Hermes Kanban Vs Hermes Swarm: When To Use Which

Hermes Kanban vs Hermes Swarm — both are multi-agent systems but they're for different things, and after running both for months I've got a clear view of when to pick which.

This post is the comparison. What each one does, when to use which, and how to combine them for the most powerful Hermes setup.

Quick Verdict

Hermes Kanban wins for big multi-stage projects, visible task tracking, long-running workflows you can comment on, and SEO website builds.

Hermes Swarm wins for concurrent agent work, auto-routed missions, specialised role-based teams, and multi-agent coordination via Aurora.

For most users, you'll use both for different things.

What Hermes Kanban Is

Project management interface for Hermes. You give it a goal, the goal becomes a Kanban task, and tasks move through stages from Backlog to To Do to In Progress to Review to Done.

You see what's happening and you can comment to direct.

I cover Kanban setup in Hermes Kanban Setup.

What Hermes Swarm Is

Multi-agent coordinator. You give Aurora (orchestrator) a mission, Aurora deploys multiple sub-agents (Builder, Reviewer, Triage, etc.), and they work in parallel on the mission.

I cover Swarm in Hermes Swarm.

Side-By-Side Comparison

Feature	Hermes Kanban	Hermes Swarm
Purpose	Project management	Multi-agent execution
Visibility	Task board	Office view
Granularity	Tasks	Agents
Best for	Long projects	Coordinated missions
User interaction	Comments	Aurora prompts
Workflow	Sequential through stages	Parallel agent work

Different tools, different jobs.

When Hermes Kanban Wins

Specific scenarios where Kanban is the right call.

1 — Multi-stage long projects

Building a 50-page SEO website is a Kanban project. Each stage is a Kanban task and you see status, comment to direct.

2 — Iterative work

You build something, comment to refine, comment to expand. Kanban tracks all of this naturally.

3 — Visual project tracking

If you're a Trello/Kanban person, this matches your mental model. For visual project people, Kanban wins.

4 — When you need to pause/resume

Kanban tasks persist, so you can come back later without losing state.

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When Hermes Swarm Wins

Specific scenarios where Swarm is the right call.

1 — Single coordinated mission

"Research plus write plus review this content" — one mission with multiple agents working at once. Swarm handles this natively.

2 — Time-sensitive parallel work

Need 5 things done by tomorrow morning? Swarm parallelises.

3 — Goal-based interaction

You set the destination and Aurora plans the route. For high-level direction, Swarm wins.

4 — Auto-routing

You don't want to manage individual tasks. Swarm auto-routes between sub-agents.

How To Combine Them

The smart play is to use both together.

Use Kanban for the project

Set up your big project in Kanban — for example, "Build AI SEO website."

Use Swarm for individual tasks

Within the project, individual tasks become Swarm missions. For example, "Write content for cluster X" deploys Aurora plus Writer plus Reviewer.

Comment to direct both

Use Kanban comments to direct overall direction. Use Aurora prompts to direct mission execution.

This is the most powerful Hermes setup.

Real Example: SEO Website Build

How I'd use both for a 50-page SEO site.

Kanban level

Task 1 is strategy planning (uses Auto Research Claw or solo agent). Task 2 is content cluster generation (uses Swarm). Task 3 is on-page SEO optimisation (uses Swarm). Task 4 is internal linking (uses Swarm). Task 5 is deploy plus indexing.

Swarm level (within tasks)

For Task 2 (content cluster), Aurora is the orchestrator. The Researcher sub-agent handles data. The Writer sub-agent handles drafts. The Reviewer sub-agent handles QA. The Optimiser sub-agent handles SEO refinement.

Kanban gives me project visibility. Swarm gives me execution power. Both layered together.

Common Mistakes

Four mistakes worth avoiding.

Using Swarm when you need Kanban. If your project has clear stages over time, use Kanban — Swarm is for single missions.

Using Kanban for trivial tasks. Don't put a one-step task in Kanban. Single-agent or Swarm is faster.

Trying to use them separately. For most real work, you need both. Combine.

Skipping commenting. Kanban shines when you direct via comments. Don't just set and forget — guide it.

Setup Differences

Kanban setup is hermes kanban init and you're done.

Swarm setup is update Hermes Workspace, install swarm plugin, click "Add swarm" in Workspace.

Kanban is faster to set up. Swarm is more orchestration-heavy.

Time To First Result

For a typical SEO content task.

Kanban takes 30-60 minutes to finished — set up task, wait for execution, check, comment, iterate.

Swarm takes 10-20 minutes — give Aurora the mission, Aurora orchestrates, sub-agents execute in parallel.

For speed, Swarm wins. For control plus iteration, Kanban wins.

What Each One Doesn't Do

Honest limits.

Kanban can't auto-coordinate multiple agents in real time (each task equals one agent typically) and can't run massively parallel work.

Swarm can't track multi-stage projects over days and can't easily handle iterative direction.

Use them for what they're good at.

My Personal Setup

For full transparency. Big projects use the Kanban front-end. Within projects, Swarm handles execution. Ad-hoc tasks go through Swarm direct. Quick chats go to single-agent Hermes Workspace.

Layered approach. Right tool for right task.

Daily Reality

What it looks like. In the morning I review Kanban projects and decide today's missions. Mid-morning I fire Swarm missions for individual tasks. In the afternoon I comment on Kanban tasks to direct iteration. In the evening I review completed tasks and queue tomorrow's.

Combined power.

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FAQ — Hermes Kanban vs Swarm

Should I use both?

For most users, yes.

Which is easier to learn?

Kanban — visual project management is intuitive. Swarm has a learning curve for orchestration.

Can they share data?

Limited — Kanban tasks can reference Swarm outputs.

Can I run them simultaneously?

Yes — concurrent operation works.

Which uses more resources?

Swarm typically — parallel agents mean more compute.

Is one better for SEO?

Both work for SEO. I use Kanban for site builds and Swarm for individual content batches.

Which should I start with?

Kanban — easier mental model.