Hermes Kanban Setup: Build Websites With AI

The Hermes Kanban setup is the missing piece that turns Hermes Agent into a full project manager — and this is the step-by-step.

By the end of this post:

Hermes Kanban initialised.
A full SEO mission running.
A real website being built automatically.

Prerequisites

Three things first.

1 — Hermes v0.12 or later

Earlier versions don't have Kanban.

If you don't have Hermes, see How To Setup Hermes Agent.

2 — Hermes Workspace (optional but useful)

Workspace + Kanban is the cleanest combo.

See Hermes Workspace for setup.

3 — A target project in mind

Don't init Kanban without a project.

Have something specific you want built (e.g. "AI SEO website for X niche").

Step 1 — Run Hermes Dashboard

In your terminal:

hermes dashboard

This hosts Hermes locally on a localhost address.

Verify it's running.

Step 2 — Start The Gateway

hermes gateway start

This makes Hermes available for the Kanban.

Step 3 — Initialise Kanban

hermes kanban init

This:

Launches the Kanban database.
Reads all your Hermes profiles.
Sets up the Kanban interface.

You'll see a new section in your Hermes dashboard for Kanban.

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Step 4 — Assign Agents To Kanban

Hermes Kanban can use any of your Hermes profiles.

For SEO website builds:

Researcher profile → keyword research.
Writer profile → content drafts.
SEO Specialist profile → optimisation.

I cover profile setup in Hermes Workspace Profiles.

Step 5 — Run Your First Kanban Create

hermes kanban create [your goal]

Example:

hermes kanban create Build a 50-page AI SEO website for AI agent community keywords

Hermes Kanban:

Reads the goal.
Plans the project.
Assigns sub-tasks to agents.
Starts execution.

You watch in the Kanban board.

Step 6 — Watch Live

In another terminal:

hermes kanban watch

You see:

Real-time agent activity.
Tasks moving through stages.
Files being created.

Useful for understanding what's happening.

Step 7 — Comment To Iterate

In the Kanban interface, you can comment on tasks.

Example: "Build out the website now based on the strategy you just created."

Hermes picks up the comment, executes.

This is how you direct without starting over.

Step 8 — Review Output

As tasks complete, Hermes generates files.

Check:

Your output folder.
Markdown files for strategy.
HTML/code files if building a site.

Use Markdown Live Preview to visualise strategy outputs.

Common Setup Issues

1. "kanban init" fails.

Make sure Hermes v0.12+ is running.

Run hermes --version to verify.

2. Kanban dashboard not loading.

Check Hermes gateway is running.

Restart both.

3. Agents showing "blocked".

Click the agent.

Check API/model settings.

Usually wrong model assigned.

4. Sync issues with Claude.

Use Claude Code to debug (Free Claude Code).

What To Build As Your First Kanban Project

Three good starter projects.

Project 1 — SEO website (50 pages)

The big use case.

What I cover in this post.

Build a topic-focused site from scratch.

Project 2 — Content cluster

Pick one keyword cluster.

Have Hermes Kanban build 5-10 pieces of content for that cluster.

Project 3 — Lead magnet white paper

Have Hermes Kanban research + produce a 5,000-word white paper as a lead magnet.

Pairs with Auto Research Claw.

Setup Time Reality

Honest numbers.

Hermes update to v0.12: 5 minutes.
Kanban init: 1 minute.
First Kanban create: 30 seconds for the command.
First strategy generated: 5-15 minutes.
First full site build: 30-60 minutes.

Total to a finished site: 1-2 hours.

What Setup Doesn't Include

You set up the Kanban infrastructure.

You don't:

Get pre-built site templates (Hermes generates them).
Get auto-deploy (set up Netlify separately).
Get keyword research data (you provide niche, Hermes finds keywords).

For these, configure separately.

Pairing With Other Tools

Hermes Kanban works alongside:

Hermes Swarm — multi-agent execution.
Hermes Workspace — UI layer.
Auto Research Claw — for deep research integration.

Each adds capability.

Daily Reality After Setup

What it looks like:

Morning — fire a Kanban create command.
Mid-morning — strategy is generated, review it.
Afternoon — comment to start execution.
Evening — site/content ready for review.

Daily SEO production at scale.

Deploying The Output

Once Hermes builds the site locally:

Option 1 — Manual

Open Netlify.
Drag the project folder.
Site goes live.

Option 2 — Automated

Give Hermes your Netlify access token.
Tell it to deploy.
Hermes handles deploy + DNS.

For repeatable workflows, Option 2.

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FAQ — Hermes Kanban Setup

How long does setup take?

10-15 minutes for first Kanban init.

Do I need to know coding?

Basic terminal commands.

Hermes can guide you through.

Will Kanban work without v0.12?

No — earlier versions don't support Kanban.

Can I delete a Kanban project?

Yes — anytime.

What if a task gets stuck?

Check agent settings (model, API).

Restart if needed.

Can I run multiple Kanban projects?

Yes — concurrent projects supported.

How do I export Kanban data?

Outputs are markdown files saved locally.

Easy to back up.