Manage sitemaps and indexing with Hermes Agent
Managing sitemaps and indexing with Hermes Agent means asking Nous Research's agent, which remembers earlier sessions, to read StoreSEO's sitemap, noindex and nofollow flags on your Shopify resources, change them one at a time on request and report on them from a schedule.
Last updated: October 2026
Set up Hermes Agent for StoreSEO
Skip this if Hermes Agent is already connected. The full guide, with the alternatives, is on the Hermes Agent page.
- 1
Add StoreSEO to config.yaml
Add this under mcp_servers in ~/.hermes/config.yaml. If the file already has an mcp_servers block, add only the storeseo entry. Then start a new Hermes session, or run /reload-mcp in the one that is open.
YAMLmcp_servers: storeseo: url: "https://mcp.storeseo.com/mcp" auth: oauth - 2
Sign in to your store
On first connect Hermes prints an authorize URL and waits for the sign-in. Run this command to start it yourself or to re-authorize later. Pick your Shopify store and approve. Hermes caches the tokens in ~/.hermes/mcp-tokens/storeseo.json.
Terminalhermes mcp login storeseo
How does this work in Hermes Agent?
You start a Hermes session, or message the agent from the chat target it delivers to, after adding the storeseo entry to mcp_servers in config.yaml and running hermes mcp login storeseo. Ask which collections are excluded from the sitemap and Hermes calls storeseo_start, then storeseo_list_resource_sitemaps with the resource type collection and a filter on the sitemap flag. The reply is a list of titles with their sitemap, noindex and nofollow values. Hermes keeps what it learned, so a follow-up such as now check the pages the same way does not need you to restate the store.
A change goes through the confirmation StoreSEO asks the agent for. A noindex flag removes a page from search results, so Hermes should name the resource and the flags and wait for your yes before storeseo_update_resource_sitemap, and it should list the resource again afterwards because the flags can also change in the StoreSEO app. Hermes' own approval controls are not confirmed in its documentation, so use its tool filters when you need a hard stop: an include list that exposes only the list and get tools gives you a read-only agent, and a second profile can keep the update tools. The HTML sitemap runs through storeseo_get_html_sitemap_settings, storeseo_update_html_sitemap and storeseo_list_sitemap_menus, and you add the sitemap link to a menu in Shopify admin yourself.
Hermes also has hermes cron create, which takes a schedule and a prompt and delivers the result with --deliver. For this job, that means a Monday message listing everything that is noindex or excluded from the sitemap, which catches an accidental flag after a bulk edit. The prompt must be report-only, because nobody is present at the run to say yes.
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You: Is the HTML sitemap on my store set up?
- storeseo_start read-only
- storeseo_get_html_sitemap_settings read-only
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Hermes Agent: It is not set up yet. I can generate it with default settings, which creates the page in your store. After that you add its link to a menu yourself. Generate it?
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You: Yes, generate it.
- storeseo_update_html_sitemap needs approval
- storeseo_list_sitemap_menus read-only
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Hermes Agent: The sitemap page exists. Your footer menu has an edit link here; add the sitemap link there, tell me, and I will mark setup complete.
What to ask Hermes Agent
Use StoreSEO to list the products with noindex or excluded from the sitemap. Read only, change nothing.
Set the page Staff Login to noindex and exclude it from the sitemap. Tell me what you will change and wait for my yes.
Generate my HTML sitemap with StoreSEO, then list my menus so I know where to add the link.
- Which of my products are set to noindex or excluded from the sitemap?
- Exclude the product Gift Card Test from the sitemap and set it to noindex.
- Set up an HTML sitemap for my store and tell me which menu to add it to.
- Are any of my blog posts set to nofollow?
- Remove noindex from the page About Us.
What StoreSEO does: sitemaps and indexing
StoreSEO controls two things here: per-resource sitemap flags (left out of the XML sitemap, noindex, nofollow) and an HTML sitemap page. The agent lists flags, changes them one resource at a time and walks you through the HTML sitemap setup.
- 1
List the flags
The agent lists products, collections, pages or articles with their sitemap, noindex and nofollow flags, filtered as you ask.
- 2
Change one resource
After your yes it sets the flags on one resource, which writes the matching Shopify metafields.
- 3
Re-read before reporting
Flags can also change in the StoreSEO app, so the agent re-lists before telling you the current state.
- 4
Create the HTML sitemap
It reads the HTML sitemap settings, then generates and enables the page.
- 5
Add it to a menu
It lists your navigation menus with their edit links; you add the sitemap link to a menu in Shopify admin, then the agent marks setup complete.
Sitemaps and indexing reference
| Flags per resource | Excluded from sitemap, noindex, nofollow |
|---|---|
| Resource types | Products, collections, pages and articles |
| Where flags live | Shopify metafields on the resource |
| HTML sitemap steps | Generate and enable, add the link to a menu yourself, mark complete |
| HTML sitemap settings | Replaced wholesale on update; read first |
| Menus | Listed with edit links; the menu you choose is not stored |
| Plan | Every active plan |
Rules Hermes Agent follows
- A noindex flag removes a page from search results, so the agent names the resource and waits for your yes.
- The agent re-lists flags in the same turn before telling you their current state.
- Adding the sitemap link to a menu is a step you do in Shopify admin; no tool does it.
- HTML sitemap settings are read before every update, because an update replaces them.
In Hermes Agent
A hermes cron job runs with nobody present to answer StoreSEO's confirmation, so a sitemap job must be a report: list the flags, never change them. The agent record does not confirm Hermes' own approval controls, so for a hard stop use Hermes tool filters to expose only the StoreSEO list and get tools to the scheduled agent. Also start a new session or run /reload-mcp after editing config.yaml, otherwise the open session does not see the server, and keep a token out of version control if you used the header form.
What runs without asking. Reads such as SEO scores, store listings, settings and Google reports run straight away. Generating a preview spends AI credit but writes nothing, and StoreSEO tells the agent to say what a generation will cost before it runs one. Applying content, optimizing images, changing settings, publishing llms.txt or agents.md, writing a product description and deleting anything wait for your yes in the conversation. That yes is an instruction the agent follows, not a lock on the server, so your client's own tool-approval setting is the hard stop.
Questions
Can I give Hermes Agent read-only access to my sitemap flags?
Yes. Use Hermes' tool include list to expose only the StoreSEO list and get tools, such as storeseo_list_resource_sitemaps and storeseo_get_html_sitemap_settings, and leave the update tools out for that agent.
What should a hermes cron prompt for noindex checks say?
Ask it to use StoreSEO to list the resources with noindex or excluded from the sitemap and to deliver the list, and tell it not to change anything. A scheduled run cannot answer a confirmation, so it should only read.
What is the difference between excluding a page from the sitemap and noindex?
Excluding a resource leaves it out of your XML sitemap, so crawlers are not pointed at it. Noindex tells search engines not to show the page in results even if they find it. StoreSEO sets each flag separately per resource.
Can the agent add the HTML sitemap to my menu?
No. The agent generates the HTML sitemap and lists your menus with their edit links, and you add the sitemap link to a menu in Shopify admin. Then the agent can mark setup complete.
Do sitemap tools need a paid plan?
No. The sitemap tools work on every active StoreSEO plan.
Why does the agent check the flags again before answering?
Sitemap flags can also be changed in the StoreSEO app outside the conversation, so an earlier listing may be stale. Re-reading in the same turn keeps the answer accurate.
Keep going
Sitemaps and indexing with other agents
More Hermes Agent guides