Guard

AI coding app quick start

Hermes quick start

Connect Guard to Hermes so every tool call and MCP request is checked before it runs.

Install GuardBack to install

Prerequisite

Install Guard

If you haven't installed Guard yet, run the install script first. This installs hol-guard via pipx and configures it for Hermes in one step.

Terminal

set -o pipefail; curl -fsSL https://hol.org/guard/install.sh | bash -s -- --harness hermes --mode install --verify

Already have Guard installed? Skip to the harness command below. Full install guide.

Harness command

Attach to Hermes

Terminal

hol-guard install hermes

Guard stays local by default — no account required to protect your first session. Connect Guard Cloud later to sync security records across your devices.

What Guard checks

  • ~/.hermes/config.json and project-level hermes.json
  • declared MCP server entries and tool surfaces
  • linked extension and plugin paths

What install changes

  • Adds Guard hook entries to the Hermes runtime config so Guard runs before each tool call.
  • Wrapper mode stays available as a low-risk fallback while you evaluate coverage.
  • Writes a local security record for every decision so you can review what changed later.

Verification

Confirm the setup before your first protected session.

1

Run the setup command

Start with the Guard command matched to this AI coding app and its setup mode.

Command

hol-guard install hermes
2

Run the next verification commands

Confirm Guard sees the expected config paths before your first protected session.

Command

hol-guard doctor hermes
hol-guard run hermes --dry-run
3

Check your first security record

After Guard records a local decision, open the receipt list to confirm what was scanned.

Command

hol-guard receipts

Safe demo & test protection

Use --dry-run for demos and CI. Guard scans and reports without blocking, so you can show what it catches without interrupting a live session.

Sync to Guard Cloud

Connect Guard Cloud to carry your security records, team memory, and approval history across every machine and teammate — no rebuilding approvals when you switch devices.

Review Guard Cloud plans →

Troubleshooting

Something not working?

  • Guard does not intercept launches

    Run hol-guard doctor hermes and check that the wrapper path matches your installed binary.

  • No security record after the first run

    Check that ~/.hol-guard/ is writable. Guard writes every decision there by default.

  • Cloud sync not reflecting local decisions

    Run hol-guard sync --status to see if Guard Cloud can reach the server. Local protection keeps running even when sync is unavailable.

Approval surface

Guard local approval center (browser, localhost) via preToolUse hook — blocks inline when a new or changed tool needs a decision.

Run command

hol-guard run hermes

Uninstall / revert

Guard leaves no background services. Your approval history stays on disk in ~/.hol-guard/ unless you delete that folder.

Uninstall command

hol-guard uninstall hermes

Current phase notes

  • Hook-based integration requires Hermes config write access. Wrapper mode is the fallback if hooks cannot be registered.
  • Custom Hermes plugin surfaces may not be fully enumerated in v1. Run `hol-guard doctor hermes` to see what Guard resolved.