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Hermes Agent

Add SpecStream to Hermes Agent as an MCP server. Ask for live web data in plain words, and Hermes asks you before any call that spends. Each row comes back with the page it was read from.

SpecStream for Hermes AgentAI assistants

What you need

  • Hermes Agent from Nous Research.
  • A SpecStream account. Reading and pricing a request cost nothing, and creating the account is free.

  1. 1. Add the server to config.yaml

    Add SpecStream under mcp_servers in Hermes's config.yaml. The trust: untrusted line makes Hermes ask before any call that is not read-only, including the call that approves spending.

    config.yaml
    mcp_servers:
      specstream:
        url: "https://api.specstream.ai/mcp"
        auth: oauth
        trust: untrusted

  2. 2. Sign in to SpecStream

    On the first SpecStream call, Hermes prints an authorization link. Open it, sign in to SpecStream, and approve access. Hermes stores the token and refreshes it.

  3. 3. Ask Hermes

    Reading a request and getting its price cost nothing, so start there. Ask Hermes to read a request back:

    Use SpecStream to read this request back: independent bookstores in Oregon with a website and a phone number.

    Hermes shows how SpecStream read the request and the most it can cost.

  4. 4. Approve the price

    When you want the rows, tell Hermes to go ahead. Hermes asks you before the call that approves spending. After your yes, SpecStream starts the work, and you pay only for the matching rows. Possible matches are never billed.

  5. 5. Read the rows

    Hermes brings back each row with the page it was read from. Ask it for more rows, a refresh of a list you already have, or extra details for the rows you have. Each of those is new work with its own price.

Install the plugin for the skills

The plugin adds the same server plus skills that read the request back, get the price, start the work once you approve that price, and bring back more rows, refresh a list, or add details. It ships no code and installs no dependencies. Install it with hermes plugins install specstream/specstream-tools --no-enable, then hermes plugins enable specstream. Run hermes gateway restart only if you use the messaging gateway.

A specstream entry in config.yaml replaces the plugin's server of the same name and drops its trust setting, so keep trust: untrusted in that entry.

Run it on a server with an API key

Browser sign-in does not suit a server. Create a key under Agents & API > API keys in your workspace. Give it only what the task needs: its permissions, the projects it may use, an expiry, and a total spending limit.

Put the key in ~/.hermes/.env as SPECSTREAM_API_KEY=your-key-here. In config.yaml, replace auth: oauth with a headers entry whose Authorization value is "Bearer ${SPECSTREAM_API_KEY}", and keep trust: untrusted. Hermes fills in ${VAR} in headers when it connects. Keep the key itself out of config.yaml and out of the plugin's mcp.json.

Unattended runs

Under cron and the messaging gateway nobody can answer an approval prompt, so Hermes refuses a call that would spend instead of running it. Schedule a refresh from the workspace, or use an API key with a spending limit for work that must run unattended.

What Hermes sends

Your request and your answers about the price go to api.specstream.ai over HTTPS, and results come back from the same API. SpecStream reads nothing from your machine and nothing runs locally. Hermes keeps the OAuth token.

Cost

A list runs only after you approve its maximum, and matching rows start at 10¢ each. Nothing is charged when nothing matches. New accounts get $10 of work free. See pricing and the API docs.

Sign in again or disconnect

Run hermes mcp login specstream to sign in again. To disconnect, remove the specstream entry from mcp_servers, then open Agents & API in your workspace, choose OAuth applications, and revoke the Hermes sign-in. Revoke an API key under API keys, and the next request made with it fails. Email [email protected] for help.

More

SpecStream for Hermes Agent covers what it does in Hermes Agent on one page. Every other tool has its guide in Connect your tools. You see the most a request can cost before it starts, and only the matches come out of your balance. Billing has the details. For help, email [email protected].