Complete Developer & Automation Knowledge Base

Hermes Agent & n8n Engine Master Documentation

Everything you need to know: connect via PuTTY SSH, integrate website webhooks into n8n, deploy OpenAI & Claude AI bots, send WhatsApp/Telegram alerts, and manage project codebases.

1. Editions Compared 2. PuTTY & SSH 3. n8n Engine Guide 4. Website Webhooks 5. AI Bot Nodes 6. WhatsApp & Telegram 7. CLI Commands 8. File Uploads 9. Scaling & FAQ
Section 01

Hermes CLI vs. Hermes Workspace & Dedicated n8n Automation Engine

Comprehensive comparison of interfaces, technology stacks, resource overhead, and primary use cases

💻 Hermes CLI Edition Developers

Best for software engineers who prefer terminal shells, PuTTY, git commands, and ultra-lean RAM usage (<250MB) to debug or write code autonomously.

🌐 Hermes Web Workspace GUI / Teams

Best for users who want a rich browser GUI, visual ChatGPT-like interface, project file explorer, and built-in code diff viewer without touching the command line.

⚡ Dedicated n8n Engine Automation Bots

Best for businesses wanting unlimited website webhook triggers, automated WhatsApp/Telegram lead pipelines, and AI responders with 0 per-task charges.

Feature / Metric Hermes CLI Edition Hermes Web Workspace Dedicated n8n Engine
Primary Interface PuTTY / SSH Shell Web Browser GUI n8n Canvas Workflow GUI
Default Port / Access Port 22 (SSH) Port 443 (HTTPS Web GUI) Port 5678 / Port 443 HTTPS
Base RAM Consumption ~180 MB (Ultra-Light) ~1.2 GB ~350 MB (Docker Engine)
Workflow Execution Limits N/A (CLI Driven) Manual Chat Turns UNLIMITED (0 Task Charges)
Website Webhooks Requires Custom Flask/FastAPI Chat & Workspace API Native 1-Click Instant Webhooks
Included Subdomain & SSL Optional / Direct IP Included Auto Let's Encrypt Included Auto Let's Encrypt
Section 02

First-Time Connection & PuTTY / SSH Setup Guide

Step-by-step instructions for Windows PuTTY, Mac Terminal, and PowerShell login

Where to find your credentials? Once your order is activated by our team, navigate to your Customer Dashboard > Services. Your assigned Dedicated VPS IP address, root username (root), and auto-generated secure password will be displayed.

Method A: Windows PuTTY GUI

  1. Download and run the free PuTTY installer on your PC.
  2. In the Host Name (or IP address) field, enter your assigned VPS IP (e.g. 185.192.96.42).
  3. Verify that Port is set to 22 and Connection Type is set to SSH.
  4. Click Open. When the "PuTTY Security Alert" appears for the first time, click Accept.
  5. When prompted with login as:, type root and press Enter.
  6. Right-click to paste your root password (note: characters will stay hidden for security) and hit Enter. You are now inside your server!

Method B: PowerShell / Mac / Linux Terminal

Open PowerShell on Windows 10/11 or Terminal on macOS/Linux. Run the standard SSH command:

ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP -p 22

When asked Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])?, type yes and press Enter.

Tip: You can save a session in PuTTY with the name "Hermes-VPS" to connect with 1-click next time!
Section 03

Dedicated n8n Automation Engine: Setup & Workflow Fundamentals

How n8n operates in Docker, accessing your visual canvas, and launching workflows

On your dedicated n8n VPS, the n8n automation engine runs containerized via Docker on port 5678, coupled with an automatic Nginx reverse proxy providing a Let's Encrypt SSL certificate.

Step 1

Open Your Subdomain

Visit https://yourname.salutehost.com in your browser.

Step 2

Owner Account Setup

On your first visit, enter your email & create an owner password for your private canvas.

Step 3

Create New Workflow

Click + Add Workflow to begin stringing together triggers and actions.

Understanding the Anatomy of an n8n Workflow

1. Trigger Nodes

The event that starts the flow: an incoming HTTP Webhook from your website, a scheduled Cron timer, a new Telegram message, or a Stripe payment webhook.

2. Processing & AI Nodes

Logic and brains: OpenAI GPT-4o / Claude 3.5 nodes, JavaScript code nodes, IF condition filters, and Vector Knowledge Base lookups.

3. Action & Delivery Nodes

The final output: Sending a Telegram alert, shooting a WhatsApp message, adding a row in Google Sheets, updating CRM, or returning an HTTP response to the visitor.

Section 04

Connecting Any Website to n8n Webhook Triggers

Production code snippets for plain HTML/JS, WordPress, Laravel, and PHP backends

1 Creating the Webhook Node in n8n Canvas

  1. In your n8n workflow canvas, click the + button and search for Webhook.
  2. Set HTTP Method to POST.
  3. In Path, enter your custom slug (e.g. lead-webhook).
  4. Copy the Production URL (e.g. https://yourname.salutehost.com/webhook/lead-webhook).
  5. Click Listen for Test Event and submit your website form once to test the connection.

HTML & Modern JavaScript (Fetch API)

Plain HTML / React / Vue 
// Send website contact form submission directly to your n8n VPS
async function sendLeadToN8n(event) {
    event.preventDefault();
    const payload = {
        name: document.getElementById('name').value,
        email: document.getElementById('email').value,
        phone: document.getElementById('phone').value,
        message: document.getElementById('message').value,
        source_url: window.location.href,
        submitted_at: new Date().toISOString()
    };

    const response = await fetch('https://yourname.salutehost.com/webhook/lead-webhook', {
        method: 'POST',
        headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
        body: JSON.stringify(payload)
    });

    if (response.ok) {
        alert('Thank you! Our AI agent has received your request.');
    }
}

WordPress (Elementor Pro Forms & Contact Form 7)

No Code / 1-Click

For Elementor Pro: In Elementor Form settings, go to Actions After Submit > select Webhook > in the Webhook URL field, paste your n8n Production Webhook URL. Elementor will send all form field keys automatically in clean JSON.

For Contact Form 7: Install the free plugin CF7 to Webhook, paste your n8n URL in the form's Webhook tab, and activate.

Laravel 10 / 11 Backend (Http Client)

Backend Controller / Job 
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Http;

// Trigger n8n workflow asynchronously in background queue
Http::timeout(5)->post('https://yourname.salutehost.com/webhook/lead-webhook', [
    'customer_id' => $user->id,
    'name'        => $user->name,
    'email'       => $user->email,
    'plan'        => 'Hermes Pro VPS',
    'amount'      => 1399,
]);
Section 05

Building Autonomous AI Bots in n8n (OpenAI, Claude, Gemini & DeepSeek)

Connecting LLM credentials, system prompts, intent extraction, and vector databases

Adding AI API Credentials in n8n

  1. In the n8n left sidebar, click Credentials > Add Credential.
  2. Search for Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google Gemini.
  3. Paste your private API key (e.g. sk-ant-... or sk-proj-...).
  4. Click Save. You can now drag AI nodes into any workflow with zero code.

Connecting the "AI Agent" Node

n8n includes an advanced AI Agent (LangChain) node that supports:

  • Memory: Window Buffer Memory to remember conversation history
  • Tools: Calculator, Web Search (SerpAPI), SQL Database Query
  • Vector Store: Connect Qdrant, Pinecone, or Supabase for PDF FAQs

Production System Prompt Template for Website Lead Scoring 

# System Prompt for n8n AI Model Node:
You are an autonomous executive sales AI bot for our website.
Analyze the following customer inquiry received from our webhook:
Customer: {{$json.body.name}} (Email: {{$json.body.email}}, Phone: {{$json.body.phone}})
Inquiry: {{$json.body.message}}

Return a strictly valid JSON object with the following fields:
1. "lead_score": Integer from 1 to 10 (based on purchase intent and urgency).
2. "intent_category": ("High Value Enterprise", "Standard Support", "Partnership", "Spam").
3. "executive_summary": A crisp 2-sentence summary of what the customer is asking.
4. "suggested_reply": A polite, professional email reply draft addressing their specific questions.
Section 06

WhatsApp & Telegram Instant Lead Alert Pipelines

Route website leads to your phone or team sales group in under 1 second

Telegram Bot Integration (2-Minute Setup)

  1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather.
  2. Send /newbot, choose a bot name and username (e.g. MyWebsiteLeadBot).
  3. Copy the generated HTTP API Token.
  4. Find your personal or group Chat ID by messaging @userinfobot or adding your bot to your team group.
  5. In n8n, add a Telegram node, select Send Message, paste your Token & Chat ID.

WhatsApp Automation Pipeline

You can connect WhatsApp using either the official Meta WhatsApp Cloud API node or Twilio WhatsApp node in n8n.

  • Send instant order confirmations & PDF invoices
  • Auto-ping abandoned cart visitors with discount code
  • Interactive reply buttons (e.g. "Confirm Appointment")

Example Formatted Telegram Message Received by Sales Team:

🚨 NEW HIGH-PRIORITY WEBSITE LEAD

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

👤 Name: Rahul Sharma

📞 Phone: +91 98765 43210

✉️ Email: rahul@company.com

🎯 AI Score: 9/10 (High Value Enterprise)

📝 Summary: Wants 5 dedicated n8n VPS instances for agency workflows with immediate rollout.

⚡ Delivered via n8n Webhook in 0.74s

Section 07

PuTTY Terminal & Developer CLI Commands Reference

Essential terminal commands to launch Hermes Agent, switch AI models, and run 24/7 background tasks

1. Running Hermes Agent CLI

# Start interactive conversational session

hermes

# One-shot autonomous instruction

hermes "Audit MySQL database queries and optimize slow indexes"

# Switch LLM model on the fly

hermes --model anthropic/claude-3-5-sonnet

hermes --model openai/gpt-4o

hermes --model deepseek/deepseek-chat

2. Background Processes & Diagnostics

# Keep agents running 24/7 with tmux

tmux new -s bot_session

# Detach from tmux: Press Ctrl+B, then D

# Reattach anytime: tmux attach -t bot_session

# Check running Docker containers (n8n, Redis)

docker ps

# Check server memory & CPU usage

htop

Section 08

File Management, Project Uploads & Daily Backups

Transfer code from your local Windows PC, manage folders, and backup n8n workflows

Method 1: WinSCP (Visual Drag-and-Drop)

WinSCP allows you to browse your VPS filesystem just like Windows File Explorer.

  1. Download and launch WinSCP.
  2. File Protocol: SFTP, Port Number: 22.
  3. Host Name: Your Server IP, User name: root.
  4. Enter root password and click Login.
  5. Navigate to /root/projects/ and drag files across directly from your Desktop!

Method 2: Fast Terminal SCP Command

Upload an entire project directory from your PC in a single command using Windows PowerShell:

scp -r C:\Projects\MyWebsite root@YOUR_SERVER_IP:/root/projects/

To download files from your server to your local PC:

scp -r root@YOUR_SERVER_IP:/root/projects/MyWebsite C:\Backups\
Backing up your n8n workflows: In n8n, you can click on any workflow > select the three dots (⋮) > click Download to save a complete JSON backup to your PC. You can also automate daily GitHub git commits of your /root/.n8n/ folder using a 2-line cron script!
Section 09

Production Scaling, Security & Troubleshooting FAQ

Webhook authentication headers, Redis queue mode, and troubleshooting quick-fixes

In your n8n Webhook node settings, change Authentication from None to Header Auth. Set a secret header key such as X-Webhook-Secret: my_secret_token_123. In your website's fetch/POST request, include this header. Any request sent without the secret token will immediately be rejected with an HTTP 401 Unauthorized.

By default, n8n runs in regular mode which easily handles up to 500 webhooks per minute on our Starter plan. For high-volume flash sales (10,000+ webhooks/minute), enable n8n Queue Mode with Redis. Incoming webhooks are stored in high-speed RAM queues and distributed across parallel worker processes without memory exhaustion.

Log in via PuTTY and run the one-line Docker restart command:

docker restart n8n

Your n8n engine will restart and reload all configurations in under 3 seconds with zero workflow loss.

SaluteHost pre-configures automated systemd timers with Certbot. Your SSL certificate automatically renews every 60 days in the background. You never have to manually update certificates or worry about HTTPS expiry warnings.

Dedicated NVMe Cloud Compute

Ready to Deploy Your Autonomous AI & Automation VPS?

Get started with dedicated vCPU cores, pure NVMe SSDs, PuTTY SSH access, and pre-installed n8n automation engine.

Explore n8n Automation Plans Hermes CLI & Workspace Plans