logs;
- avoid adding long procedural recipes to always-injected memory.

This prevents future recurring-workflow logic from becoming static-memory bloat.

## Follow-up notes

- No urgent migration to VPS is recommended for the current Atlas setup.
- Firecrawl/CamoFox remains optional; consider only when current search/browser stack hits Cloudflare or scraping limitations.
- Re-run specialist profile smoke checks after auth/provider changes.
- If memory pressure returns, compact or move procedural details into skills/Obsidian notes rather than increasing always-injected static memory.

## Related

- [[Atlas/Daily Research/2026-05-21 - Hermes AI Brief]]
- Skill: `recurring-hermes-workflows`
- Hermes skill reference: `hermes-agent/references/current-auth-fallback-and-profile-models.md`
