SMS — Command AI by Text | Easy Understand Hermes Agent

Imagine sending a text message to a friend who can look things up, write emails, and solve problems for you — except that friend is an AI. That’s exactly what this feature does: you text your Twilio phone number, and Hermes texts you back with smart answers, no app required.

What You Need Before Starting

Think of this like setting up a new phone line for your AI assistant. You’ll need:

A Twilio account (free trial works fine)
A Twilio phone number that can send/receive SMS
A server that’s publicly reachable (so Twilio can “knock” on your server’s door when a text arrives)
One quick install — open your terminal and run:

cd ~/.hermes/hermes-agent && uv pip install -e ".[sms]"

Step 1: Grab Your Twilio Keys

Log into the Twilio Console and look for two important codes on your dashboard:

Account SID (starts with AC)
Auth Token (your secret password for Twilio)

Also, go to Phone Numbers → Manage → Active Numbers and write down your phone number in international format, like +15551234567.

Step 2: Tell Hermes About Your Twilio Setup

The easiest way is to use the built-in setup wizard:

hermes gateway setup

Select SMS (Twilio) from the list, and it will ask for your credentials step by step.

If you prefer doing it manually, open ~/.hermes/.env and add these lines:

TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID=ACxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN=your_auth_token_here
TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER=+15551234567

Step 3: Decide Who Can Text Your AI

You probably don’t want strangers texting your AI. So list the people allowed to use it:

SMS_ALLOWED_USERS=+15559876543,+15551112222

Only these numbers will get responses. Everyone else gets ignored — like a bouncer at a club.

Step 4: Connect Twilio to Your Server

Twilio needs to know where to send incoming texts. In your Twilio console, find Phone Numbers → Active Numbers, click your number, and look for “Messaging” settings.

Set the webhook URL to something like:

https://your-server.com/webhook/sms

That’s it! Now when someone texts your Twilio number, Twilio forwards it to Hermes, and the AI replies automatically.

A Quick Test

Text your Twilio number something simple like:

What's the weather in Tokyo today?

If everything’s set up correctly, you’ll get a helpful reply within seconds.

Final Thoughts

This is perfect for when you’re away from your computer or want a simple, no-app-required way to use AI. The best part? It uses the same Twilio credentials as voice calls, so if you already have Twilio set up, you’re halfway there.

Practical tip: Start with just your own phone number in SMS_ALLOWED_USERS. Test it thoroughly, then add friends or family once you’re comfortable. You can always add more numbers later — just edit that line and restart Hermes.