Hermes Agent Kanban Setup Guide (Multi-Agent Task Board)

Summary

This video introduces the Cananban task board for Hermes agents, a collaborative platform where multiple specialized agents work together in real time. Unlike traditional orchestrator agents that delegate tasks to unreliable sub-agents, Cananban allows named agents with defined roles, improving quality and oversight. The tutorial walks through updating Hermes, creating agent profiles, setting API keys, and executing tasks, exemplified by researching AI funding trends. Viewers see the workflow in action, including session management and workspace organization. The video also explores use cases like solo projects, multi-agent pipelines, and crash recovery, highlighting Cananban as a hands-on, game-changing tool for structured, high-quality multi-agent collaboration.

Takeaways

• 😀 Cananban is a collaborative task board for Hermes agents, allowing multiple named agents to work together in real time.
• 😀 Unlike traditional orchestrator agents, Cananban agents have defined roles and provide higher-quality outputs than sub-agents.
• 😀 Each agent profile in Cananban must be created individually using `Hermes profile create [role]` and can be customized with its own configuration.
• 😀 Profiles do not inherit API keys from the main Hermes agent; each profile needs its own API key setup.
• 😀 The Hermes gateway must be started (`Hermes gateway start`) to enable communication between agents and the dashboard.
• 😀 Tasks are assigned to specific profiles, and the Cananban dashboard allows real-time tracking of progress and logs.
• 😀 Completed work is saved in the Cananban documents folder, separate from the profile directories, ensuring clear separation of data.
• 😀 Cananban enables specialization, turning agents into role-specific experts rather than generalists.
• 😀 There are four primary use cases: solo development, fleet farming, multi-role pipelines with retries, and circuit breaker & crash recovery.
• 😀 The tool provides a hands-on approach to task completion, superior quality assurance, and detailed process tracking compared to delegating tasks to sub-agents.
• 😀 Initial setup can be cumbersome, especially with multiple profiles, but the system is more effective for complex projects and structured workflows.
• 😀 Cananban is particularly useful for generating structured outputs, such as research reports, and integrates web searches to fetch live data.

Q & A

What is the Cananban task board in the context of Hermes Agent?

The Cananban task board is a live collaborative dashboard for Hermes Agent that allows multiple named agents to work together on projects in real-time, providing a structured multi-agent workflow with defined roles, unlike traditional orchestrator agents that delegate tasks to sub-agents.

How does Cananban differ from a typical orchestrator agent using sub-agents?

Unlike orchestrator agents that delegate tasks to often unreliable sub-agents, Cananban provides specialized agent profiles that collaborate in a structured way, improving task quality, transparency, and accountability.

What is the first step before using the Cananban task board?

The first step is updating the Hermes Agent to the latest version to ensure compatibility with the Cananban features.

Why do you need to create profiles for agents in Cananban?

Profiles define specific roles for agents, allowing specialization in tasks. Each profile maintains its own API keys and configurations, which ensures that the agents work independently and do not rely on the main orchestrator's environment.

How do you start the Hermes gateway required for Cananban?

You start the Hermes gateway by running the command `Hermes gateway start`, which launches the gateway and necessary services for task execution and agent communication.

What happens if a task is completed but does not appear in the workspace?

Completed tasks may not appear in the workspace if the user checks the wrong directory. In Cananban, outputs from worker logs are stored under the `canban` folder rather than under profiles, which ensures proper separation of data.

How can you resume a session for a specific agent profile?

You can resume a session by first listing sessions for a profile using `Hermes sessions list --profile <profile_name>`, then using `Hermes -profile <profile_name> -resume <session_id>` to continue the session.

What are the four main use case stories for Cananban?

The four main use cases are: 1) Solo dev shipping a feature, 2) Fleet farming with multiple assignees and schemas, 3) Multi-role pipelines with retries, and 4) Circuit breaker and crash recovery for complex tasks.

Why is Cananban considered better for quality assurance compared to sub-agent delegation?

Cananban allows agents to work in specialized roles with detailed logs and transparent progress tracking. Unlike sub-agents, which mainly hand in tasks with minimal QA, Cananban ensures agents go in-depth and maintain higher output quality.

What is a recommended approach when starting with Cananban for new users?

New users should start simple, using one profile to handle a small task, such as generating a markdown report, before scaling up to multiple agents or integrating APIs. This ensures understanding of the workflow without being overwhelmed.

How does Cananban handle research tasks using external sources?

Agents in Cananban can perform web searches and use accessible online resources, like TechCrunch, to gather current data for research tasks. The collected information is then synthesized into structured reports with metadata.

What challenges did the presenter mention about using Cananban?

The presenter noted that initial setup is cumbersome, requiring manual creation of profiles and commands to resume sessions. There is also a slight learning curve to locate where task outputs are saved and to manage multiple agent profiles efficiently.