Teknium Announces Hermes Slim-Down: Built-in Integrations Move Out of Core into Plugins
Teknium of Nous Research disclosed on September 18 a set of architecture and style changes for the open-source Hermes model framework: the core direction is slimming down—moving built-in integrations out of the core codebase into plugin-based distribution—while the model's style will shift closer to Pi than OpenClaw.
Confirmed
- The first step is removing all built-in Memory providers from the Hermes core code, to be maintained by their creators in their own org repos and distributed via a newly launched plugins catalog; Teknium called this removal a trial run for this kind of refactor.
- Motivations given by Teknium include: reducing user confusion, preventing users unfamiliar with the project from wandering into non-primary paths, and curbing core code bloat.
- Discoverability was previously the biggest problem for standalone plugins; with the plugins catalog now live and all built-in integrations already converted to bundled plugins months ago, Hermes can gradually stop shipping these integrations with every install.
- The team is working with memory providers such as Honcho and mem0 on the best way to auto-migrate users to standalone plugins without breaking their configuration; related discussions are happening on Discord.
- On model style, Teknium explicitly said Hermes will be shaped closer to Pi's style, moving away from an OpenClaw-like style.
Why it matters
- For those tracking personalization and style tuning in open-source models, Hermes pivoting toward Pi-style is a notable signal; the community (e.g., reposter @wstonebd) has also shown interest in Hermes' future positioning.
- Decoupling the core library from third-party integrations and distributing via a plugins catalog is a common governance evolution for open-source frameworks, directly affecting existing users' upgrade and migration paths; the user migration plan is still being explored and not yet finalized.
2026-09-18 ~ 2026-09-18 · 8 related posts
Primary sources
- Teknium: Hermes will lean toward Pi-style, away from OpenClaw — Teknium · 2026-09-18
- [source] Teknium: Hermes to become more like Pi, bundled Memory providers moved out of core — Teknium · 2026-09-18
- Hermes to pull integrations out of core into maintainer-owned repos, Teknium explains — Teknium · 2026-09-18
- Nous Research's Teknium moves Hermes integrations out of core into maintainer-owned plugins — Teknium · 2026-09-18
- [source] Hermes Launches a Plugins Catalog, Moving Bundled Integrations to Third Parties — Teknium · 2026-09-18
- [source] Hermes Works With mem0 and Honcho to Migrate Users to Standalone Plugins — Teknium · 2026-09-18
- Teknium clarifies lean-core plugin architecture and memory provider migration plans — Teknium · 2026-09-18
- Teknium: Hermes will lean toward Pi, not the OpenClaw direction — wstone_bd · 2026-09-18