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Hermes ↔ INDB: Input and Output

Hermes is the agent at input and output: receives raw data, processes it, writes to INDB; answers abstract queries by reading from INDB.

Hermes is a module — pluggable like moltbook and others. The system works when Hermes is connected or disconnected. With Hermes disabled, core INDB (REST ingest, fusion, interpret, search, echo, prism) works unchanged.

Diagram

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        Hermes Agent                              │
│  (Ollama / local model)                                          │
└───────────────┬─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────┘
                │                             │
        MCP tools                             │
                │                             │
                ▼                             ▼
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                         INDB                                       │
│  ingest_event  ←  write facts      query_events  →  read          │
│  get_stats     ←  statistics                                      │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                ▲                             │
                │                             │
        HermesConnector                       │
        (poll ~/.hermes/sessions)             │
                │                             │
                └─────────────────────────────┘
                    Hermes sessions → INDB

1. Setup (one-time)

cd backend
./scripts/setup_hermes_indb.sh

Adds INDB MCP to ~/.hermes/config.yaml. Restart Hermes or send /reload-mcp in chat.

2. Input: Hermes collects data and writes to INDB

Via MCP ingest_event — Hermes decides what and how to write:

Find a brief definition of epistemology on the web and save it to INDB
via MCP tool ingest_event. location: hermes://fetch/epistemology

Read the Wikipedia article on Raft consensus and write key points
to INDB via ingest_event. location: hermes://wikipedia/raft

Via HermesConnector — any Hermes dialog is saved to ~/.hermes/sessions/, INDB polls and ingests. Just chat:

hermes chat

Tell me about the paradox of perception and how INDB preserves it

The session will reach INDB via the connector (poll every 60s).

3. Output: Hermes answers abstract queries from INDB

Use mcp_indb_query_events to find all events about epistemology and memory.
Summarize what you found.

What do we know about misinformation and gaslighting in the database? Use INDB.

Show INDB statistics via get_stats

4. Full cycle (non-interactive)

# Hermes (MCP)
hermes chat -Q -q "Fetch a short definition of collective memory from web. Store it in INDB via ingest_event: content='tokens from definition', location='hermes://fetch/collective-memory'"
hermes chat -Q -q "Use mcp_indb_query_events with filter_key=memory and filter_value= to find events about memory. Summarize what you found."

# REST fallback (if MCP unavailable)
./scripts/hermes_indb_cycle.sh rest   # 5 requests: ingest→query→ingest→query→stats

MCP Tools

Tool Purpose
mcp_indb_ingest_event Write fact: content (space-separated tokens), location
mcp_indb_query_events Search: filter_key=location + filter_value, or filter_key=word for content search
mcp_indb_get_stats Database statistics

Requirements

  • INDB: http://localhost:8888 (HAProxy) or http://localhost:8000 (standalone)
  • Hermes: pip install hermes-agent[mcp]
  • Ollama: running for local model