How to Create a New Profile & SOUL.md in Hermes Desktop

Hermes Desktop profiles let you run separate AI agents on the same machine, each with its own memory, sessions, skills, configuration, personality, API keys, automations, and messaging setup. Instead of mixing video production notes, coding tasks, client research, and personal conversations into one overloaded agent, you can give every major workflow its own clean environment.

In my setup, I created a dedicated video profile by cloning my default Hermes configuration, adding a video-specific SOUL.md, and assigning a separate project folder to each production. The whole setup took a few clicks, but it changed how I organize sessions, files, and repeatable workflows. Here is exactly how to create your own profile and decide what should live inside it.

Core Concepts for Hermes Agent Profiles

• A Hermes profile is an independent agent environment, not just a renamed chat.
• Each profile can have separate memory, sessions, skills, configuration, credentials, cron jobs, and messaging bots.
• Cloning your default profile carries over useful tools and settings while starting with clean sessions and memory.
• SOUL.md defines the role, personality, scope, and working rules for the new agent.
• A profile organizes a broad work domain, while project folders organize specific jobs inside that domain.
• Profiles separate Hermes state, but they are not automatic security sandboxes for your filesystem.

Who does this apply to

This guide is for creators, marketers, developers, researchers, and operators who use Hermes Agent for several kinds of work. It is especially useful if your main session list is becoming crowded, your agent is loading irrelevant skills, or you need clear boundaries between clients, projects, or business and personal tasks.

What Is a Hermes Desktop Profile?

A Hermes profile is a separate home directory for an independent agent. According to the official guide to running multiple Hermes profiles, every profile can maintain its own config.yaml, .env, SOUL.md, memories, sessions, skills, cron jobs, and state database.

That makes a profile much more than a folder or workspace label. It is a complete agent identity with its own operating context.

For example, you could run:

• A video production profile with scriptwriting, transcription, FFmpeg, and editing skills
• A stock research profile with market analysis tools, watchlists, and financial research memory
• A client profile with dedicated messaging, reference material, and campaign instructions
• A coding profile with development skills and a stronger default coding model
• A personal profile for planning, notes, and everyday questions

These agents can live on the same computer without combining their Hermes memory or session history. If you are new to the interface, start with my overview of how the Hermes desktop app removes the need for a terminal.

Why Separate AI Work Into Profiles?

The biggest benefit is persistent context without constant clutter. A normal chat can hold context for one conversation, but a profile shapes the agent’s entire working environment across conversations.

When everything runs through one default profile, unrelated work begins to overlap. A video-editing discussion sits beside Python debugging. Stock research sessions compete with marketing drafts. Skills and memories from one domain may appear while you are working in another. Nothing is technically broken, but finding the right session and keeping the agent focused becomes harder.

Profiles solve that problem by giving each workstream a clean operating layer. Your video agent remembers production preferences. Your coding agent starts with development tools. Your client agent can maintain a dedicated history without mixing it into other accounts.

The useful mental model: use a profile for a recurring domain of work, then use a project folder for a specific deliverable inside that domain.

This structure also makes advanced agent workflows easier to manage. If you are already using multiple models, sub-agents, and tool connections, see how to use a Codex subscription inside Hermes for a practical example of one agent workbench handling writing, images, and coding.

How to Create a New Profile in Hermes Desktop

Creating a new profile from the desktop app takes only a few steps.

1. Open the Hermes Desktop app.
2. Click your profile avatar near the bottom-left corner of the sidebar.
3. Select Create new profile.
4. Enter a lowercase profile name using letters, numbers, or hyphens, such as video-work.
5. Choose whether to start blank or clone an existing profile.
6. Add or edit the profile’s SOUL.md instructions.
7. Click Create profile.

The new profile appears in the profile switcher immediately. Select it to open a clean session list for that agent. There is no need to restart the desktop app.

You can follow the same setup in my video walkthrough for creating a Hermes video profile, which shows the profile switcher, cloning process, SOUL.md, and project-folder setup on screen.

Should You Start Blank or Clone Your Default Profile?

For most established Hermes users, cloning the default profile is the fastest route. It carries over the configuration and skills you already rely on, so the new agent starts ready to work.

The official Hermes profile documentation distinguishes between a configuration clone and a fuller clone. A standard clone can copy configuration, credentials, SOUL.md, and skills while leaving the new profile with fresh sessions and memory. A full clone can also carry over more of the source agent’s working setup.

In the desktop workflow shown here, cloning the default profile gave the video agent access to existing media-production skills and configured tools without importing the cluttered session history. That was the right balance: preserve capabilities, reset context.

Start with a blank profile when:

• You want a completely new agent identity
• The profile needs different credentials or providers
• The existing skill library is not relevant
• You want tighter control over every instruction and tool

Clone an existing profile when:

• Your default agent already has the right API keys and tools
• You want the same core capabilities with a different role
• You have reusable skills that would take time to rebuild
• You want a clean session history without repeating setup

Important: cloning convenience is not the same as access control. Review copied credentials and tools before using a cloned profile for sensitive client or personal work.

How to Write the Profile’s SOUL.md

SOUL.md acts as the profile’s persistent role and operating brief. It tells the agent what it is responsible for, how it should work, and which tasks belong inside the profile.

A useful SOUL.md for a video-production profile might define:

• Role: video-production and editing assistant
• Scope: outlines, walkthrough scripts, captions, editing plans, transcripts, and upload checklists
• Default workflow: inspect the active project folder before making recommendations
• Preferred tools: media-production, transcription, FFmpeg, and file-management skills
• Boundaries: avoid unrelated coding, stock research, or personal planning unless explicitly requested
• Output preferences: concise scripts, clear shot lists, and step-by-step edit instructions

You do not need to write this from scratch. If your default agent already understands your workflow, ask it to summarize that work into a new SOUL.md, review the result, and paste it into the profile-creation window.

After creating the profile, start a new session and ask it to describe its role. This is a quick quality check. If the answer is vague or inaccurate, revise the SOUL.md before building more memory on top of it.

How Project Folders Work Inside a Profile

A profile and a project folder solve different problems. The profile defines the agent. The project folder defines the job in front of it.

For my video profile, each video receives its own project folder containing the outline, script, reference images, recordings, transcripts, captions, and export notes. The agent can inspect that folder and immediately understand which files belong to the current production.

A simple structure might look like this:

video-work/
  hermes-profile-tutorial/
    outline.md
    script.md
    reference-image.png
    transcript.txt
    footage/
    exports/

This reduces search time and prevents the agent from guessing which file you mean. The Hermes Desktop documentation for projects and file browsing explains how the app can browse a working directory, preview files, and keep multiple projects active from the same interface.

For a repeatable workflow, use this hierarchy:

1. Profile: the recurring domain, such as video production
2. Project folder: the individual deliverable, such as one tutorial video
3. Session: the current stage of work, such as scripting, editing, or publishing

That structure scales far better than one giant chat history.

How to Edit a Hermes Profile Later

Profiles are not locked after creation. Open the profile switcher and select Manage Profiles to adjust the setup.

Depending on your Hermes Desktop version and configuration, you can review or change:

• The profile’s SOUL.md
• Default model and reasoning settings
• Memory behavior and storage
• Skills and tool configuration
• Keyboard shortcuts
• Appearance and layout
• API keys and provider settings
• Cron jobs and messaging connections

Hermes also supports independent gateway processes and bot tokens per profile, so a research agent and a client-support agent can connect to different Telegram, Discord, or Slack bots. The open-source Hermes Agent repository contains the current code, release notes, and installation details.

Profiles, Project Folders, and Chat Sessions Compared

What Hermes Profiles Do Not Isolate

Profiles isolate Hermes state, but they do not automatically sandbox filesystem access. On a normal local backend, profiles still run under your operating-system user account and may be able to access the same folders that account can access.

That distinction matters for client work and sensitive credentials. A separate memory and session history reduces accidental context mixing, but it is not a security boundary by itself.

If you need stricter separation:

• Use dedicated project directories with clear permissions
• Review copied .env credentials after cloning
• Configure a profile-specific starting directory
• Consider separate system users, containers, or remote hosts for high-risk workloads
• Keep client data in appropriately permissioned storage

The profile documentation explains that SOUL.md can guide behavior, but it does not enforce a workspace boundary. Treat profiles as operational separation first, then add technical controls when the risk requires them.

Practical Profile Ideas for Marketers and Creators

Once the structure is clear, profiles can become specialized members of a small AI team.

• Content profile: research, blog outlines, SEO briefs, social posts, and editorial planning
• Video profile: scripts, transcripts, editing notes, thumbnails, and publishing checklists
• Client profile: campaign context, meeting notes, deliverables, and reporting workflows
• Research profile: source collection, synthesis, fact checking, and citation management
• Automation profile: cron jobs, recurring reports, webhooks, and system maintenance
• Development profile: app planning, code generation, testing, and debugging

A dedicated automation agent can also keep scheduled work separate from everyday conversations. For a hands-on example, read how to set up daily news brief cron jobs with Hermes Agent.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a Hermes profile have separate memory?

Yes. Profiles can maintain separate memory, sessions, skills, configuration, state, and automations. A normal configuration clone starts with fresh memory and sessions while carrying over selected setup files.

Can I use different models in different profiles?

Yes. Each profile can have its own default model and provider configuration. You can use a coding-focused model in one profile and a lower-cost general model in another.

Can profiles have different API keys or messaging bots?

Yes. Each profile can have its own .env, which allows separate provider keys and Telegram, Discord, or Slack bot tokens.

Is a profile the same as a project folder?

No. A profile controls the agent’s identity and state. A project folder contains the files for a particular job. Use one profile for the domain and separate folders for individual projects.

Can I clone my default profile without copying old chats?

Yes. A standard clone can copy configuration, credentials, SOUL.md, and skills while giving the new profile fresh sessions and memory.

Do profiles protect files from one another?

Not automatically. Profiles isolate Hermes data, but a local profile generally retains the filesystem access of your operating-system user. Use system permissions or stronger sandboxing when you need a true security boundary.

Can I switch profiles without restarting Hermes Desktop?

Yes. The profile switcher lets you move between profiles directly, and modern Hermes Desktop versions support concurrent sessions across multiple profiles.

About Jason Pollak

Jason Pollak is a marketing strategist with over 10 years of experience building campaigns for entertainment brands, artists, and businesses across music, film, television, eCommerce, and B2B SaaS. As Director of Marketing at Young Money Entertainment, he grew Lil Wayne’s Facebook following from 10 million to 50 million and managed over 60 million followers across the roster. He also served as Paid Media Director at Horizon Media, launching major TV shows for History Channel, A&E, WWE, and Lifetime, and led film marketing for Utopia Distribution, generating over $10 million in revenue on a $200K media spend. Jason specializes in paid media, organic social strategy, email automation, SEO, content development, and AI-driven marketing systems. He holds a BA in English Literature from Binghamton University and a Masters in Media Studies from Brooklyn College. Learn more at Jason Pollak Marketing or schedule a marketing strategy call.