IDuh Genius

Agent Big Head · Early release

Your own Big Head. In your own Discord.

I’m an AI agent. I run on your computer through Hermes Agent and talk with you in Discord. You set me up and you keep the keys. Your chats go to Discord and the model you pick, not to IDuh Genius.

Set me up in Discord Read the safety notesSee the pack on GitHub
  • Runs on your computer
  • Your own Discord bot
  • About 30 minutes
  • Pack v0.1.1

Prefer a more buttoned-up agent? Try GeniusHQ.

Agent Big Head, a smiling character with a swirling blue, violet and orange head traced with constellations, holding out an open hand.

02What he is

An AI agent that lives on your computer.

Messages travel between Discord, your computer and your model provider, and to web search services when he searches. IDuh Genius isn’t in this path.

Discord

Where you talk with him. The bot is your own Discord application.

Yours

Your model provider

The AI model that does his thinking. Your account, your bill. Claude and Codex are the main providers we mean here. Hermes works with many others.

  • Claudefrom Anthropic
  • Codexfrom OpenAI
Yours

Web search services

Used only when he searches the web.

IDuh Genius

Not in the picture. We don’t run your Big Head, and the pack doesn’t send anything to us.

  • An AI agent.

    He talks, searches the web, reads images and keeps notes and a to-do list. Out of the box he can’t run commands or touch your files.

  • On your computer.

    He runs through Hermes Agent and talks with you in Discord.

  • Early.

    Setup takes a terminal. There’s no hosted version, and no app to download from us.

03What you’ll need

Five things, before you start.

  • A computer

    A Mac with an Apple chip, a Linux computer, or a Windows PC, switched on whenever you want him around. He’s online only while it is.

  • Discord

    A Discord account, and a server you own or manage (you need the Manage Server permission). You can make a new one.

  • A model provider

    An account with a provider that runs his model, most likely Anthropic (Claude) or OpenAI (Codex). You pay them directly, usually by usage.

  • About 30 minutes

    Most of it is waiting for installs and clicking through Discord’s developer portal.

  • A terminal

    Comfort pasting commands into one. Mac and Linux also need git, curl and tar, and Windows can fetch git on its own.

04Set him up

Seven steps, one at a time.

Each step shows what you should see and what to do if you don’t. His profile is named bighead, and the commands below use that name. If your terminal can’t find it, type hermes -p bighead in its place.

Agent Big Head giving a thumbs up beside a folded route map and a compass.

  1. Step 1: Install Hermes Agent

    Run Nous Research’s own installer. To read the script first, open its address (install.sh, or install.ps1 on Windows) in your browser. The pack needs Hermes Agent v0.22.5 or later, and the installer fetches the latest.

    Mac, Linux, or Windows with WSL2

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

    Windows PowerShell

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

    Then open a new terminal window, or reload your shell, and check the install. In PowerShell, skip the first line. In bash, including a WSL2 window, run source ~/.bashrc instead of it.

    Then check

    source ~/.zshrc
hermes doctor

    You should see A report on your install, with anything missing and how to fix it.

    If not

    If your terminal says hermes: command not found, close it, open a new window and try again. Still not found? Check that the installer’s folder is on your PATH.

  2. Step 2: Add the Big Head pack

    The pack is what makes a Hermes Agent Big Head: his persona and starting settings that limit his tools. It installs as its own profile, so anything you’ve already set up in Hermes stays as it is.

    Every system

    hermes profile install github.com/joshuajudd-usa/agent-big-head-hermes --alias

    Packs are unsigned, so you’re trusting the host and the author. Read SOUL.md and config.yaml at github.com/joshuajudd-usa/agent-big-head-hermes before you start him. This page describes version 0.1.1 (commit d9dcd4d). Hermes installs what’s current in that repository and can’t pin a version yet, so check the version it shows before you confirm. The pack comes from that repository, not from this site.

    You should see The pack’s name, version, author and the settings it needs, then a question asking you to confirm. It will list your Discord bot token and your Discord user ID as still needing to be set. That’s expected: you set both in step 5.

    If not

    The --alias flag creates the short command bighead. If it isn’t found, use hermes -p bighead from here on.

  3. Step 3: Choose his model

    His intelligence comes from a model provider you pick and pay directly. Choose a model with at least 64K of context, because Hermes rejects smaller ones. Pick your provider (Anthropic for Claude, OpenAI for Codex, or another) and use its API key, or choose Nous Portal, Hermes’s own sign-in. We don’t recommend signing in with a plan meant for a provider’s own chat app, because some providers’ terms bar third-party apps from using them.

    Every system

    bighead model

    You should see A menu of providers. Pick one, then paste your API key or sign in.

    If not

    If Hermes says the model is too small, pick one with a context window of 64K or more.

  4. Step 4: Create your Discord bot

    Big Head runs on your computer, so the Discord bot he speaks through is yours: you make it, you own it, and only you can add it to a server. You do this part in your browser, at the Discord Developer Portal.

    1. Open discord.com/developers/applications and click New Application. Name it, accept Discord’s terms, and click Create. Copy the Application ID from the General Information page for step 5.
    2. Open the Bot tab, click Reset Token, and copy the token right away. Discord shows it once, and it’s a password.
    3. On the same tab, under Privileged Gateway Intents, turn on Message Content Intent and Server Members Intent. Without Message Content, he stays offline.
    4. Turn Public Bot off, so only you can add him to servers. Then click Save Changes.
    A schematic of the Bot tab, not Discord’s own screen. The numbers match the list.

    Want him to have a face? Pick a profile picture below the steps and upload it on the same Bot tab.

    You should see An application whose Bot page shows both intents on and Public Bot off, with the token copied somewhere safe until the next step.

    If not

    If Discord won’t let you turn Public Bot off, open the Installation tab, set Install Link to None if it offers that option, and try again.

  5. Step 5: Connect Discord and add him to your server

    Hermes asks for the bot token and for who’s allowed to talk to him. Choose Discord, paste the token from step 4, and allow your own Discord user ID. The token stays in a file on your computer.

    To find your user ID first: in Discord, open Settings, then Advanced, and turn on Developer Mode. Then right-click your name and choose Copy User ID.

    Every system

    bighead gateway setup

    Then add him to your server. Open this link with your Application ID in place of APP_ID, pick your server, and click Authorize. Skip the invite link the setup prints and use this one. It asks only for what he needs: viewing channels, reading history, sending messages and embeds, attaching files, adding reactions and using threads, plus slash commands. Never give him the Administrator permission.

    Invite link

    https://discord.com/oauth2/authorize?client_id=APP_ID&scope=bot+applications.commands&permissions=309237763136

    You should see Hermes checking the token and the intents, then confirming Discord is set up. After the invite, the bot appears in your server’s member list, offline until step 6.

    If not

    With no allowed ID he connects and ignores everyone, so run the command again and add yours. If your server isn’t listed on the invite page, you need the Manage Server permission on it.

  6. Step 6: Start him

    This runs him in the foreground. He’s online while the terminal window stays open, and Ctrl+C stops him.

    Every system

    bighead gateway

    To keep him running in the background instead, install him as a service and start it:

    Every system

    bighead gateway install
bighead gateway start

    The service is a user service on Linux, a launchd service on macOS, and a scheduled task on Windows. Check on it any time with bighead gateway status. On Windows with WSL2, background services can be unreliable: Hermes recommends running bighead gateway run in a terminal there instead.

    You should see The bot in your server turn from offline to online.

    If he stays offline

    Check that Message Content Intent is on (step 4), then run bighead doctor and bighead gateway status.

  7. Step 7: Say hello

    Send him a direct message. He answers every DM without a mention. In a server, @mention him: he opens a thread and keeps answering there without another mention.

    You should see A reply from Big Head.

    If not

    He ignores anyone who isn’t on his list, so check that your user ID is there (step 5). In a server he answers when you @mention him, then keeps answering in the thread he opens.

Give him a face (optional)

Pick a profile picture for your bot. Each one is a square, so Discord can round it into a circle without cutting him off. Save the picture to your computer. Then open your application in the Developer Portal and upload it on the Bot tab. The General Information tab has an app icon too, if you want him to look the same there. Click Save Changes.

The Intelligence Big Heads

Same Big Head, four new colors.

Use these as the picture for your own Big Head bot, and for nothing else. Agent Big Head and his look belong to IDuh Genius. They are 1,024 by 1,024 pixels, except the close-up, which is 512 by 512.

05Keep him safe

Run him with care.

Agent Big Head with a skeptical look beside a microphone and a switch.

On from the start

  • Web search
  • Reading images
  • Questions back to you
  • Memory
  • A to-do list
  • Past-chat search

Off until you turn it on

  • Terminal
  • Files
  • Code
  • Browser
  • Subagents
  • Scheduled jobs

  • Allow only yourself.

    Put only your own ID on his allowed list. Everyone on it can use every tool he has, and Hermes’s docs don’t say who may press an approval button, so assume anyone on the list can. The pack makes him ignore strangers.

  • Keep him out of public servers.

    Use a server you control, and tell its members he’s there. Every message in a thread he’s in goes to your model provider.

  • Memory is shared.

    Whatever he saves, and anything from his earlier chats that he searches, can come back in any conversation, including in a server channel. He saves without asking, so don’t tell him what you wouldn’t want repeated in another channel. You can ask him what he remembers, and tell him to forget anything.

  • Set a spending limit.

    Most providers bill by usage, so every message costs money. Set a limit with yours: Hermes has no spending limit of its own. He uses his tools for at most 30 rounds per message, then wraps up with a reply. That keeps one message from running on and on, but it doesn’t cap what you spend. He’s also told to ask before spending money or deleting anything. That’s his own rule, not a lock.

  • Your bot token and model API key are passwords.

    They live in his profile’s .env file on your computer and never in the pack. If one leaks, reset it at its source: reset the token in the Discord Developer Portal, or revoke the key with your provider.

  • You can stop him any time.

    Press Ctrl+C in the terminal where bighead gateway is running. If you installed him as a background service, run bighead gateway stop, or see Hermes’s gateway guide.

If you give him more tools

bighead tools can switch on more tools in Discord, such as a terminal or files. Then he can run commands and change files on this computer. Before you do that:

  • Give him his own folder.

    Make a folder for his work, and set terminal.cwd in his config.yaml (in ~/.hermes/profiles/bighead/) to its full path, so he doesn’t start in your home folder.

  • Approvals only catch some things.

    Hermes asks before commands it rates as risky, such as recursive deletes, but not before every file change or every line of code he runs. Read what you approve.

  • Keep approvals yours alone.

    Put only your own ID on his allowed list. Hermes’s Discord guide doesn’t describe a separate approver setting.

  • Use a sandbox.

    For real isolation, run his commands inside Docker; see Hermes’s security guide. The pack’s deny list is a seatbelt, not a sandbox.

06What’s ours and what isn’t

Who makes which part.

  • Hermes Agent

    Open-source software made by Nous Research. IDuh Genius isn’t affiliated with Nous Research and doesn’t control or support Hermes Agent.

  • Discord

    Discord’s. Your bot is your own Discord application, and you’re responsible for it under Discord’s terms. IDuh Genius isn’t affiliated with Discord.

  • The model

    Your provider’s, most likely Anthropic’s Claude or OpenAI’s Codex. It runs on your account and your bill. IDuh Genius isn’t affiliated with Anthropic or OpenAI.

  • The Agent Big Head pack

    Ours. It holds his persona and starting settings that limit his tools.

IDuh Genius receives no conversations. We don’t run your Big Head, and the pack sends nothing to us. Your messages go to Discord, to the model provider you chose, and to any service a tool uses, such as a web search provider. This page has no analytics. For how Hermes handles data, read Hermes’s FAQ.

07Questions

Quick answers.

Can he run commands or read my files?

Not out of the box. In Discord he has only web search, image reading, questions back to you, memory, a to-do list and a search of his past chats. You can switch on more with bighead tools, but read the warnings above first.

What does it cost?

Hermes Agent is free, open-source software. You pay your model provider directly, usually by usage, so the bill depends on the model and on how much you talk. We don’t charge for the pack today.

Do I need an IDuh Genius account?

No. You can install and use Big Head without one.

What happens when my computer sleeps?

He’s online only while Hermes is running on your computer. When it sleeps or shuts down, he goes quiet. Running him as a background service (step 6) saves you from starting him by hand, and Hermes’s docs describe other ways to keep him up around the clock.

How do I update him?

Run hermes profile update bighead. It refreshes his SOUL.md, and your config.yaml, .env, memories and chats stay as they are. That means new safety settings don’t arrive on their own. When a release changes them, the pack’s changelog says so, and hermes profile update bighead --force-config takes them. It replaces your config.yaml. Update Hermes itself with hermes update.

How do I remove him?

Run hermes profile delete bighead. Hermes asks you to type his name to confirm. It then permanently deletes his profile: his memories, chats and settings, and the bot token and API key saved in his .env. It also removes his command and any background service. To remove the bot itself, delete the application in the Discord Developer Portal.

08Help

Stuck? Tell us.

Every message goes to support@iduhgenius.com, and our own Agent Big Head, an AI agent we run, reviews it. That isn’t the Big Head on your computer. If the problem is inside Hermes itself, its docs and hermes doctor are the quickest route.

Contact us