Applied AI Systems · Field notes
Agents, outside the demo.
Field notes from running AI agents against real infrastructure: deployment, permissions, security, integrations, observability, and failure recovery.
The sequence
Build it. Connect it. Automate it. Constrain it.
01
Published Apr 29, 2026
How to Run Hermes Agent on a UGREEN NAS with Docker
UGREEN said my Hermes container was running. The gateway couldn't read its config. Two user IDs explained the failure—and the fix.
Published Apr 30, 2026
How to Connect Hermes Agent to Home Assistant
Two environment variables and a gateway restart. I said 'turn off all my lights' and they went off two seconds later.
Published Aug 19, 2026
Choosing When Hermes Agent Automations Need an LLM
I use Hermes Agent to interpret and configure automations, then let Home Assistant or a script execute repeatable actions with visible failure states.
04
Planned
Messaging without losing conversation context
05
Planned