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Herman the hermit crab

herm

AI coding agents shouldn't go shellless.

Open-source coding agent. Containerized, multi-provider, written in Go.

$ curl -fsSL https://hermagent.com/install.sh | sh

also via brew or from source

herm
Why herm?

What's under the shell

🐚

Containerized by default

One container per session, auto-extended with dev tools as you prompt. Your host stays untouched, no approval prompts.

🔄

Multi-provider

Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, Grok, or local models via Ollama. Switch anytime, no lock-in.

⚡

Fast & light

Written in Go. Single binary, instant startup, minimal memory footprint.

📖

Fully open source

Everything open, including system prompts. No hidden instructions, no black boxes. MIT licensed.

Get started

Install

curl curl -fsSL https://hermagent.com/install.sh | sh
brew brew tap aduermael/herm && brew install herm
source git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/aduermael/herm && cd herm && go build -o herm ./cmd/herm
Comparison

How herm compares

herm Claude Code OpenCode
Containerized by defaultnothing touches your host ✓ ✗ ✗
Multi-provider ✓ ✗ ✓
Open source ✓ ✗ ✓
MCP support ✗ ✓ ✓
IDE integration ✗ ✓ ✓
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Claude Code runs directly on your host and needs your approval for every potentially dangerous action. herm runs everything in containers, so the agent can act freely without risking your system. herm also supports multiple model providers and ships its system prompts in the open.
OpenCode is a great terminal AI assistant, but it runs on your host like most coding agents. herm's core idea is that containerization should be the default, not an afterthought. If the agent can't break anything, you don't need permission prompts.
Pi focuses on extensibility through TypeScript plugins and a large ecosystem of community packages. herm takes a different bet: safety through containerization. Instead of asking users to manage permissions, herm sandboxes everything by default so the agent can operate autonomously.
Herm is a hermit crab called Herman. It represents the hermetic nature of the agent, everything sealed inside its shell.
Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (GPT), Google (Gemini), xAI (Grok), and local models via Ollama. Add your API key via the CLI on first run and switch models at any time.