Lonely Octopus presents the Hermes Workshop, live with ex-Meta data scientist Tina Huang
Your Custom Hermes AI Agents.
Running On Your Machine.
Join Tina live for a two-hour, follow-along build. You'll leave with a working Hermes agent with memory, tools, skills and scheduling, running on hardware you control. Hermes is an open-source agent from Nous Research that gets better the more you use it. No coding experience required.
Join the workshop
Hi friend!
If you want your very own custom AI agent that actually works for you, but you don't know where to start…
If you've followed a personal AI agent tutorial, watched the demo work once, then closed the tab and never opened it again…
If you're tired of explaining your context to a blank chat window every single morning…
Then I've got exciting news for you!
In this workshop, I'm going to show you exactly how to build your very own Hermes AI agent from scratch.
I'm not only going to tell you how. I'm going to build one (actually multiple) LIVE to prove you can do this in under two hours.
This includes choosing where your agent lives, giving it memory that survives, connecting it to real tools and putting it on a schedule.
And you don't even need coding experience.
Whether you're an experienced developer or have never written a line of code…
This system will take you from nothing to working AI agents running on your own machine in under two hours.
A system that gets better every week, because Hermes writes its own skills as it learns how you work.
Before you know it…
You'll have an agent that knows your context and does real work while you sleep.
A personal agent that helps you run your life, an in-house agent your team leans on at work, or a small fleet of them working in parallel on whatever you point them at.
Right now, we're witnessing the greatest revolution in software since it was first invented.
A divide is forming between the people who use AI and the people who have AI working for them.
By the end of this workshop, you'll be in the tiny camp who don't just use AI, but own it, running on their own machine, getting better every day.
Now before I share more details…
Let me introduce myself
Hi, I'm Tina.
You probably know me from my YouTube channel or emails.
I'm an ex-Meta (Facebook) data scientist with a 1.3M+ AI and Tech YouTube channel. My first project was with Google's BERT at the University of Pennsylvania for my Computer Science Master's in 2018. (That was back when getting an AI model to speak a few lines of Shakespeare was considered groundbreaking…)
In 2020 I joined Meta, first on Oculus at the Facebook Reality Lab, then Instagram in 2021 where I built AI models for their content policing algorithms. After leaving to focus on YouTube in 2022, I launched Lonely Octopus, an AI education company where students have gone from complete beginners to landing jobs at the biggest AI companies in the world.
Why I got hooked on Hermes
I tried a bunch of different ways to build agents over the last year. Some were great. But I kept running into the same problem.
I didn't want another complicated system I had to babysit.
I wanted something that could actually learn how I work. Something where I don't have to spell everything out every single time, because it already knows my context and my patterns and what good looks like for me.
That's what got me hooked on Hermes. It builds its own skills as it goes, so it genuinely gets better the more you run it.
The agent you finish the workshop with is the worst version of it you'll ever have.
I now have multiple agents running on Hermes, across both my company and my own life.
TakoBot
Our team's AI COO. It tracks what's due, what's stuck, and what was agreed in a meeting. It keeps the team honest without anyone manually chasing things, and it runs in the background all the time. The number of things falling through the cracks has dropped dramatically.
LifeBot
My productivity and health agent. It knows my patterns: when I do my best work, when I'm running on empty, when I've been pushing too hard. It doesn't give me generic advice. It gives me advice based on what's actually happening with me.
Coder
My autonomous coding agent. I describe what I want, it plans the work, writes the code, tests it, and pushes it without me sitting there watching. Things that used to sit in my backlog for weeks because I didn't have a free afternoon now get built overnight. The bottleneck stopped being my time and started being how fast I can decide what to build.
Plus all the unglamorous stuff. The automations, the daily digests, the recurring tasks that used to live in my head.
Now, this didn't happen overnight. It took time to set up, time to debug, and a fair amount of time working out what was actually worth automating and what wasn't.
Which is the entire reason this workshop exists.
You're not getting my year of trial and error. You're getting the two hours at the end of it: the path I'd take if I were starting again on Saturday morning, with all the dead ends already removed.
I think a lot of people are much closer to this than they realize. They just need someone to show them the route.
So I asked the people on this list what they'd want Hermes to help them with. Their replies are what shaped this workshop.
This is the result.
Introducing
The Hermes Workshop
The Hermes Workshop is a LIVE workshop where I show you exactly how to build your own AI agent from scratch in under two hours!
This includes everything from deciding where your agent lives to giving it memory, tools, skills and a schedule.
I'm doing this LIVE to show that you can really do it in this time.
You'll have an entire system to take you from nothing to your own agent running on your own machine.
By the end of the weekend, you could have an Hermes agent doing real work for you while you sleep, and be in the tiny camp of users who don't just use AI, but own it.
Now before I share exactly what we'll be covering…
Let me be clear on limitations:
In just two hours, you won't have a production system serving thousands of other people. To do that requires additional technical knowledge to build infrastructure able to handle that kind of workload, and we won't be writing custom software from scratch.
Instead, what you will have in under two hours are real Hermes agents running on your own machine, that you understand well enough to keep extending long after the session ends.
With that out the way…
The build
Here's what we're covering
We work through the workshop in three parts from a shared checklist, so the room stays together and nobody gets left behind.
Getting set up
First, where does your agent actually live?
- Your options for where to run it: your own computer, a server you rent, or a machine set aside for the job and how to pick the one that fits you
- How to get everything installed and talking to each other, with your model connected and responding
You finish this part with a working setup and a permanent home for your agent.
Building your first agent
We build one from its parts, so you understand what each piece does and can swap any of them later without breaking the rest.
- How to choose the model that does the thinking, and add cheaper ones for the jobs that don't need the expensive one
- The best way to talk to your agent, through the chat apps you already use, terminal, dashboard, or the desktop app
- How to connect it to real tools so it can browse, read your files and act on things, instead of just talking about them
- How to teach it new skills, including the ones it writes for itself after watching how you work
- How to give it memory that survives, so you stop re-explaining your context every morning
- How to schedule tasks, so the work happens whether or not you remember it
You finish this part with a complete agent that does something genuinely useful for you.
Running several agents at once
We go from one agent to a multi-agent system that works in parallel.
- How to set up multiple agents with different jobs: some that stick around, some spun up for a single task and thrown away
- How to watch their work move across a shared board, so you can see what each one is doing
- How to hand over one large task and have it split into pieces and distributed automatically
You finish with a multi-agent system that takes a goal and works out the steps itself.
Who this is for
Builders of personal agents
People who want an agent supporting their daily life, their work, or their team.
People who want control
If you want more say over where your agent, memory and data live, including the option to run models locally, this is built for that.
The Hermes-curious
Anyone who wants to go deeper on Hermes and what it can actually do. No coding experience required.
Here's what you'll walk away with:
- Lifetime access to the recording and slides
- The follow-along build checklist we work from, across all three phases
- A setup guide sent before the workshop so you arrive ready to build
The workshop will be hosted live on Saturday October 3rd at 9:30am ET.
But slots to join are ONLY available to buy until Sunday the 20th of September at 11:59pm ET.
We want to spend most of our time getting you set up and making this the best workshop possible, not selling it, so doors are only open for a few days.
Now as this is our first ever paid online Hermes workshop,
We're also including a few additional gifts.
Included when you join
Three additional gifts
Bonus 1: The Curated Resource Pack
Everything you'd otherwise have to piece together yourself, gathered in one place. Which models work well and how to pick one that fits your hardware. Where to find tools and integrations worth adding. Notes on running your agent on a VPS, a Raspberry Pi, or dedicated machine like a Mac Mini if you want it somewhere other than your laptop.
It also includes a short setup guide, so you arrive on the day with Hermes installed and your model connected, and we can start building in the first minute.
Bonus 2: $100 off the next Lonely Octopus Bootcamp
If you want to go further after the workshop, you'll get $100 off the AI Bootcamp, our 28-day program on building more advanced multi-agent systems.
Every bootcamp we've run has sold out in under 48 hours, so this gives you both a price break and a reason to watch for the date.
Bonus 3: 100 Things To Build With Hermes
Once you've built your first agent, the hard part isn't the building anymore. It's deciding what to build next. The world is your oyster! So we've put together 100 ideas to build out your Hermes setup after the workshop, split across your personal life, your job, your team, and your hobbies.
Each one comes with a difficulty rating and the tools it needs, so you know which to try first and what to set up.
What's the Investment?
What you get by joining the Hermes Workshop
- Access to the live two-hour Hermes Workshop held on Saturday October 3rd at 9:30am ET
- The follow-along build checklist we work from, across all three phases
- The setup guide sent before the workshop, so you arrive ready to build
- Bonus #1: The Hermes Resource Pack
- Bonus #2: $100 discount off the next Lonely Octopus Bootcamp
- Bonus #3: 100 Things To Build With Hermes
- Lifetime access to the recording and slides
- 7-day money-back guarantee, starting the day the workshop ends, no questions asked
Spots are available until Sunday the 20th of September at 11:59pm ET.
Tina's Lonely Octopus Guarantee
Come prepared with the setup listed above and follow along with the workshop, and I guarantee you'll leave with your own working AI agent.
On the off chance you don't, or you decide building agents just aren't for you, you can get a full refund within 7 days of the workshop concluding.
Just email contact@lonelyoctopus.com and you'll have your money back within 48 hours.
Your Questions Answered
What exactly is the Hermes Workshop?
It's a live 2-hour workshop where you build your own custom Hermes AI agent, step by step, alongside everyone else. We work through a follow-along checklist in three phases: getting set up, building a complete agent from its components, and then running multiple agents together.
Do I need coding experience?
No. We work mostly through the Hermes Desktop app, so you won't need to spend the session in a terminal. It runs on macOS, Windows and Linux. If you do code, you'll have more room to customize, but it isn't required.
What do I need before the session?
All you need is a laptop, a stable internet connection, and about 10 minutes to complete a simple setup before the workshop. We'll send you a short recorded walkthrough ahead of time so you can come ready to build with us.
Can I keep my data private?
Yes. One of the great things about building your own local AI agents is that you can choose how private you want your setup to be. During the workshop, we'll show you how to use open-source technology and walk you through different options so you can choose the setup that works best for you.
Why does it matter where the agent lives?
Because an agent that only exists inside a browser tab disappears the moment you close it. Deciding where it runs, whether that's your computer, a VPS or a dedicated machine, is what makes it something that keeps working on a schedule instead of a demo you ran once.
What if I can't attend live?
You'll get lifetime access to the recording and slides, along with the build checklist, so you can work through the whole thing at your own pace.
How is this different from the AI Agent Bootcamp?
The Hermes Workshop is a focused 2-hour build of a personal agent running on your own machine. The AI Agent Bootcamp is a comprehensive 28-day program covering more advanced multi-agent systems in much greater depth. Think of this as the fastest way to get something real running.
Is there a guarantee?
Yes. If you decide it isn't for you, email contact@lonelyoctopus.com within 7 days of the workshop concluding and you'll get a full refund within 48 hours. No questions asked.
What can I build after the workshop?
Once you understand the basics, you can use Hermes to build all kinds of personal AI agents for your daily life and work, from productivity and research to recurring tasks and everyday workflows.
Not sure what to build first? Check out our 100 Things to Build With Hermes Guide for ideas and inspiration.
What People Who’ve Joined
Lonely Octopus Programs Say
“I’ve already recommended it to many people! Enrolling in the bootcamp was a big decision for me at the time, especially considering my financial situation, but I have ZERO regrets. I’ve learned immensely and have gained confidence in my ability to bring value in the AI space. I’m also really happy I got to experience what it’s like to take a course with the Lonely Octopus (only caveat: now I’ll want to join all your courses ). Thanks again, I can’t wait for the next one!”
— Minaya, Digital Marketer
“Everything was well-presented and easy to follow on your end! Thank you for all your effort, detailed answers, and the lighthearted and engaging conversations. I especially appreciate that you designed the workshop to be effective even for self-paced study!”
— Filip, Senior Software Engineer
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— Florian, Head of AI
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Before I started, my AI agent journey felt a bit like fumbling around in the dark—exciting, but unclear and a little overwhelming. I wanted to move beyond theory and start building real, practical AI solutions for nonprofits. This boot camp gave me exactly what I needed: a clear roadmap, hands-on projects, and a community of thoughtful, curious peers.
If you are even halfway serious about learning to build AI agents and are debating whether to sign up, here's my advice: DO IT. This boot camp is NOT easy, but it's incredibly rewarding. It positions you at the cutting edge of AI and gives you skills you can put into practice right away. It didn't just teach me about AI—it made me fluent enough to start making a bigger impact in my field.”
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This bootcamp provided a step by step guidance starting from how to think about an Agent, tools that can be integrated to an agent to augment its capabilities, frameworks for guardrailing an Agent, prompt engineering and deploying the AI application to cloud.
I highly recommend this bootcamp for anyone interested to learn and build AI agent applications from scratch.”
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The Bootcamp's "no code" option was perfect. The boot camp allowed me to observe others building agents and gain insight into the thought process behind their design. The hands-on exercises were at just the right level.
I found the class to be a great experience. I just wish it could have kept going! :) I highly recommend it to anyone in my position.”
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“Before the bootcamp, I was fascinated by AI agents but felt like I was looking at them through a foggy window - I could see the potential but couldn't quite grasp how they actually worked or how to build them myself. I was looking for that "aha moment" where theory would finally click into practice.
The bootcamp was like having a master craftsman guide me through building my first AI agent project. I learned so much on the bootcamp, starting from the fundamental building blocks - like properly setting up a virtual environment (creating a clean workspace for each project) - through to having a fully functional agent that could access storage and maintain memory. The progression over the weeks was logical and systematic, which really appealed to how I learn best. Each concept built naturally on the previous one, creating a solid foundation that made the more advanced topics feel achievable rather than overwhelming.
The biggest breakthrough for me was gaining the confidence to think of myself as someone who can actually build AI agents, not just read about them. It's like the difference between watching someone cook and actually being able to prepare a meal yourself. The bootcamp transformed AI agents from this mysterious, woo-woo concept into something I could understand, deconstruct, and rebuild. I walked away with both the technical skills and the mental framework to approach agent development systematically.
So, if there’s anyone who’s sitting on the fence about joining the upcoming bootcamp, I would say jump in and enjoy the challenge - it's a lot of fun! If someone in their 60s who has made the career change from nursing can grasp these concepts and build working agents, then anyone with curiosity and determination can do it too. The bootcamp breaks down complex ideas into digestible pieces, and there's something incredibly satisfying about watching your first agent come to life.
Don't let the technical aspects intimidate you - the Lonely Octopus team create a supportive environment where learning feels like a fun adventure. The future is being built by people who understand AI agents, and this bootcamp gives you the tools to be part of that future.”
— Paul, Junior Software Developer
“I have been working as a full stack developer for 20+ years.
Before starting the AI Agent Bootcamp I was following online tutorials and creating some agents. I remember watching a YouTube video from Tina, where she was explaining what AI Agents were and I got fascinated with the way she explained it. When I found out about the Bootcamp, it was a no-brainer for me. The idea behind starting the bootcamp was to get a solid and structured understanding about AI Agents and what we could accomplish with them. And Tina and the team delivered! I not only understood the process, but I also discovered peers with incredible ideas to learn from. So the gain was double.
I have been sharing the link to Tina's videos and mentioned about the bootcamp to everyone feeling lost with AI and concerned about their jobs. To them, if there were to join the bootcamp, I would say: read all the material, do all the assignments, ask questions and connect with your peers. Once you have done that, build, build, and build :)”
— Dani, Application Specialist
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— April, Cybersecurity Professional
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— Jihui, Analytical Scientist
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— Jacky, Software Engineer
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— Jinjing, Data Analyst
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— Shelby, AI Applications Designer
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— Khally, Business Owner
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So, you'll be able to use your learning immediately, but you won't get yourself into trouble by thinking you're more knowledgeable than you are.”
— Lucymarie, R&D Engineer
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