Curated tools // simple installs // practical learning

Tools worth installing.
No bookmark graveyard.

A plain-English catalog of tools that work well with Hermes, plus technical resources worth learning. Each card gives you the point, the first move, and a copy/paste command when install makes sense.

AI agent coreDeploy / web opsWebsite frameworkSite searchAutomationLocal AILocal AI UIPython tooling

Resource map

Everything interesting enough to earn a spot.

Commands target Linux/WSL unless the card says otherwise. Security tools are for labs, your own systems, or explicitly authorized work. Don’t be a dickhead with scanners.

AI agent coreBeginner

Hermes Agent

The actual agent framework behind Hermie: CLI, desktop, messaging gateway, skills, memory, cron jobs, MCP, tools.

First move:Install Hermes, run the setup wizard, then add one useful integration instead of trying to configure everything at once.

Copy/paste

curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash
hermes setup

Open resource →

Deploy / web opsBeginner

Cloudflare Wrangler

CLI for Cloudflare Pages and Workers. Useful when Hermie needs to deploy, inspect, or debug Cloudflare projects.

First move:Install Wrangler and log in only when you actually need direct Cloudflare CLI control.

Copy/paste

npm install -g wrangler
wrangler login
wrangler whoami

Open resource →

Website frameworkBeginner

Astro

Fast static/content-driven sites. This is what askhermie.dev is built with.

First move:Use Astro for docs, catalogs, project pages, and clean static sites before reaching for heavier app frameworks.

Copy/paste

npm create astro@latest my-site
cd my-site
npm run dev

Open resource →

Site searchBeginner

Pagefind

Static search for sites like this. Perfect for a searchable Hermes skill catalog without needing a backend.

First move:Add it after the resources/skills pages have enough content to search.

Copy/paste

npm install -D pagefind
npx pagefind --site dist

Open resource →

AutomationBeginner

n8n

Visual workflow automation with AI integrations. Good for glue jobs: alerts, webhooks, email, GitHub, forms, and agent triggers.

First move:Run it locally with Docker, build one tiny workflow, then decide if it deserves a server.

Copy/paste

docker volume create n8n_data
docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n

Open resource →

Local AIBeginner

Ollama

Runs local models on your machine. Useful for private/offline experiments and local AI tooling.

First move:Install it, run a small model, then connect tools later. Do not start with giant models.

Copy/paste

curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh
ollama run llama3.2

Open resource →

Local AI UIIntermediate

Open WebUI

Self-hosted AI chat UI that can sit in front of local or remote model backends.

First move:Only install after Ollama or another backend works. Otherwise you debug two things at once, which is dumb.

Copy/paste

docker run -d -p 3000:8080 -v open-webui:/app/backend/data --name open-webui ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main

Open resource →

Python toolingBeginner

uv

Fast Python package/project tool. Good default for modern Python scripts, tools, and quick experiments.

First move:Use uv for new Python projects instead of hand-rolling virtualenv pain every time.

Copy/paste

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
uv --version

Open resource →

Python CLI appsBeginner

pipx

Installs Python command-line tools into isolated environments. Cleaner than polluting system Python.

First move:Install pipx once, then use it for tools like mitmproxy and mpremote.

Copy/paste

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y pipx
pipx ensurepath

Open resource →

Command helpBeginner

tldr-pages

Short practical command examples. Good when man pages are too much bullshit.

First move:Install it and try tldr against commands you already use.

Copy/paste

npm install -g tldr
tldr tar
tldr ssh

Open resource →

Sysadmin referenceReference

The Book of Secret Knowledge

Huge collection of commands, tools, one-liners, and practical technical references.

First move:Bookmark it. Do not try to read the whole thing. Use it when solving a specific problem.

Copy/paste

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/trimstray/the-book-of-secret-knowledge.git ~/tools/the-book-of-secret-knowledge

Open resource →

HomelabReference

awesome-selfhosted

Massive catalog of self-hosted services. Useful for picking homelab projects and internal tools.

First move:Pick one category, not fifty. Start with monitoring, notes, dashboards, or automation.

Copy/paste

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted.git ~/tools/awesome-selfhosted

Open resource →

MonitoringBeginner

Netdata

Fast observability dashboard for Linux systems. Good for learning what “normal” system behavior looks like.

First move:Install on a lab box or VM first, not production.

Copy/paste

wget -O /tmp/netdata-kickstart.sh https://get.netdata.cloud/kickstart.sh
sh /tmp/netdata-kickstart.sh

Open resource →

Automation / sysadminIntermediate

Ansible

Automates Linux/network/server configuration. Very relevant to systems engineering work.

First move:Use it to automate one boring repeated setup task. Do not start by redesigning the company.

Copy/paste

pipx install --include-deps ansible
ansible --version

Open resource →

Cyber learningBeginner

PortSwigger Web Security Academy

Free interactive web-security labs from the Burp Suite people. High signal, practical, legal.

First move:Start with SQL injection, XSS, and authentication labs before touching weirder topics.

Copy/paste

# No install. Open the labs:
# https://portswigger.net/web-security

Open resource →

Defensive securityReference

OWASP Cheat Sheet Series

Concise defensive guidance for common appsec topics. Good for “how should this be secured?” questions.

First move:Use it as a reference when building or reviewing apps/APIs.

Copy/paste

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/OWASP/CheatSheetSeries.git ~/tools/owasp-cheatsheets

Open resource →

IoT security labIntermediate

OWASP IoTGoat

Deliberately vulnerable IoT firmware for safe IoT security practice.

First move:Clone it and read the docs before trying to emulate or exploit anything.

Copy/paste

git clone https://github.com/OWASP/IoTGoat.git ~/labs/IoTGoat

Open resource →

Firmware analysisIntermediate

Binwalk

Finds and extracts embedded files from firmware images. Core tool for firmware exploration.

First move:Install it, then practice on known-good sample firmware before random router images.

Copy/paste

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y cargo
cargo install binwalk

Open resource →

Firmware emulationAdvanced

Firmadyne

Framework for emulating and dynamically analyzing Linux-based firmware.

First move:Treat this as a later lab. Start with Binwalk and file-system extraction first.

Copy/paste

git clone https://github.com/firmadyne/firmadyne.git ~/tools/firmadyne

Open resource →

Reverse engineeringAdvanced

Ghidra

NSA’s reverse-engineering framework. Useful for binaries, firmware components, and malware analysis labs.

First move:Install Java, download Ghidra, then start with small binaries — not random BIOS blobs.

Copy/paste

# Windows: download the latest release zip:
# https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra/releases
# Linux: install Java first:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y openjdk-21-jdk

Open resource →

Reverse engineeringAdvanced

radare2

Powerful CLI reverse-engineering toolkit. Not beginner-soft, but useful once basics click.

First move:Install it later, after Ghidra/Cutter feel less alien.

Copy/paste

git clone https://github.com/radareorg/radare2.git ~/tools/radare2
cd ~/tools/radare2
sys/install.sh

Open resource →

Reverse engineering GUIIntermediate

Cutter

GUI reverse-engineering platform powered by Rizin. Friendlier than raw CLI reversing.

First move:Use Cutter when you want a GUI path into reversing before deep CLI work.

Copy/paste

# Easiest path: download AppImage/installer from releases:
# https://github.com/rizinorg/cutter/releases

Open resource →

ESP32 developmentIntermediate

ESP-IDF

Official Espressif IoT development framework. Serious ESP32 work eventually ends up here.

First move:Start with examples. Confirm hello-world builds before touching Wi-Fi/BLE weirdness.

Copy/paste

mkdir -p ~/esp
cd ~/esp
git clone --recursive https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf.git
cd esp-idf
./install.sh esp32
. ./export.sh

Open resource →

MicrocontrollersBeginner

MicroPython + mpremote

Python on microcontrollers plus a CLI to talk to boards. Great beginner bridge into embedded work.

First move:Install mpremote, plug in a board, and run a tiny script.

Copy/paste

pipx install mpremote
mpremote connect list

Open resource →

Maker learningBeginner

Adafruit Learning System

Practical electronics, microcontroller, sensor, and maker tutorials.

First move:Pick one small hardware project and finish it before buying a drawer full of cursed modules.

Copy/paste

# No install. Open tutorials:
# https://learn.adafruit.com/

Open resource →

ESP32 projectsBeginner

Random Nerd Tutorials ESP32

Step-by-step ESP32 guides with code and diagrams. Good for practical build momentum.

First move:Start with one sensor + one web-server example.

Copy/paste

# No install. Open project list:
# https://randomnerdtutorials.com/projects-esp32/

Open resource →

Web/API debuggingIntermediate

mitmproxy

Intercepting HTTP(S) proxy for debugging APIs, mobile apps, and web traffic in controlled labs.

First move:Use it on your own traffic first. Certificate setup is the annoying bit.

Copy/paste

pipx install mitmproxy
mitmproxy --version

Open resource →

Network discoveryBeginner

Nmap

Network scanner for inventory and service discovery on systems you own or are authorized to assess.

First move:Use it on your own LAN/lab only. Start with safe discovery flags.

Copy/paste

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y nmap
nmap -sn 192.168.1.0/24

Open resource →

Vulnerability scanningIntermediate

ProjectDiscovery Nuclei

Template-based scanner. Excellent in authorized environments, easy to misuse if you are careless.

First move:Install it, update templates, and only scan assets you own/have permission for.

Copy/paste

go install -v github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei/v3/cmd/nuclei@latest
nuclei -update-templates

Open resource →

ReconIntermediate

Subfinder

Passive subdomain discovery. Useful for authorized recon and asset inventory.

First move:Use it against your own domains first.

Copy/paste

go install -v github.com/projectdiscovery/subfinder/v2/cmd/subfinder@latest
subfinder -version

Open resource →

HTTP probingIntermediate

httpx

Fast HTTP probing toolkit. Pairs naturally with subdomain discovery.

First move:Pipe known-good hostnames into it and inspect what is actually alive.

Copy/paste

go install -v github.com/projectdiscovery/httpx/cmd/httpx@latest
httpx -version

Open resource →

Web fuzzingIntermediate

ffuf

Fast web fuzzer for authorized labs and testing. Good for learning how discovery works.

First move:Use it only in labs or on systems you have permission to test.

Copy/paste

go install github.com/ffuf/ffuf/v2@latest
ffuf -V

Open resource →

Security wordlistsReference

SecLists

Common wordlists used in security testing. Useful, but also easy to use irresponsibly.

First move:Clone it locally for lab use. Do not spray random internet targets.

Copy/paste

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/danielmiessler/SecLists.git ~/tools/SecLists

Open resource →

Security referenceReference

PayloadsAllTheThings

Payload and bypass reference for web security learning and authorized testing.

First move:Use as a reference while doing structured labs, not as a “spray this everywhere” cookbook.

Copy/paste

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/swisskyrepo/PayloadsAllTheThings.git ~/tools/PayloadsAllTheThings

Open resource →