Hermes + Claude Code + Codex — Dual AI Coding Stack

One AI coding engine is good. Two is better. FORGE uses the Claude Code CLI to read and write your actual project files. CODEX gives you a second engine via OpenAI gpt-4o — a different model, a different approach. Run `/compare` on any coding task and get two independent implementations side by side. You pick the diff to apply. CRUCIBLE reviews everything for security vulnerabilities before it ships. LINTER scans your dependencies every night. HERMES orchestrates all four and keeps you updated via Telegram. --- **Your 5-agent team:** - **HERMES** — Lead orchestrator. Routes requests, sends morning standup at 07:00 UTC and EOD digest at 18:00 UTC. Your AI chief of staff. - **FORGE** — Claude Code CLI agent. Real file operations. Reads your codebase, writes diffs, refactors. The `/code` command sends FORGE to work on your project directly. - **CODEX** — OpenAI gpt-4o coding engine. The `/codex` command. Runs independently for comparison or as a fallback when you want a different perspective. - **CRUCIBLE** — OWASP security auditor. Reviews code changes for SQL injection, auth issues, exposed secrets, and 20+ other vulnerability classes. Severity-tagged results. - **LINTER** — Nightly CVE scanner. Installed packages checked against the CVE database every night at 02:00 UTC. Report delivered to Telegram before your morning standup. --- **What "real file operations" means for non-technical buyers:** Most AI assistants suggest code that you copy-paste and apply yourself. FORGE is different. It opens your project directory, reads your actual files, and writes changes directly — like a developer who has access to your server. You review a diff (a summary of what changed) and approve it before anything is committed. You're always in control. --- **The `/compare` workflow:** Send FORGE and CODEX the same coding task simultaneously. Get two independent implementations back. Compare them side by side in Telegram. Pick the better approach, or ask CRUCIBLE to review both. You're not locked into one model's opinion. --- **Server hardening:** UFW firewall, fail2ban, SSH key enforcement, Let's Encrypt SSL, daily backups. Your $6/month VPS is production-hardened from minute one. --- **What you need:** - Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 VPS - Anthropic API key - OpenAI API key - Telegram bot token **Time to live:** 20 minutes.