Hermes Agent Vision: Analyze & Paste Images

Hermes Agent Vision: Analyze & Paste Images

Hermes Agent··6 min read·hermes-agentvisionimage-analysisclitutorialmultimodal

Learn how to analyze images with Hermes Agent using the /paste command, configure a vision model, and avoid the clipboard and SSH pitfalls beginners hit.

If you’re wondering how to analyze images with Hermes Agent, the answer starts with the /paste command and a properly configured vision model. The open-source agent from Nous Research accepts images as base64 image_url content blocks and saves them to ~/.hermes/images/ as timestamped PNGs. This tutorial walks through the complete workflow, from clipboard setup to model configuration.

How This Guide Was Built

This guide draws from the official Vision Features documentation, the Configuration reference, the Tools Reference, and the Hermes Agent GitHub repository. We verified config keys, CLI commands, platform support, and tool routing against these sources. We did not verify runtime behavior across every terminal emulator or clipboard implementation. This guide is based on official documentation, pricing pages, and community reports — we did not run the tool hands-on. Last verified: August 2026.

How Do I Analyze Images With Hermes Agent?

You analyze images with Hermes Agent by attaching an image via the /paste CLI command or by sending a base64 image_url content block. Vision-capable models receive the actual pixels, while text-only models route through the vision_analyze auxiliary tool for description (Vision Features). The /paste command is the most reliable method for attaching images from your clipboard.

# CLI usage
/paste          # attach image from clipboard (most reliable method)

How Does the /paste Command Work?

The /paste command reads image data directly from the system clipboard, bypassing the layered paste flow that causes Ctrl+V and Cmd+V to silently fail when the clipboard contains only an image (Vision Features). Most terminals attempt text first, then OSC52, then image — a chain that breaks when no text representation exists.

What Are the Platform Requirements for Image Paste?

Linux users need xclip for X11 or wl-paste for Wayland; check your session type with echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE (Vision Features). macOS uses osascript natively, with optional pngpaste via Homebrew. WSL2 relies on powershell.exe and may need Pillow or ImageMagick for BMP-to-PNG conversion. Windows native requires no extra tools.

# platform check
echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE   # "wayland" = Wayland, "x11" = X11

How Do I Configure a Vision Model?

Set an explicit vision-capable model in ~/.hermes/config.yaml under auxiliary.vision to avoid routing images through an expensive main reasoning model (Configuration). For custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints, add supports_vision: true to send images natively.

# ~/.hermes/config.yaml — auxiliary vision model (full reference block)
auxiliary:
  vision:
    provider: "auto"           # "auto", "openrouter", "nous", "codex", "main", etc.
    model: ""                  # e.g. "openai/gpt-4o", "google/gemini-2.5-flash"
    base_url: ""               # Custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint (overrides provider)
    api_key: ""                # API key for base_url (falls back to OPENAI_API_KEY)
    timeout: 120               # seconds — LLM API call timeout; vision payloads need generous timeout
    download_timeout: 30       # seconds — image HTTP download; increase for slow connections
    max_concurrency: 8         # max concurrent image encode/resize bursts
# Custom vision-capable endpoint
model:
  provider: custom
  # ...
  supports_vision: true   # send images natively; otherwise vision_analyze pre-describes them

What Is the vision_analyze Tool?

When the main model lacks vision support, Hermes Agent uses the vision_analyze tool to describe images and injects the description as text (Tools Reference). This tool is part of the “vision” toolset, included in the safe profile. It ensures image analysis works even with text-only models, though at reduced fidelity compared to native vision.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Clipboard Holds Only an Image

Ctrl+V or Cmd+V does nothing when your clipboard contains only an image with no text component. The terminal’s layered paste flow can’t find a text representation to insert. Use /paste instead, which reads image data directly from the system clipboard (Vision Features).

Pasting Images Over SSH

Clipboard image paste silently fails over SSH because the remote session has no access to your local clipboard. Workarounds include uploading the file directly, providing a URL, using ssh -X for X11 forwarding, or sending the image through a messaging platform (Vision Features).

Missing Linux Clipboard Tool

Without xclip (X11) or wl-paste (Wayland), Hermes Agent cannot read your clipboard. Check your session type with echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE, then install the matching tool. X11 sessions need xclip, while Wayland sessions require wl-paste (Vision Features).

Text-Only Main Model With Auto Provider

With provider: "auto", vision requests route to your main model, which may be text-only and expensive (Configuration). Set an explicit cheap vision model like google/gemini-2.5-flash on OpenRouter in the auxiliary.vision block to ensure proper routing and cost control.

Slow Local Vision Models and Timeout Errors

Default timeout: 120 seconds and download_timeout: 30 seconds may be too low for local vision models or slow connections (Configuration). Increase these values in the auxiliary.vision config block to prevent premature timeouts during image analysis.

FAQ

Can I paste images into Hermes Agent over SSH?

No — clipboard image paste does not work over SSH because the remote session has no access to your local clipboard. Use file upload, a URL, ssh -X X11 forwarding, or send the image through a messaging platform instead (Vision Features).

Why does Ctrl+V not paste my image in Hermes Agent?

Most terminals use a layered paste flow (text → OSC52 → image) that fails when the clipboard contains only an image with no text. Use the /paste command instead, which reads image data directly from the system clipboard (Vision Features).

How much does it cost to analyze images with Hermes Agent?

Image analysis cost depends on the vision model configured in auxiliary.vision. With provider: "auto", images route to your main model, which may be expensive. Set an explicit cheap model like google/gemini-2.5-flash on OpenRouter to control costs (Configuration).

Where to Go Next

Now that you can analyze images, explore other Hermes Agent capabilities. Check out our getting started with Hermes Agent guide, learn about Hermes Agent voice mode, or see how Hermes Agent browser use mode handles web tasks. For local setups, our running Hermes Agent with local models guide covers offline configuration. The Hermes Agent tools reference and supported LLM providers pages are also worth bookmarking.

📖 Related Reads

📖 Related Reads

  • NoCode Insider — AI workflow automation with no-code tools, agents, and APIs

Cross-links automatically generated from Hermes Tutorials.