Hermes Agent, Nous Research's open-source self-improving AI agent, just shipped Automation Blueprints (called Automation Templates in the docs) , a library of ready-made, copy-paste automation recipes that replace the blank-page problem of writing cron jobs from scratch. The pitch is simple: instead of staring at a cron expression and an empty prompt, you grab a blueprint, fill in your repo name or Slack channel, and you have a working autonomous workflow in under a minute.

The blank-page problem with agent automation

Hermes has had a built-in cron scheduler since early in its life. Natural language cron scheduling for reports, backups, and briefings runs unattended through the gateway. But knowing the scheduler exists and knowing what to build with it are two different things. Most people who set up an agent never get past a daily weather briefing because the creative lift of designing a useful automation is surprisingly high.

Blueprints solve that. They are opinionated, production-ready prompt templates organized by use case, with the trigger type, delivery target, and agent instructions already filled in. You copy, swap out the variable (a repo name, a URL, a channel ID), and run it.

Three trigger types, one interface

Every blueprint is built on one of three trigger primitives:

• Schedule , runs on a cadence using the cronjob tool or /cron slash command (e.g. every 30m, 0 9 * * 1)
• GitHub Event , fires on PR opens, pushes, issues, or CI results via the webhook platform
• API Call , any external service POSTs JSON to your Hermes endpoint