Do not automate client email first.
Use Hermes manually first. Ask it to read the relevant messages, summarize the client ask, check your calendar, and draft a reply you can approve. This teaches the workflow, exposes routing mistakes, and keeps the agent away from irreversible actions while you are still learning the shape of the work.
Follow the Always-On Agents course path
Follow the complete public course path, install the skills as you go, and use DevelopJoy when you want the workflow wired into your actual VPS.
Prerequisite
Finish Connect Hermes to Google Workspace and Google Cloud first.
Hermes should be able to run read-only Gmail and Calendar commands. Sending and scheduling should still require approval.
The manual operator pattern
The pattern is simple:
This is the workflow you want before a watcher exists. It makes Hermes useful today without pretending every email deserves automation.
Start with one known client
Pick one client or project lane. For example:
Behind the scenes, Hermes can use a Gmail query like:
Then it can read the most relevant message:
The user-facing output should not be a raw email dump. It should be a small triage card.
Use a triage card
Ask Hermes for this format:
Example output:
That shape is easier to approve than a long model-written explanation.
Add Calendar crossover
When the email implies a meeting, have Hermes check the calendar before suggesting times:
The backing command is read-only:
Hermes should return proposed times with timezone:
Still no invite is created until you approve it.
Draft, do not send
A good manual prompt:
Hermes should show:
Only after you say something like “approved, send it” should Hermes call Gmail send or Calendar create.
Keep the reply short
Client replies should usually be shorter than the agent wants to make them.
Bad:
Better:
The point is not to sound like AI. The point is to answer the client and move the work forward.
Add Drive context when useful
If the email references attachments, PDFs, shared docs, logos, or copy, ask Hermes to search Drive before replying:
Read-only Drive search is safe:
Sharing a file is not read-only. If the file is not already shared correctly, Hermes should preview the share action and ask for approval.
What to save from this manual loop
After you do this with a few clients, you will learn:
- Which senders map to which project lanes.
- Which phrases imply a calendar action.
- Which clients need Discord routing.
- Which contacts should never trigger automation.
- Which reply styles are safe to draft automatically.
That becomes the configuration for the automated triage lesson.
Definition of done
You are done when you can ask Hermes to:
- Search recent email for a known client.
- Read the relevant thread.
- Summarize the ask as a triage card.
- Check Calendar before proposing meeting times.
- Draft a short client-facing reply.
- Preview any send or invite action before execution.
Next lesson
Once the manual workflow feels boring, automate the boring part: watch known-client email, dedupe messages, route a triage card into the right Discord channel, and keep the actual send/schedule/Linear actions approval-gated.
Want this adapted to your client lanes?
DevelopJoy can help map your clients, Discord channels, Linear teams, and Google Workspace account into a safe approval-gated email operator.
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