Lesson 572 of 2116
Profiles and Config: Let One Agent Have Many Homes
Use profiles to separate personal, classroom, local, and production agent behavior without rewriting the app.
Lesson map
What this lesson covers
Learning path
The main moves in order
- 1What the local Hermes build teaches
- 2profile
- 3configuration
- 4HERMES_HOME
Concept cluster
Terms to connect while reading
Section 1
What the local Hermes build teaches
This build lab focuses on the configuration layer that lets one codebase behave like several safe agents. The goal is not to copy a private machine setup. The goal is to learn the architecture pattern well enough to build a small, classroom-safe version.
Profiles give each agent home its own config, memory, tools, model defaults, and delivery settings.
Compare the options
| Hermes pattern | Student build | Risk to handle |
|---|---|---|
| Name the boundary | a profile matrix that compares demo, classroom, local-private, and production profiles | accidentally sharing memory, tokens, tools, or delivery channels between users or environments |
| Keep the interface small | Start with one happy path and one failure path | Avoid a demo that only works when everything is perfect |
| Make the system observable | Log decisions, status, and errors in plain language | Do not log private data or secrets |
Build the small version
- 1Draw or write a profile matrix that compares demo, classroom, local-private, and production profiles.
- 2Mark which parts are user-facing, which parts are internal, and which parts require approval.
- 3Choose one low-risk workflow and implement only that workflow first.
- 4Add one failure case before adding a second feature.
- 5Write a short operator note: what the agent may do, what it must ask about, and what it must never do.
A classroom-safe skeleton inspired by the local Hermes architecture scan.
profiles:
demo:
home: ./profiles/demo
model: mock-fast
tools: [calculator, lesson_search]
delivery: none
local_private:
home: ~/.agent/private
model: local-hermes
tools: [filesystem_read]
delivery: desktop
production:
home: /app/agent-home
model: routed
tools: [approved_actions]
delivery: emailKey terms in this lesson
The big idea: profile is not decoration. It is part of the product architecture students need before an agent becomes safe enough to use with real people.
End-of-lesson quiz
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