Connect Hermes Agent

Who this is for

Hermes Agent is an open-source AI agent from Nous Research. You can run it in your terminal, in the Hermes Agent desktop app, or as a bot in chat apps such as Slack and Telegram.

This guide is for you if you use Hermes Agent and want it to work with G2X. When you're done, Hermes Agent can find opportunities, research companies and awards, read solicitation documents, and update your G2X watchlist, pipeline and CRM, all as your G2X account.

What you need

• A G2X account. GovCon MCP is included on every G2X plan, from Community Edition through Enterprise. There is no MCP add-on. Your account permissions and plan limits apply. Compare plans for the details. New to G2X? Sign up free.
• Hermes Agent, a current version. These steps were checked against Hermes Agent v0.22.1.
• A web browser to sign in to G2X. If Hermes Agent runs on another machine, see "If Hermes Agent runs on a server" in Step 3.

Hermes Agent connects to G2X at this address:

https://mcp.g2x.com/mcp

Step 1: Install or update Hermes Agent

If you don't have Hermes Agent yet, install it. On Linux, macOS or WSL2, run:

$ curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash

On Windows, run this in PowerShell:

iex (irm https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.ps1)

You can also download the Hermes Agent desktop app from the Hermes Agent website.

If you already have Hermes Agent, update it first:

$ hermes update

Check your version with hermes --version. Desktop app installs update from the app itself.

Step 2: Add G2X to Hermes Agent

Choose one way. Both add a server named govcon that signs in with G2X's own registration. You can choose another name.

Option A: commands

Run these in your terminal:

$ hermes config set mcp_servers.govcon.url https://mcp.g2x.com/mcp$ hermes config set mcp_servers.govcon.auth oauth$ hermes config set mcp_servers.govcon.oauth.cimd false$ hermes mcp login govcon

The last command opens your browser so you can sign in (Step 3).

Option B: edit config.yaml

Open ~/.hermes/config.yaml and add G2X under mcp_servers:

mcp_servers:  govcon:    url: "https://mcp.g2x.com/mcp"    auth: oauth    oauth:      cimd: false

Save the file. Then, in a new terminal window, run:

$ hermes mcp login govcon

Use a new terminal window, not a running Hermes Agent session: a running session waits only briefly, which may not be long enough for you to finish signing in.

cimd: false tells Hermes Agent to register with G2X directly. Keep it: without it, current Hermes Agent versions try a sign-in method G2X does not use.

Research only (optional)

To connect without the tools that change your account, use the research address instead:

mcp_servers:  govcon:    url: "https://mcp.g2x.com/mcp/research"    auth: oauth    oauth:      cimd: false

This leaves out account-changing tools. It does not grant additional access to data.

Step 3: Sign in with your G2X account

1. A G2X sign-in page opens in your browser. Sign in with your G2X account, then choose Allow to connect your account to Hermes Agent. If you're already signed in to G2X in that browser, you see only the Allow step.
2. Return to your terminal. Hermes Agent finishes connecting.

Hermes Agent keeps your sign-in on your computer and renews it on its own. If it stops working, run hermes mcp login govcon and sign in again.

If Hermes Agent runs on a server

If Hermes Agent runs on another machine, such as a cloud server, your browser can't send the sign-in back to it directly. Use one of these:

• Paste the address back. Run hermes mcp login govcon on the server. Open the sign-in link it prints in your browser and sign in. Your browser then shows a connection error; that's expected. Copy the full address from the browser's address bar and paste it where Hermes Agent asks for it.
• Forward the port. Connect to the server with SSH port forwarding for the port Hermes Agent names, then sign in as usual. Hermes Agent's guide to sign-in on remote hosts has the details.

Do not paste tokens or credentials into a conversation.

Step 4: Check that it works

Run:

$ hermes mcp test govcon

Hermes Agent connects, lists the G2X tools it found, and exits with code 0 when the connection works.

Then start a chat:

$ hermes chat

Type /tools list to see the G2X tools. Hermes Agent shows each one with a mcp__govcon__ prefix, for example mcp__govcon__g2x_search_opportunities.

Now ask a question:

Look up [Company Name or UEI] in G2X.

Hermes Agent should call G2X's company search, g2x_search_companies (shown as mcp__govcon__g2x_search_companies). It may first call g2x_calibrate_session to read your company profile. G2X answers with links to its records, so you can open the source behind an answer.

What you can ask

Each example below is from the GovCon MCP tool reference. The tool is the one G2X uses to answer it.

A recompete match is not a confirmed recompete. See what you can ask for more.

To teach Hermes Agent everyday capture and business development work, add the GovCon skill. Hermes Agent loads skills from ~/.hermes/skills/: download the skill as a ZIP and copy the whole govcon-mcp folder there. Keep the references folder next to SKILL.md.

Troubleshooting

• A one-shot hermes -z answer says G2X tools are unavailable. Use hermes chat instead; tools can load a moment after start.
• The G2X tools don't appear. Run hermes mcp test govcon and read what it reports. Check that the address is https://mcp.g2x.com/mcp, not a G2X web page: an HTML reply means the address is a web page. Check that the server isn't set to enabled: false and that a tools: include list doesn't leave G2X tools out. After you change config.yaml, type /reload-mcp in Hermes Agent or start a new session.
• Hermes Agent keeps asking you to sign in, or reports 401. Your sign-in is missing or has ended. Run hermes mcp login govcon from a new terminal window and sign in with your G2X account. If Hermes Agent runs as a bot in a chat app, it can't open a browser for you: sign in once from a terminal and the bot picks up the new sign-in.
• The sign-in page doesn't open, or times out. Hermes Agent waits 5 minutes for you to finish. If Hermes Agent runs on another machine, use one of the ways in "If Hermes Agent runs on a server" in Step 3.
• "You've reached your plan's limit". G2X answers 429 when you reach a limit, with a message that names the limit and when to try again, for example "You've reached your plan's limit of 30 requests a minute. Try again in 2 seconds." Wait that long. A 403 with not_entitled means your plan doesn't include that tool. See the error guide.
• "G2X is busy right now." The request didn't run. Try again after a few seconds.

Still stuck? Contact G2X support with the error and the version of Hermes Agent you use. Do not include tokens or private document text.

• Signed in, but every G2X tool answers 401. Check that your G2X server has oauth: cimd: false (Step 2), then run hermes mcp login govcon again. Without that line, current Hermes Agent versions use a sign-in method G2X does not accept.

Limits and privacy

• Account access. Every tool call needs sign-in and runs as your G2X account. It can read and change only what that account can access.
• Research or account actions. The full connection can include CRM, watchlists, saved searches and pipelines. For research without account-changing tools, use https://mcp.g2x.com/mcp/research. Those tools are not listed or callable on the research connection.
• Analysis is different from reading. Listing documents and reading existing text do not start analysis. Preparing documents can open a workspace; extraction and qualification start analysis runs.
• Keep sensitive information out of prompts. Records and document text returned to a connected agent become available to that agent. Follow your organization's rules for sharing information and the agent's own data policies. Do not paste credentials into a chat or configuration example.
• Usage limits. G2X account allowances and the agent's own limits apply. Check G2X plans for access and the error guide when a request is refused. MCP access is not a bulk-data export entitlement.
• Pace. Each plan sets a number of requests a minute shared by all of an account's connections: up to 30 on Community Edition, 60 on Starter, 120 per person on G2X Professional and 300 per person on Enterprise.
• Usage. Searching and reading G2X data doesn't use your Lumen usage, within fair use.
• Check the source. A summary may cover only part of the solicitation package. Read the full package and amendments before making a pursuit decision.
• Where Hermes Agent keeps your sign-in. Hermes Agent stores it in ~/.hermes/mcp-tokens/govcon.json, readable only by your user account on that computer. (From Hermes Agent's docs.)

Review the G2X privacy policy and member guidelines.

Steps checked against Hermes Agent's MCP guide and MCP config reference.

Keep going

• What you can ask
• Install the GovCon skill
• Use the GovCon CLI with coding agents
• G2X MCP documentation hub