Quickstart

SEAOTTER is the managed control plane for Hermes Agent. Create an always-on agent on Google Cloud, poll until it is running (typical wall time: a few minutes), then operate it without SSH. Full definition: What is SEAOTTER?.

Provision, pause, and operate Hermes on Google Cloud — no VPS, no installer to watch.

Pick a path:

Recommended: connect from chat (MCP)

Use your hosted Hermes agent from Claude, Cursor, or Codex without leaving the chat window.

Open seaotter.dev/connect (signed in).
One-click Add to Cursor — or copy the Claude / Codex command.
Paste the onboard prompt into chat.

→ seaotter.dev/connect · MCP reference

Alternative: API / scripts (curl)

Create an account at seaotter.dev.
Open Settings → API keys (org admin required).
Create a key and copy the secret once. It looks like so_….

Store it in your shell (never commit it):

export SEAOTTER_API_KEY='so_…'
export SEAOTTER_API='https://api.seaotter.dev'

2. List agents

curl -sS "$SEAOTTER_API/api/v1/agents" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEAOTTER_API_KEY" | jq .

3. Create an agent

curl -sS -X POST "$SEAOTTER_API/api/v1/agents" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEAOTTER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"first-hermes","resource_plan":"starter"}' | jq .

You get a 201 with status: "provisioning" almost immediately. Provision continues asynchronously.

4. Poll provisioning stages

AGENT_ID='<id from create response>'

while true; do
  curl -sS "$SEAOTTER_API/api/v1/agents/$AGENT_ID" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEAOTTER_API_KEY" \
    | jq '{status, stages: .config.provisioning_stages}'
  sleep 3
done

Stages run in fixed order until wizard_reachable is ok and status becomes running. See Provisioning lifecycle for status meanings.

What is SEAOTTER? — category definition
Self-host vs managed — when to keep the VPS
Connect from chat (MCP) — Claude, Cursor, Codex
Authentication — API keys vs Clerk JWTs
API reference — interactive try-it against production
Upstream Hermes docs — tenant runtime, not the control plane

How long until the agent is running?

Typical wall time is a few minutes (usually under five) while namespace, Helm, pod, DNS, and dashboard gates complete. Poll config.provisioning_stages until wizard_reachable is ok. Details: Provisioning lifecycle.

Do I SSH into the box?

No. Pause, restart, restore, secrets, and credentials go through the dashboard or API. See What is SEAOTTER?.

Is this seaotter.ai?

No. These docs are seaotter.dev (managed Hermes hosting). seaotter.ai is a different OtterScore product.

Get started

Connect from chat

Concepts

Recommended: connect from chat (MCP)

Alternative: API / scripts (curl)

2. List agents

3. Create an agent

4. Poll provisioning stages

Next

​Recommended: connect from chat (MCP)

​Alternative: API / scripts (curl)

​1. Sign up and create an API key

​2. List agents

​3. Create an agent

​4. Poll provisioning stages

​Next

Recommended: connect from chat (MCP)

Alternative: API / scripts (curl)

1. Sign up and create an API key

2. List agents

3. Create an agent

4. Poll provisioning stages

Next