If the Hermes Agent is updated with "Missing Configuration", "An option does not exist", or the old configuration does not take effect, run the hermes config check first, and then follow the prompts to execute the hermes config migrate. This is more stable than manually changing config.yaml.
Why is the configuration missing after the update?
Hermes' capabilities change quickly, and new versions may add compression, tools, platforms, plugins, or context-sensitive options. When these fields were not available in the old ~/.hermes/config.yaml, the program would try to use the defaults, but some features would require you to explicitly complete them. The official documentation uses config check and config migrate as the updated standard processing paths.
Recommended repair sequence
- Run
hermes configfirst to see if the current configuration can be read normally. - Perform
hermes config checkto confirm whether the normal configuration or the key is missing. - Execute
hermes config migrateto fill in missing items interactively. - If sensitive information such as API Key, Bot Token, or password is written with
hermes config set KEY VALUE, it will be automatically placed in the.env.
Configuration priorities should also be clearly seen
Hermes' configuration priority is the CLI parameter with the highest priority, followed by config.yaml, then .env, and finally the default. So if you feel that "the change has been changed but it doesn't take effect" after updating, you need to check whether the startup command contains temporary parameters, such as --model or --profile.
The conclusion is simple: the updated configuration issues are first handed over to the official commands, and only manually edited when the meaning of the fields is known. This avoids writing keys into the wrong file and reduces the need for the next upgrade.
