Hermes MissingNo is a free stealth model for Hermes Agent, and this page explains every feature of it, how to switch it on and how it scored in my own tests.
MissingNo is a coding and agentic reasoning model that Nous Research announced on 10 October 2026.
It's free for a limited time on Nous Portal, which is the model portal Hermes Agent plugs into.
The lab that built it hasn't been named, so it's a stealth release.
My short verdict is that it's fast, free and very good at the /learn command, but only moderate at coding.
It's not a frontier model, and it won't replace Claude Opus 5.5.
My MissingNo video isn't public yet, so the video above is my Solar Mini 4 walkthrough, which shows the same Hermes Cloud free-model list.
Hermes MissingNo Verdict At A Glance
These are my own ratings from setting it up and testing it, and they aren't a lab benchmark.
| Feature | My score | One-line verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 5 out of 5 | It's free today, and it's hard to beat free. |
| Setup | 4.5 out of 5 | You type "missing" in the model section and pick it. |
Skills and /learn |
4.5 out of 5 | It created a skill really well and fast. |
| Tool calling and speed | 4 out of 5 | It was quick at calling agentic tools. |
| Coding | 2.5 out of 5 | A simple game took about five minutes and it isn't frontier level. |
| Transparency | 2 out of 5 | The maker, the size and the benchmarks aren't published. |
| Staying power | 2 out of 5 | It's free for a limited time, with no end date given. |
| Overall | 3.5 out of 5 | It's a strong free agent brain and a weak main coder. |
🔥 Want my exact Hermes MissingNo Explained setup, step by step? Inside the AI Profit Boardroom you get step-by-step video trainings, my installable Agent OS and four coaching calls a week with 3,400+ members building real automations. → Join the AI Profit Boardroom
What MissingNo Is
MissingNo is a stealth AI model that you can run as the brain of Hermes Agent.
Hermes Agent is the open-source agent from Nous Research, and it runs whichever model you set on a profile.
The name is a Pokémon reference, because MissingNo, short for "missing number", is the glitch Pokémon from the original games.
Nous Research played along, and their announcement post opened with "Wild MISSINGNO. appeared!".
I checked the facts against Nous Research's own post and the Nous inference API on 12 October 2026.
| Spec | What's published |
|---|---|
| Released by | Nous Research made it available on Nous Portal on 10 October 2026. |
| Built by | The lab hasn't been announced. |
| Described as | It's described as a coding and agentic reasoning model that is highly token efficient. |
| Model ID | The API lists it as stealth/missingno. |
| Context window | The API lists 262,144 tokens. |
| Maximum output | The API lists 131,072 tokens. |
| Input types | It takes text only. |
| Tool support | It supports tool calling, parallel tool calls and structured outputs. |
| Reasoning | Reasoning is always on, with low, medium, high, xhigh and max levels. |
| Price | The API showed zero for input and output. |
| Parameter count | This isn't published. |
| Official benchmarks | I couldn't find any. |
I've said in my video that it might be Nous Research's own model.
That is a guess, and I'd treat it as nothing more than that.
For the wider picture, my post on Hermes Agent by Nous Research explains the company.
Feature 1: Price And The Stealth Window
The score is 5 out of 5 for price.
MissingNo is free on Nous Portal right now.
Nous Research said it's free for a limited time.
They didn't say how long, and stealth models often disappear or come back with a price.
So the price is perfect, and the promise is short.
That's why "staying power" gets a low score in my table.
Feature 2: Setup In Hermes Cloud
The score is 4.5 out of 5 for setup.
Setting it up took me a couple of minutes.
- Go to portal.nousresearch.com/cloud and click Deploy.
- Log in to Nous Portal.
- Click Create agent.
- Open Manage agents and click on your agent.
- Click Open dashboard.
- Open the model section.
- Search "Nous Research", or type "missing".
- Pick the stealth model.
- Reload and start chatting.
You can also tell Hermes to configure Hermes Cloud for you, and it will change the setting itself.
It loses half a point because you have to remember to reload before the new model kicks in.
Feature 3: Running It As A Hermes Profile
This feature belongs to Hermes, and MissingNo fits it neatly.
I keep one profile per model inside my Agent OS.
I've got a Step 5 Preview profile, which is another free model, and a MissingNo profile next to it.
Each profile has its own model, settings and memory.
On your own machine, hermes profile create missingno makes the profile and hermes -p missingno opens it.
If the model doesn't appear in your picker, hermes model --refresh re-fetches every provider's live model list.
Feature 4: The /learn Command And Skills
The score is 4.5 out of 5 for skills.
This was the standout.
The /learn command points Hermes at a source and turns it into a reusable skill.
MissingNo did it really well, and it did it fast.
It created the skill and told me the path where it was stored.
For an agent model, that's a meaningful pass, because skills are how Hermes gets better over time.
🔥 Want my full Hermes skills and model-testing setup? Inside the AI Profit Boardroom, I've got Hermes Agent training and the Agent OS with its Hermes tab, with step-by-step videos on profiles, skills and free models. You'll be learning alongside 3,400+ members with four coaching calls a week. → Get access here
Feature 5: Tool Calling And Speed
The score is 4 out of 5 for tool calling.
MissingNo was fast at calling agentic tools.
The API listing backs that up on paper, because it shows tool calling and parallel tool calls.
Hermes Cloud models also respond quickly in general, because they're hosted.
I haven't measured tokens per second, so I'm not going to quote a number.
I can only tell you that it felt quick in real use.
Feature 6: Coding
The score is 2.5 out of 5 for coding.
This is where the "coding model" label didn't match my experience.
I asked for a simple ping-pong style game.
It took around five minutes to generate.
The game works, so it gets credit for that.
It's not frontier level, and it won't replace Claude Opus 5.5.
One test isn't a benchmark, so run your own before you decide.
Feature 7: Where It Plugs In
MissingNo works anywhere a Hermes profile works.
- It works in Hermes Bots, where you create a bot from your active profile.
- It works in Hermes Oracle, which I'd use for competitor analysis.
- It works in other Hermes workflows that read the model from the profile.
I also demoed a pop-up voice agent in my Agent OS that works with ChatGPT and Hermes.
I asked it for useful Hermes commands, and it listed /learn and /skills.
If you want the detail on bots, read my post on Hermes Agent Bot Mode.
The Limits You Should Know About
I want you to go in with clear eyes.
- The model is free for a limited time, and it may be removed or become paid.
- The maker isn't named, so you can't check their track record.
- There are no official benchmarks or parameter counts that I could find.
- It takes text only, so image tasks are out.
- Coding was only moderate in my test.
- You can run out of tokens on a free model, like on any free tier.
MissingNo Versus The Other Free Models
When MissingNo goes away, you type "free" in the model section and pick another one.
There were about eight free models when I recorded.
| Free model | Maker | How I'd think about it |
|---|---|---|
| MissingNo | The maker is unannounced. | It's the stealth pick for skills and tool calling. |
| Step 5 Preview | StepFun | It's the other free model I keep a profile for. |
| Step 3.7 Flash | StepFun | It's a quick everyday backup. |
| Ling 3.0 | inclusionAI | It's a second free flash option. |
| LongCat | Meituan | It has a very large context window. |
| Laguna XS 2.1 | Poolside | It's a small model for light coding chores. |
| Solar Mini 4 | Upstage | It's fast, and you should choose the free entry. |
The free list changes a lot, so check it inside Hermes before you rely on this table.
My Solar Mini 4 Hermes verdict covers one of those alternatives in depth, and the best Hermes Agent model ranks the wider field.
Who Should Use MissingNo In Hermes
You should use it if you want a free agent brain for skills, research and tool-heavy routines.
You should use it if you like testing new models early, because stealth models are fun to poke at.
You should skip it as your main coding model.
You should skip it for anything a client or customer depends on, because it could be gone next week.
If you're choosing where Hermes itself should run, my post on the Hermes Agent backend options is the companion to this one.
🔥 Want to ask me which model fits your workflow? The AI Profit Boardroom has Hermes Agent training, the Agent OS and four weekly coaching calls where I answer exactly this kind of question. → Join the AI Profit Boardroom
Final Verdict
MissingNo gets 3.5 out of 5 from me.
It's free, it's fast at tools and it's great at /learn.
It's only moderate at coding, and nobody knows who built it or how long it will stay.
Use it as a free second brain, not as your only one.
Related Reading
- Hermes Agent by Nous Research explains who is behind Hermes and Nous Portal.
- Hermes Agent Bot Mode covers the bot feature you can run on this model.
- The best Hermes Agent model is my ranked list of brains for Hermes.
Also On Our Network
- 🌐 The ten-step MissingNo setup walkthrough for operators
- 🌐 What a business can actually do with MissingNo in Hermes
- 🌐 A MissingNo quick start and the Agent OS angle
- 🌐 MissingNo against the benched free Nous models, with real scores
FAQ: Hermes MissingNo Review
Is MissingNo any good in Hermes Agent?
It's good for agent work.
It handled /learn really well and fast, and it was quick at calling tools.
Coding was only moderate, and it isn't frontier level.
What are the published specs of MissingNo?
The Nous inference API lists the ID stealth/missingno, a 262,144-token context window and up to 131,072 output tokens.
It takes text only, and it supports tool calling, structured outputs and always-on reasoning.
The maker, the parameter count and any benchmarks aren't published.
How long will MissingNo stay free?
Nous Research said it's free for a limited time and gave no end date.
It may be removed or become paid, so keep another free model ready.
Is MissingNo made by Nous Research?
That isn't confirmed.
Nous Research made it available, but the lab behind it hasn't been announced.
I've guessed it could be their own model, and that's only a guess.
What should I use instead of MissingNo for coding?
Use a frontier model such as Claude Opus 5.5 for serious builds.
MissingNo made a working simple game in about five minutes in my test, which is fine for small jobs only.
📺 Video notes + links to the tools 👉
🎥 Learn how I make these videos 👉
🆓 Get a FREE AI Course + Community + 1,000 AI Agents 👉
About Julian
I'm Julian Goldie, an SEO entrepreneur, author and founder of the AI Profit Boardroom, which has 3,400+ members.
I help business owners scale with AI agents, automation and SEO.
- I run Goldie Agency, a 7-figure SEO and link building agency with 70+ people in Bangkok.
- I've grown a YouTube channel to 400,000+ subscribers.
- I wrote the book "Link Building Mastery".
- I run GoldieBench, where I score AI models on real one-shot builds.
→ Get my best AI training inside the AI Profit Boardroom
Test it on one skill and one small build this week, and you'll have your own verdict on Hermes MissingNo.
