Optional GIS tools and integrations
Connect skills to ArcGIS REST, open data, PostGIS, QGIS, and local geospatial tools.
The 21-skill repository is the procedural layer. Execution comes from the tools available to the active Hermes profile.
Capability layers
| Layer | Examples | Installed by the skill repository? |
|---|---|---|
| Hermes built-ins | Web, browser, terminal, files, Python/code execution, skills, memory | No; provided by Hermes configuration |
| GIS MCP/tools | Esri/ArcGIS REST, Census, open-data search, PostGIS read-only query | No; configure separately |
| Local GIS software | QGIS, GDAL/OGR, DuckDB Spatial, PostgreSQL/PostGIS, Python geo, Tippecanoe | No; install separately |
| GIS skills | Validation, QA, architecture, cartography, spatial AI, product workflows | Yes |
ArcGIS
A connected ArcGIS implementation may expose portal search, item/layer inspection, feature queries, geocoding, statistics, or content management. Exact tool names and schemas depend on the MCP server or local tool you install.
Public REST inspection may use normal web/HTTP tools and require no token. Private content requires approved user or application authentication and the minimum necessary privileges.
Open data
Public portals may be accessed through ordinary web APIs or a dedicated search connector. Validate source authority, license, schema, geometry, CRS, freshness, and paging before building.
PostGIS and DuckDB
Use a read-only PostGIS role for exploration. Block destructive and unbounded
SQL in any natural-language query tool. Prefer approved views or schemas such
as app_public over raw production tables.
DuckDB Spatial is a useful local analytical layer for GeoParquet, GeoJSON, and other files. Generated SQL still needs an allowlist, limits, and result checks.
QGIS and GDAL
QGIS is the visual QA bench for projection, geometry, labeling, symbology, and edge cases. GDAL/OGR supports deterministic inspection, transformation, and export. Skills may propose commands, but the binaries must exist on the host.
Authentication and secrets
- Add credentials only when public/read-only access is insufficient.
- Keep secrets in the protected profile environment, OS keychain, or external secret store.
- Never paste secret values into a skill, repository, documentation, issue, model prompt, log, or screenshot.
- Do not imply that a public Mapbox token, ArcGIS token, or PostGIS URL is bundled with the package.
Write boundaries
Skills instruct read-only-first behavior. Tool implementations should enforce:
- least-privilege accounts;
- explicit operation allowlists;
- target project/item/database verification;
- preview/dry-run/diff before writes;
- approval tied to exact arguments;
- idempotency and rollback;
- audit records without secret values.
Markdown is guidance, not a security boundary
A skill can tell an agent to request approval, but hard enforcement belongs in the runtime and tool implementation. Do not rely on prompt text alone to protect production GIS systems.