Hermes Agent + ViralNote: MCP Setup Guide

TL;DR: Add ViralNote to Hermes Agent via mcp_servers in ~/.hermes/config.yaml — HTTP URL https://dashboard.viralnote.app/api/mcp/mcp with x-api-key: vnd_..., or stdio via @viralnote/mcp-server. Restart Hermes to load 15 scheduling tools.

Hermes is Nous Research’s autonomous agent runtime with first-class MCP client support (stdio + HTTP). ViralNote fits the same pattern as Linear or GitHub MCP servers: configure once, tools appear in the agent’s tool list.

HTTP MCP (recommended)

Edit ~/.hermes/config.yaml:

mcp_servers:
  viralnote:
    url: https://dashboard.viralnote.app/api/mcp/mcp
    headers:
      x-api-key: vnd_...

Get vnd_... from dashboard.viralnote.app/developers/auth.

Restart your Hermes session. Ask: “What MCP tools do you have for ViralNote?” or run /tools.

Stdio via npm

mcp_servers:
  viralnote:
    command: npx
    args: ["-y", "@viralnote/mcp-server"]
    env:
      VIRALNOTE_API_KEY: vnd_...

Hermes passes only safe env vars to subprocesses — put the key in the env block as shown.

Tool filtering (optional)

Hermes supports per-server tool allowlists. For a read-only monitor agent:

mcp_servers:
  viralnote:
    url: https://dashboard.viralnote.app/api/mcp/mcp
    headers:
      x-api-key: vnd_...
    tools:
      include:
        - list_posts
        - list_analytics
        - list_post_results
        - list_social_accounts

Mutating tools (create_post, publish_post, delete_post) stay excluded until you widen the list.

Example Hermes workflows

Content ops assistant:

List my scheduled posts for the next 7 days. Flag any day with fewer than 2 posts on TikTok.

Research + schedule:

Import this image URL into my library, then draft a scheduled LinkedIn post for tomorrow 9am with a professional caption about [topic].

Patterns from three agent workflows apply directly.

Hermes curated catalog (optional)

Hermes maintains a small Nous-approved MCP catalog in optional-mcps/. ViralNote isn’t listed there yet — manual config.yaml is the supported path today. Catalog PR is optional distribution, not required to connect.

Hermes as MCP server (reverse direction)

Hermes can also expose its own messaging tools via hermes mcp serve — that’s separate from consuming ViralNote. You’re using Hermes as the client; ViralNote is the tool server.

Docs & links

• Hermes MCP documentation
• viralnote.app/agents#hermes
• MCP server overview

Security

• Scoped API key per Hermes environment
• Confirm before any publish_post in prompts
• Revoke keys when rotating Hermes hosts

Hermes reasons; ViralNote posts. Configure narrowly, expand tools as trust grows.