For pure code writing and editing, Hermes Agent vs Pi coding agent goes to Pi on speed and control, and to Hermes the moment coding is one step inside a bigger automation. Pi gives you a lean loop of read, write, edit and bash with your own API key. Hermes gives you terminal backends, sandboxes, subagents and skills so code can be built, tested and shipped as part of a wider job. Plenty of developers should run both.
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I use Hermes every day as my main agent. For heavy coding I usually reach for Claude Code with Opus 5.5. But Pi has a very clear place, and if you write code in a terminal you should understand where it beats a bigger agent and where it does not.
If you want to see how I run coding agents next to Hermes on one shared memory, the full setup lives inside the AI Profit Boardroom ($69/mo). More on that below.
The Pi coding loop
Pi, at pi.dev, is a minimal, MIT-licensed terminal coding agent by Mario Zechner, the creator of libGDX. Per its README, it is built around four core tools and a very short system prompt.
- Read a file to understand the code.
- Write a new file.
- Edit an existing file.
- Bash to run commands, tests and builds.
That is the loop. Read, change, run, repeat. Because the prompt is tiny and the toolset is small, there is less going on between you and the model. You can see what it is doing. You can steer it fast.
Everything else comes from TypeScript extensions. Want a custom command, a linter hook or a project-specific tool? You write it. Pi installs through npm and is bring your own key across many providers, so you choose the model and pay that provider directly.
What Hermes brings to coding
Hermes Agent is the open-source, self-hosted agent from Nous Research. It is not a coding agent first. It is a general agent that happens to be very capable at code, because it has a much wider toolbox.
- Terminal and file tools for reading, editing and running code.
- Terminal backends. Per the Hermes docs, the terminal tool can point at remote backends such as Docker, SSH, Modal and Singularity, so code runs somewhere other than your laptop.
- Sandboxes. Running code inside a container keeps risky commands away from your main machine.
- Subagents. Hermes can hand pieces of a job to subagents and pull the results back together.
- Skills and memory. It writes reusable skills and remembers your projects, so the second time you ask for a deploy, it already knows how you like it done.
- Cron and messaging. Schedule a nightly build check and get the result on Telegram.
- MCP and plugins. Hook into GitHub, databases and other tools through MCP and the plugin catalog.
So Hermes is slower to think of as a pure code editor, but it can treat code as one step in a process: fetch data, write a script, run it in a sandbox, check the output, report back on your phone. If you want the full list of what Hermes can plug into, see the best Hermes Agent tools.
📺 Watch: Hermes3D Is INSANE: AI Agents Now Have a 3D Office
Hermes Agent vs Pi coding agent: task by task
| Task | Hermes Agent | Pi coding agent |
|---|---|---|
| Quick edit in one file | Works, more machinery than needed | Best fit, lean loop |
| Refactor across a repo | Good, can split work across subagents | Good, you steer each step |
| Run tests and fix failures | Good, can run in a sandbox backend | Good, through bash |
| Run untrusted code safely | Docker or remote backends | Add your own setup |
| Code on a remote server | SSH and remote backends built in | Run Pi on that server |
| Scheduled coding jobs | Cron built in | Use your own scheduler |
| Coding from your phone | Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp | Terminal only |
| Remembering project habits | Memory and self-written skills | Extensions you write |
| Custom tooling | Plugins, MCP, skills | TypeScript extensions |
| Model choice | Many providers, free and local models | Bring your own key, many providers |
| Seeing exactly what the agent does | More layers to follow | Very transparent |
Short version: if the task starts and ends in your editor, Pi is lovely. If the task starts in your inbox and ends in a report, Hermes is the one.
📺 Watch: Hermes AI Agents Just Went Portable
Speed and control
The reason developers love minimal agents is focus. A long system prompt and a big toolbox give the model more to think about. Pi strips that back on purpose. Per its README, the design goal is a small core you extend, not a big core you trim.
That gives you three real benefits for coding:
- Control. You know every tool it has, because there are four.
- Hackability. If something annoys you, you change it in TypeScript.
- Cost control. Bring your own key means you see the bill from the provider you picked.
I am not going to quote speed numbers here, because I have not seen fair published benchmarks for this match-up. What I can say is the loop feels light, and that is the whole point of Pi.
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Running Pi on Omarchy next to Hermes
Per the Omarchy manual, Omarchy pre-wires Mario Zechner's Pi as "pi". So on an Omarchy machine you open a terminal, type pi, and you are coding.
Hermes runs on Linux too, so the two sit side by side nicely:
- Install Hermes with the command-line installer and run its gateway, so it is always reachable from your phone.
- Keep Pi in a terminal for focused coding sessions in your repo.
- Let Hermes handle the jobs around the code: research, scheduled checks, deploy reports and messaging.
- When a coding task gets big, either do it in Pi yourself or let Hermes run it in a sandbox backend.
If you want the broader comparison, not just coding, read Hermes Agent vs Pi.
Which should you use?
Pick Pi coding agent if you are a developer, most of your work is reading and editing code in a terminal, you want a lean loop you can see through, and you like extending tools in TypeScript.
Pick Hermes if code is part of a bigger workflow, you want sandboxes and remote backends, you want subagents and skills, or you want to kick off coding jobs from Telegram.
Pick both if you do serious work. That is my view, and it is how I run things. Open-source agents ship fast and sometimes an update breaks something, so I never depend on one tool. My Agentic Operating System runs Hermes, OpenClaw, OpenCode, Claude Code and Codex side by side with one memory. For the heaviest coding I reach for Claude Code, and I compared it head to head in Hermes Agent vs Claude Code.
The Agent OS guide shows how the whole stack fits together, and Goldie Bench shows how I test these agents on real jobs. The Agent OS zip, the courses on Hermes, OpenClaw and Claude Code, plus four live coaching calls a week, are inside the AI Profit Boardroom.
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FAQ
Is Pi coding agent better than Hermes for coding?
For focused editing in a terminal, Pi is the leaner choice. For coding inside a bigger automation, with sandboxes, subagents, scheduling and messaging, Hermes does more out of the box.
Can Hermes use the same models as Pi?
Mostly, yes. Both work with many providers. Hermes also supports an OpenAI Codex sign-in, Nous Portal free models and local models through Ollama.
Can I run Pi and Hermes on the same machine?
Yes. On Omarchy, Pi is already wired in as "pi", and Hermes installs on Linux with its command-line installer. They do not get in each other's way.
Do I need to know TypeScript to use Pi?
No, not to use the core four tools. You only need TypeScript when you want to extend it. If you want a hand choosing, book a free AI strategy session.
