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Nous Tool Gateway: Unified Tool Access for Hermes Agent

Connect Hermes Agent to managed web search, image gen, TTS, and browser tools via one Nous subscription.

Tool Protocolsintermediate8 min read
Hermes Agent Documentation
Nous Tool Gateway: Unified Tool Access for Hermes Agent

Neura Market Tool Gateway Reference

The Tool Gateway is a unified, subscription-based routing service that directs Hermes agent tool calls through Nous infrastructure. It replaces the need for separate third-party API accounts for web search, image generation, text-to-speech, and cloud browser automation. This document covers every capability, procedure, parameter, constraint, and failure mode.

When to Use the Tool Gateway

Use the Tool Gateway when you want to avoid managing multiple third-party API subscriptions such as Firecrawl, FAL, OpenAI, or Browser Use. It provides a single bill, a single signup, and a single OAuth key for all tool categories. You can use managed tools without setting up your own API keys for each service. The gateway also allows you to mix gateway tools with your own keys per tool category. If you are setting up a new Hermes agent and want the quickest path to tool functionality, the Tool Gateway is the recommended approach.

Prerequisites

Before using the Tool Gateway, you need:

  • A paid Nous Portal subscription or a free tool pool entitlement.
  • Hermes agent installed and configured.
  • For hermes setup --portal: a fresh install context.
  • For hermes model: an existing Hermes installation.
  • For hermes tools: an existing Hermes installation (login not required beforehand).
  • For self-hosted gateway: custom infrastructure and environment variable setup.

Capabilities

The Tool Gateway provides the following managed tool capabilities:

  • Web search and full-page extraction via Firecrawl with no rate limits. The gateway handles scaling.
  • Image generation via nine models under one endpoint: FLUX 2 Klein 9B, FLUX 2 Pro, Z-Image Turbo, Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image), GPT Image 1.5, GPT Image 2, Ideogram V3, Recraft V4 Pro, and Qwen Image.
  • Text-to-speech using OpenAI TTS voices via the text_to_speech tool.
  • Cloud browser automation via headless Chromium sessions (Browser Use) with primitives: browser_navigate, browser_click, browser_type, and browser_vision.
  • Per-tool enablement: turn on the gateway for any combination of tools.
  • Override image model per-generation by passing a model ID to the image_generate tool.
  • Self-hosted gateway support via environment variable overrides (advanced).
  • Usage and cost breakdown per tool in the Nous Portal dashboard.
  • Works transparently with all interfaces that call tools: CLI, Telegram, Discord, Slack, IRC, Teams, and the API server.

Procedures

Enable Tool Gateway via hermes setup --portal

  1. Run hermes setup --portal.
  2. Complete Nous OAuth login.
  3. Set Nous as the inference provider.
  4. Turn on the Tool Gateway for all tools in one go.

Enable Tool Gateway via hermes model

  1. Run hermes model.
  2. Switch inference provider to Nous Portal.
  3. Hermes offers to turn on the gateway for all tools; accept.

Enable Tool Gateway per-tool via hermes tools

  1. Run hermes tools.
  2. Select the tool category you want to enable.
  3. Pick 'Nous Subscription' as the provider.
  4. If not already logged into Nous Portal, Hermes runs Portal login inline.
  5. If already authenticated, the backend is enabled immediately with no extra prompt.

Note: This path does not switch inference provider or prompt to enable other tools.

Check Gateway Status

  • Run hermes portal info to see Portal auth and Tool Gateway routing summary.
  • Run hermes portal tools to see gateway catalog with current routing per tool.
  • Run hermes status to see full system status (Tool Gateway is one section).

Switch a Tool's Provider (Gateway vs. Direct Key)

  1. Run hermes tools.
  2. Select the tool category.
  3. Pick 'Nous Subscription' for gateway or any direct provider you prefer.
  4. If picking 'Nous Subscription' and not logged in, Portal login runs inline.

Override Image Model Per Generation

  1. Call the image_generate tool.
  2. Pass the desired model ID as a parameter (e.g., 'fal-ai/flux-2/klein/9b').
  3. If no model ID is passed, Hermes defaults to FLUX 2 Klein 9B.

Disable Gateway for a Tool via config.yaml

  1. Edit config.yaml for the tool.
  2. Set use_gateway: false for that tool's block.
  3. Hermes will then use direct API keys from .env (e.g., FIRECRAWL_API_KEY).

Configure Self-Hosted Gateway (Advanced)

  1. Edit ~/.hermes/.env.
  2. Set TOOL_GATEWAY_DOMAIN to your domain.
  3. Set TOOL_GATEWAY_SCHEME to 'https' (or 'http').
  4. Set TOOL_GATEWAY_USER_TOKEN to your token (normally auto-populated).
  5. Optionally set FIRECRAWL_GATEWAY_URL to override one endpoint specifically.

Parameters

use_gateway

  • Meaning: Boolean flag in each tool's config block (web, image_gen, tts, browser). When true, routes through Nous regardless of direct keys. When false or absent, uses direct keys if available, falls back to gateway only when none exist.
  • Required: No (optional per-tool config)

TOOL_GATEWAY_DOMAIN

  • Meaning: Custom domain for self-hosted gateway endpoint.
  • Required: No (advanced, for self-hosted setups)

TOOL_GATEWAY_SCHEME

  • Meaning: Protocol scheme (http or https) for self-hosted gateway.
  • Required: No (advanced)

TOOL_GATEWAY_USER_TOKEN

  • Meaning: Authentication token for self-hosted gateway (normally auto-populated from Portal login).
  • Required: No (advanced)

FIRECRAWL_GATEWAY_URL

  • Meaning: Override endpoint for Firecrawl specifically in self-hosted setups.
  • Required: No (advanced)

Model ID (for image_generate)

  • Meaning: Identifier string for the image generation model to use per call (e.g., 'fal-ai/flux-2/klein/9b').
  • Required: No (defaults to FLUX 2 Klein 9B if omitted)

Constraints and Caveats

  • The Tool Gateway is a paid-subscription feature. Free-tier Nous accounts cannot use managed tools (only Portal inference).
  • Some accounts may have a free tool pool (small managed-tool allowance) that does not require a paid subscription. The gateway surfaces it with a setup prompt on first use.
  • If the subscription expires, tools routed through the gateway stop working until renewal or switching to direct keys via hermes tools.
  • Modal (serverless terminal) is an optional add-on, not part of the default Tool Gateway bundle. Configure via hermes setup terminal or config.yaml.
  • Existing API keys in .env are not deleted when the gateway is enabled. They are simply skipped when use_gateway: true.
  • Self-hosted gateway overrides are for custom infrastructure (enterprise, dev). Regular subscribers never set them.
  • The set of image models evolves. Run hermes tools and select Image Generation to see the current live list.

Failure Modes

  • Subscription expired: Tools routed through the gateway stop working. Hermes shows a clear error pointing to the portal.
  • Free-tier account without free tool pool: Gateway tools are unavailable. Upgrade the plan to unlock.
  • Self-hosted gateway misconfiguration: Tools may fail to route. Check TOOL_GATEWAY_DOMAIN, TOOL_GATEWAY_SCHEME, and TOOL_GATEWAY_USER_TOKEN.

Examples

All Tools Through Nous

One subscription covers web search, image generation, text-to-speech, and browser automation. No separate accounts needed.

Gateway for Web + Images, Bring Your Own TTS

Keep your ElevenLabs voice for text-to-speech while letting Nous handle web search and image generation. Use hermes tools to set TTS to a direct provider and the other tools to 'Nous Subscription'.

Gateway Only for Things You Don't Have Keys For

If you already pay for Browserbase but do not want a Firecrawl account, enable the gateway only for web search. Set browser automation to your direct provider via hermes tools.

Per-Call Image Model Override

When calling image_generate, pass a model ID like 'fal-ai/flux-2-pro' for higher fidelity. The default is FLUX 2 Klein 9B if no model ID is provided.

Sources & References

This page was researched from 1 independent source, combined and verified for completeness.

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