Use Hermes as your trading research AI: install, register Corrada, connect MCP

Hermes is a local AI agent from Nous Research. Corrada is the market graph it can read: symbols, pairs, filings, headlines, and a backtest playbook. Together they give you a research copilot in the terminal — not a broker, and not investment advice.

This note is the shortest path: install Hermes, create a Corrada account, copy the MCP command, then start asking about strategy and market structure.

What you will have at the end

• Hermes running on your machine with a model you chose
• A free Corrada API key
• The corrada-graph MCP server connected
• A first research question you can paste into Hermes

Official Hermes docs if you want the long version: Quickstart · Installation · MCP

Step 1 — Install Hermes

Pick one path. After it finishes, open a new terminal so hermes is on your PATH.

macOS or Windows: Desktop installer (recommended)

Download and run the installer from the official site:

• Hermes Agent home / docs
• Installation guide
• Desktop app notes

The Desktop install also gives you the hermes CLI. If you already installed CLI-only, you can later run hermes desktop.

Linux / macOS / WSL2 / Android (Termux): CLI one-liner

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

Reload the shell (source ~/.zshrc or source ~/.bashrc), then check:

hermes --help

Windows (native PowerShell)

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

Open a new PowerShell window, then run hermes --help.

Source and extra platform notes: NousResearch/hermes-agent.

Step 2 — Give Hermes a model

Hermes needs a provider before it can talk. The fastest official path is Nous Portal:

hermes setup --portal

That logs you in and turns on a model plus the Tool Gateway. If you already have OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter, or another key, run hermes model instead and follow the prompts.

Then start a plain chat and confirm it answers before adding Corrada:

hermes

Ask something local, such as “What is in this folder?” If that fails, run hermes doctor and fix the model first. Do not add MCP on a broken chat.

Hermes MCP support ships with the standard install. Details: Use MCP with Hermes.

Step 3 — Register on Corrada

Hermes can only see the graph after you have an API key.

1. Open https://www.corrada.io/register.
2. Enter your email, accept the legal terms, and request a code.
3. Set a password and finish signup.
4. You can also sign in later at https://www.corrada.io/login (email or Google).

A free account starts with a monthly graph quota (100 billable calls in the first month). Graph research tools debit that quota. Public /stats does not.

If you already have an account, skip to the next step.

Step 4 — Copy the MCP command and connect Hermes

Do not invent the command. The page writes your real key into ~/.hermes/.env and then runs hermes mcp add.

1. Sign in and open Account → MCP.
2. Choose Hermes. Direct link: https://www.corrada.io/account/mcp/hermes.
3. Click Copy command and confirm your password if asked. That reveals a one-liner keyed to your token.
4. Paste it into the same machine where Hermes is installed and run it.

What the command does:

• Creates ~/.hermes if needed
• Upserts MCP_CORRADA_GRAPH_API_KEY in ~/.hermes/.env (keeps your other env vars)
• Runs hermes mcp add corrada-graph --url "https://www.corrada.io/api/mcp" --auth header

When Hermes asks, enable the discovered tools. Then start a new session (or type /reload-mcp).

Check the server:

hermes mcp list

You should see corrada-graph. If tools are missing:

hermes mcp test corrada-graph

Confirm enabled: true. A 401 means the key is wrong or revoked — go back to the Hermes MCP page and copy a fresh command.

Timeouts: raise timeout / connect_timeout under mcp_servers.corrada-graph in ~/.hermes/config.yaml. Official MCP reference: Hermes MCP docs.

Step 5 — Ask Hermes about markets and strategy

Start Hermes again:

hermes

Talk in ordinary language. Hermes will read the live Corrada graph when the question needs symbols, pairs, filings, news, or a backtest playbook.

Try these first (swap in names you actually care about):

• “What is on the Corrada graph around copper and energy?”
• “Which names move with USO, and which look like pair-research candidates?”
• “Does XLE lead or lag USO on the recent window?”
• “List recent headlines and the latest 10-K / 10-Q extras for COPX.”
• “Help me design a long-only sleeve on lithium miners, then walk-forward a backtest. Ask me which price source to use.”

A working research loop looks like this:

1. Name a real ticker or theme. Do not invent symbols.
2. Write one hypothesis: signal, instrument, entry/exit, and a regime.
3. Download prices, walk-forward parameters, then a final backtest.
4. If the book looks weak, ask Hermes to diagnose the losing windows — observation, explanation, summary, possible fixes.

The longer playbook is here: Recommended usage. Feature map: https://www.corrada.io/features.

If something is off

• hermes not found: new terminal, or re-run the install script.
• Chat works but no graph tools: hermes mcp list and /reload-mcp.
• MCP 401: Copy command again from Account → MCP → Hermes.
• Quota errors: check Account → Usage and Billing. After you change plans, refresh MCP tools so newly unlocked ones appear.
• You want Cursor or Claude Code instead: the same key works from Account → MCP. This note is Hermes-only.

This is a setup guide, not a trade recommendation. A leftover residual or a high correlation is a research clue, not a forecast.