---
title: "Kilobat in Hermes Agent: local MCP server and skills | Kilobat"
url: "https://kilobat.app/agents/hermes"
description: "Connect Hermes Agent to Kilobat on your Mac: local MCP config, skills, connection checks and explicit run tracking."
---

Agent setup

# Set up Kilobat in Hermes Agent

Give Hermes Agent your Mac’s network measurements, connection diagnosis and keep-awake tools through a local MCP server.

Free CLI and MCP server · macOS 14 or later · Checked: 1 November 2026

## Install the CLI

The Kilobat CLI is free and open source, and it includes the MCP server. Install it with Homebrew:

```
brew install seifip/kilobat/kilobat
```

Check it with `kilobat --version`. `kilobat doctor` says whether the Kilobat app is running, its network filter is on and Pro is active; the tools work without the app, which adds Wi-Fi names, history and rule enforcement. The CLI needs macOS 14 or later.

## Connect the MCP server

Run the agent backend and Kilobat on the Mac you want to check. A cloud runner, Linux server or container cannot use this local command to inspect your Mac.

1. Merge this entry into `~/.hermes/config.yaml`, keeping your other servers.

   ```
   mcp_servers:
     kilobat:
       command: kilobat
       args: [mcp]
   ```
2. Check that the server starts and lists its tools.

   ```
   hermes mcp test kilobat
   ```
3. Start a new Hermes session, or run `/reload-mcp` in the session that should use Kilobat.

## Add the skills

Nine Agent Skills teach the agent to read Kilobat's measurements and to ask before changing settings. Install them for all your projects with [skills.sh](https://skills.sh/seifip/kilobat-skills):

```
npx skills add seifip/kilobat-skills -g -a hermes-agent
```

This puts them in `~/.hermes/skills/`. Leave out `-g` to install them for the current project only, or leave out both flags to pick agents from a list.

The `kilobat` skill is the entry point: it holds the setup and safety rules and sends the agent to the skill that fits, such as `mac-network-troubleshooting` or `mac-agent-runs`. See [all nine skills](https://kilobat.app/docs#network-troubleshooting-skill).

## Try these prompts

Ask in plain words. The agent picks the tools; these are the ones each request usually needs.

| Ask | MCP tools |
|---|---|
| The internet feels slow. Find out why and tell me what to fix first. | `diagnose_network`, `get_status` |
| npm install hangs on registry.npmjs.org. Find the layer that fails. | `diagnose_connection` |
| Keep the Mac awake for the next two hours while you run the full test suite, then release it. | `keep_awake`, `release_awake` |
| Does my VPN carry all my traffic, or only some of it? | `get_exit_path` |
| What used my hotspot data today, app by app? | `get_usage_report`, `get_status` |

## What Hermes Agent can and can't change

Kilobat's MCP server marks every tool as read-only or as a change, and each change tool's description tells the agent to get your confirmation first. The [kilobat skill](https://github.com/seifip/kilobat-skills/tree/main/skills/kilobat) holds the same rule: read freely, ask before changing.

### Read-only measurements

- Measure Wi-Fi, router, internet and DNS latency, and per-app traffic: `diagnose_network`, `get_status`, `get_wifi`, `scan_wifi`.
- Find the layer that stops one host, trace a route and compare resolvers: `diagnose_connection`, `trace_route`, `benchmark_dns`.
- Read history, sessions, rules and approvals: `get_usage_report`, `list_sessions`, `list_rules`, `list_approvals`.
- Check every host it and the commands it ran contacted, with bytes and flags: `agent_network_log`.
- Ping for latency spikes with `run_stutter_test`, which sends pings only.

### Asks you first

- A speed test, which uses up to 80 MB (`run_speedtest`; on a metered network, 10 MB or less), and a five-second LAN test (`run_lan_test`).
- Looking up your public IP with Cloudflare (`get_exit_path` with `public_ip`).
- Profiles, app rules, blocked hosts, the new-app mode, budgets, quotas, a network's data cost and pausing updaters (`set_profile`, `set_app_rule`, `block_destination`, `set_new_app_mode`, `set_budget`, `set_app_quota`, `set_network_cost`, `set_updater_pause`).
- Holding another app's upload, such as Dropbox, until a better network (`hold_upload`).
- DNS, which macOS also guards with an administrator password prompt (`set_dns`).
- Keeping the Mac running with the lid closed, every time (`keep_awake` with `lid_closed`). A plain `keep_awake` changes no settings and ends when it expires.

### Can't do

- Let a waiting app connect on its own: `decide_approval` can block at once, but allowing opens Kilobat's approval window for you to confirm.
- Change AirDrop visibility: `set_airdrop_visibility` opens System Settings for you.
- Change sleep settings, another app's settings, or anything outside Kilobat. It never reads prompts or replies.
- Enforce rules without the Kilobat app and its network filter (Pro). Without them, rules are saved, not applied, and the agent should say so.

Keep confirmation enabled for changes. Hermes discovers Kilobat’s tools, but the agent must still ask before applying rules, changing DNS or using lid-closed mode.

If the agent can also run shell commands, the `kilobat` CLI can do what the MCP tools do. The skills tell it which commands to run freely and which to ask about.

## Track agent runs

Hermes Agent has no ready-made Kilobat run adapter yet. Connecting MCP does not automatically track its working, waiting or done state. A custom hook can call `kilobat agent-event start|working|waiting|done|failed --agent hermes --session <id> --cwd <folder>`. See [Connect agents](https://kilobat.app/docs#connect-agents).

## Sources

- [Hermes Agent: MCP setup and testing](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/mcp)
- [Hermes Agent: skills](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/skills)
- [Kilobat docs: AI agents and MCP](https://kilobat.app/docs#agents)
- [skills.sh: supported agents and their skill folders](https://github.com/vercel-labs/skills/blob/main/docs/agents.md)

Checked on 1 November 2026. Agents change their settings often; if a step no longer matches, tell us at the support address.

## Other agents

- [Claude Code](https://kilobat.app/agents/claude-code): Give Claude Code your Mac's network as tools: per-app traffic, Wi-Fi, DNS, why a host fails and keep-awake.
- [Codex CLI](https://kilobat.app/agents/codex): Codex can check the network before a big download, find why its own request hangs and keep the Mac awake for a long task.
- [Cursor](https://kilobat.app/agents/cursor): Let Cursor's agent see why a package download hangs, which app is using the connection and whether the network is metered before a big pull.
- [Gemini CLI](https://kilobat.app/agents/gemini-cli): Gemini CLI can diagnose the Mac's network, scan Wi-Fi and keep the Mac awake while it works.
- [Claude Desktop](https://kilobat.app/agents/claude-desktop): Ask Claude why the Wi-Fi is slow, what used your hotspot data or whether your VPN carries everything, and it reads the answer from your Mac.
- [Windsurf](https://kilobat.app/agents/windsurf): Cascade can find why a dependency won't download, check DNS and trace a route from your Mac, with Kilobat's MCP server.
- [Cline](https://kilobat.app/agents/cline): Cline can check the Mac's network and keep it awake while it works.
- [Zed](https://kilobat.app/agents/zed): Zed's agent can measure the Mac's network, trace a route and compare DNS resolvers through Kilobat's MCP server.
- [OpenClaw](https://kilobat.app/agents/openclaw): Let OpenClaw check your Mac’s connection and data use, with local MCP tools and Kilobat skills.
- [OpenCode](https://kilobat.app/agents/opencode): OpenCode can inspect your Mac’s traffic, explain failed connections and keep long tasks awake with Kilobat.
- [GitHub Copilot CLI](https://kilobat.app/agents/copilot-cli): Copilot CLI can check bandwidth, DNS and failed downloads on your Mac using Kilobat’s local MCP server.
- [Any MCP client](https://kilobat.app/agents/mcp-client): Kilobat's MCP server is a local stdio command, kilobat mcp.