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, you'll have Hermes Kanban initialised, a full SEO mission running, and a real website being built automatically.
Prerequisites
Three things to check before you start.
The first is Hermes v0.12 or later. Earlier versions don't have Kanban. If you don't have Hermes, see How To Setup Hermes Agent.
The second is Hermes Workspace, which is optional but useful. Workspace plus Kanban is the cleanest combo. See Hermes Workspace for setup.
The third is a target project in mind. Don't init Kanban without a project. Have something specific you want built — for example, "AI SEO website for X niche".
Step 1 — Run Hermes Dashboard
In your terminal, run hermes dashboard. This hosts Hermes locally on a localhost address.
Verify it's running before you continue.
Step 2 — Start The Gateway
Run hermes gateway start. This makes Hermes available for the Kanban.
Step 3 — Initialise Kanban
Run hermes kanban init. This launches the Kanban database, reads all your Hermes profiles, and 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, the standard assignments are a Researcher profile for keyword research, a Writer profile for content drafts, and an SEO Specialist profile for optimisation.
I cover profile setup in Hermes Workspace Profiles.
Step 5 — Run Your First Kanban Create
Run hermes kanban create [your goal]. An example goal is 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, and starts execution. You watch in the Kanban board.
Step 6 — Watch Live
In another terminal, run hermes kanban watch. You see real-time agent activity, tasks moving through stages, and files being created.
This is useful for understanding what's happening as it happens.
Step 7 — Comment To Iterate
In the Kanban interface, you can comment on tasks. For example, "Build out the website now based on the strategy you just created."
Hermes picks up the comment and executes. This is how you direct without starting over.
Step 8 — Review Output
As tasks complete, Hermes generates files. Check your output folder, the markdown files for strategy, and HTML or code files if you're building a site.
Use Markdown Live Preview to visualise strategy outputs without exporting them.
Common Setup Issues
Four issues come up regularly during setup.
The first is kanban init failing. Make sure Hermes v0.12+ is running by running hermes --version to verify.
The second is the Kanban dashboard not loading. Check the Hermes gateway is running and restart both.
The third is agents showing "blocked". Click the agent and check the API and model settings — usually it's the wrong model assigned.
The fourth is sync issues with Claude. Use Claude Code to debug — see 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 and what I cover in this post. Build a topic-focused site from scratch.
Project 2 — Content cluster
Pick one keyword cluster and have Hermes Kanban build 5-10 pieces of content for that cluster.
Project 3 — Lead magnet white paper
Have Hermes Kanban research and produce a 5,000-word white paper as a lead magnet. Pairs with Auto Research Claw.
Setup Time Reality
Honest numbers on the time investment.
Hermes update to v0.12 takes 5 minutes. Kanban init takes 1 minute. First Kanban create takes 30 seconds for the command. First strategy generated takes 5-15 minutes. First full site build takes 30-60 minutes.
Total to a finished site is 1-2 hours.
What Setup Doesn't Include
You set up the Kanban infrastructure, but you don't get pre-built site templates (Hermes generates them), auto-deploy (set up Netlify separately), or keyword research data (you provide the niche and Hermes finds keywords).
For these, configure separately.
Pairing With Other Tools
Hermes Kanban works alongside Hermes Swarm for multi-agent execution, Hermes Workspace for the UI layer, and Auto Research Claw for deep research integration.
Each adds capability to the base Kanban setup.
Daily Reality After Setup
What it looks like once Kanban is running daily.
In the morning you fire a Kanban create command. By mid-morning the strategy is generated and you review it. In the afternoon you comment to start execution. By evening the site or content is ready for review.
Daily SEO production at scale.
Deploying The Output
Once Hermes builds the site locally, there are two deploy paths.
The manual option is to open Netlify, drag the project folder, and the site goes live. The automated option is to give Hermes your Netlify access token and tell it to deploy — Hermes handles deploy and DNS automatically.
For repeatable workflows, automated deploy wins every time.
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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.
Related Reading
- Hermes Kanban Overview — what Kanban is.
- Hermes Swarm — multi-agent coordination.
- Hermes Workspace — broader Workspace.
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The Hermes Kanban setup is genuinely the easiest way to add project management to Hermes — install Hermes v0.12 today and build your first SEO site this afternoon.