Code & dev helper (offline)

Problem: I want coding assistance on local projects without sending code to cloud APIs.

Setup: qwen3.5-64k via Ollama. Hermes started from repo root.

Use case 1: Scaffold a new docs page

Add a new page docs/best-practices/ollama-tips.md about Ollama
performance tips for Hermes. Follow the style of docs/local-models/ollama.md.
Add it to the sidebar under Best Practices in config.mts.
Run npm run build to verify.

What Hermes does: Reads existing page for style, writes new page, edits config, runs build.

This is the most common task in maintaining this handbook.

Use case 2: Debug a build failure

npm run build is failing in this project. Run it, read the error,
identify the root cause, and fix it. Show me what you changed.

What Hermes does: Runs build, reads stderr, locates broken file/link, fixes, re-runs.

Real example: VitePress failed because theme/index.ts was missing after I created an empty theme folder. Hermes identified the MODULE_NOT_FOUND and suggested creating the file.

Use case 3: Refactor without breaking

In docs/.vitepress/config.mts, the sidebar for "Getting Started"
is getting long. Propose splitting it into two groups:
"Getting Started" and "Local Setup". Show the diff before applying.

Use case 4: Write a utility script

Write a Node.js script scripts/check-em-dashes.mjs that scans all
.md files in docs/ and reports any containing em dash characters.
Run it on this project and show results.

What Hermes does: Writes script, runs it, reports findings. (This is how I cleaned the Claude handbook.)

Limitations (honest)

Works well offline	Struggles offline
File edits, config changes	Novel algorithm design
Build/debug/fix errors	Large codebase refactors
Script generation	Subtle type-system edge cases
Docs and markdown	Needs internet for package/API lookups

For hard problems, I use local Hermes for a first pass, then review carefully.

Tips

• Point Hermes at error output, not just "it's broken."
• Say "show diff before applying" for config changes.
• Qwen 3.5 (qwen3.5:27b) is strong for agentic coding offline.