Hermes Quickstart

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SmewAI x Hermes quickstart

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Use case

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1. Prerequisites

• you already created an API key in SmewAI Console
• you know the actual model name Hermes should call
• you can edit Hermes’ config.yaml
• you are using the OpenAI-compatible endpoint

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2. Supported models

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3. Recommended approach: use Hermes custom_providers

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Step 1: Define a custom provider

custom_providers:
  - name: custom-smewai
    base_url: https://smew.ai/v1
    api_key: <your-key>
    api_mode: openai_chat_completions
    models:
      - gpt-5.5
      - gpt-5.4

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Step 2: Point the default model to that provider

model:
  default: gpt-5.5
  provider: custom-smewai
  base_url: https://smew.ai/v1
  api_key: <your-key>
  api_mode: openai_chat_completions

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Step 3: Disable Smart Model Routing

smart_model_routing:
  enabled: false

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4. Minimal working config

model:
  default: gpt-5.5
  provider: custom-smewai
  base_url: https://smew.ai/v1
  api_key: <your-key>
  api_mode: openai_chat_completions

custom_providers:
  - name: custom-smewai
    base_url: https://smew.ai/v1
    api_key: <your-key>
    api_mode: openai_chat_completions
    models:
      - gpt-5.5
      - gpt-5.4

smart_model_routing:
  enabled: false

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5. Success checklist

• base_url is https://smew.ai/v1
• api_mode is openai_chat_completions
• model.provider points to the provider name defined in custom_providers
• smart_model_routing.enabled is disabled
• Hermes can send a message and receive a valid model response

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6. Common issues

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Why do I get a 401?

• whether the API key is valid
• whether api_key is set in all required places
• whether Hermes is really loading the config file you edited

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Why do I get a 404 or model not found error?

• whether the base URL is exactly https://smew.ai/v1
• whether the model name is actually available to your account
• whether the default model matches a GPT model Hermes supports

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7. API verification example

curl -X POST "https://smew.ai/v1/chat/completions" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <your-key>" \
  -d '{"model":"gpt-5.5","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"hi"}]}'