usage: hermes chat [-h] [-q QUERY | --query-file PATH] [--oneshot]
                   [--image IMAGE] [-m MODEL] [-t TOOLSETS]
                   [--reasoning LEVEL] [-s SKILLS] [--provider PROVIDER] [-v]
                   [-Q] [--resume SESSION_ID] [--no-restore-cwd] [--in DIR]
                   [--continue [SESSION_NAME]] [--create-if-missing]
                   [--worktree] [--accept-hooks] [--checkpoints]
                   [--max-turns N] [--run-budget SECONDS] [--yolo]
                   [--pass-session-id] [--ignore-user-config] [--ignore-rules]
                   [--safe-mode] [--source SOURCE] [--tui] [--cli] [--dev]

Start an interactive chat session with Hermes Agent

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -q QUERY, --query QUERY
                        Query to run. On a real TTY the prompt seeds an
                        interactive session (submitted literally as the first
                        turn); combined with --oneshot or -Q, or on a non-TTY,
                        it answers and exits.
  --query-file PATH     Read the single query from a file instead of the
                        command line ('-' reads stdin). Safe for arbitrary
                        text: nothing is shell-interpreted, so quotes, $(...),
                        and backticks are preserved verbatim. Mutually
                        exclusive with -q.
  --oneshot             With -q/--query-file: answer the query and exit
                        (legacy single-query behavior) instead of seeding an
                        interactive session. Implied on non-TTY stdio and by
                        -Q/--quiet.
  --image IMAGE         Optional local image path to attach to a single query
  -m MODEL, --model MODEL
                        Model to use (e.g., anthropic/claude-sonnet-4)
  -t TOOLSETS, --toolsets TOOLSETS
                        Comma-separated toolsets to enable
  --reasoning LEVEL     Reasoning effort for this session: none, minimal, low,
                        medium, high, xhigh, max, or ultra. Overrides
                        agent.reasoning_effort for this run only (same levels
                        as the /reasoning slash command).
  -s SKILLS, --skills SKILLS
                        Preload one or more skills for the session (repeat
                        flag or comma-separate)
  --provider PROVIDER   Inference provider (default: auto). Built-in or a
                        user-defined name from `providers:` in config.yaml.
  -v, --verbose         Verbose output
  -Q, --quiet           Quiet mode for programmatic use: suppress banner,
                        spinner, and tool previews. Only output the final
                        response and session info.
  --resume SESSION_ID, -r SESSION_ID
                        Resume a previous session by ID (shown on exit), or
                        'latest' for the most recent session
  --no-restore-cwd      Don't cd into a resumed session's recorded working
                        directory.
  --in DIR              Change into DIR before starting or resuming (scopes '
                        --resume latest' / -c lookups to DIR's workspace).
  --continue [SESSION_NAME], -c [SESSION_NAME]
                        Resume a session by name, or the most recent if no
                        name given
  --create-if-missing   With -c/--continue <name>: if no session matches the
                        name, create a new session with that title and proceed
                        (instead of failing with a not-found error).
                        Programmatic callers that want 'send to this named
                        thread, making it if needed'.
  --worktree, -w        Run in an isolated git worktree (for parallel agents
                        on the same repo)
  --accept-hooks        Auto-approve any unseen shell hooks declared in
                        config.yaml without a TTY prompt (see also
                        HERMES_ACCEPT_HOOKS env var and hooks_auto_accept: in
                        config.yaml).
  --checkpoints         Enable filesystem checkpoints before destructive file
                        operations (use /rollback to restore)
  --max-turns N         Maximum tool-calling iterations per conversation turn
                        (default: 500, or agent.max_turns in config)
  --run-budget SECONDS  Optional wall-clock budget in seconds for each
                        conversation run. At 80% elapsed the agent gets a one-
                        time wrap-up notice, and implicit provider stale
                        timeouts are capped to the remaining budget so one
                        hung call can't consume the run. Unset = off. Also
                        configurable as agent.run_budget_seconds in
                        config.yaml. Intended for one-shot/eval invocations
                        with a hard ceiling.
  --yolo                Bypass all dangerous command approval prompts (use at
                        your own risk)
  --pass-session-id     Include the session ID in the agent's system prompt
  --ignore-user-config  Ignore ~/.hermes/config.yaml and fall back to built-in
                        defaults (credentials in .env are still loaded).
                        Useful for isolated CI runs, reproduction, and third-
                        party integrations.
  --ignore-rules        Skip auto-injection of AGENTS.md, SOUL.md,
                        .cursorrules, memory, and preloaded skills. Combine
                        with --ignore-user-config for a fully isolated run.
  --safe-mode           Troubleshooting mode: disable ALL customizations —
                        user config, AGENTS.md/memory injection, plugins, and
                        MCP servers (implies --ignore-user-config and
                        --ignore-rules). Use to isolate whether a problem
                        comes from your setup or from Hermes itself.
  --source SOURCE       Session source tag for filtering (default: cli). Use
                        'tool' for third-party integrations that should not
                        appear in user session lists.
  --tui                 Launch the modern TUI instead of the classic REPL
  --cli                 Force the classic prompt_toolkit REPL (overrides
                        display.interface=tui)
  --dev                 With --tui: run TypeScript sources via tsx (skip dist
                        build)