mirrors/hermes-agent
1
0
Fork 0
mirror of https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent.git synced 2026-05-11 03:31:55 +00:00
Code Issues Projects Releases Packages Wiki Activity Actions 9

feat(windows-install): bundle portable MinGit instead of relying on winget

Browse source 
User hit a real failure case: their system Git was in a half-installed state
(can neither uninstall nor reinstall) and winget refused to work around it.
We were one step away from shipping an installer that would have left users
with exactly the problem he already had.

What other agents do (reality check):
- Claude Code: requires pre-installed Git; breaks if user doesn't have it.
- OpenCode, Codex: don't need bash at all — PowerShell-first design.
- Cline: uses whatever shell VSCode is configured with; installs nothing.

None of them solve the "broken system Git" problem.  We need to own our Git.

Changes:
- scripts/install.ps1::Install-Git: dropped winget path entirely.  Now:
  (1) use existing git if present; (2) download portable MinGit from the
  official git-for-windows GitHub release to %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\git.
  No winget, no admin, no Windows installer registry, no system impact.
- Added %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\git\{cmd,usr\bin} to User PATH so git + bash
  + POSIX coreutils (which, env, grep, …) resolve in fresh shells.
- tools/environments/local.py::_find_bash: reorder so Hermes' portable
  MinGit install is checked BEFORE falling through to shutil.which("bash")
  or system install locations.  This way a broken system Git can't
  hijack the bash lookup.
- README + installation docs reworded to reflect the new story: "portable
  Git Bash, isolated from any system install, recoverable via rm -rf if it
  ever breaks."

Recoverability: if Hermes' Git install ever breaks, ``Remove-Item %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\git``
and re-run the installer — no system impact, no uninstall drama, no winget
to fight with.
This commit is contained in:
Teknium 2026-05-07 16:38:11 -07:00
parent 9de893e3b0
commit b7fe7ed7bd
4 changed files with 181 additions and 13 deletions
Download patch file Download diff file Expand all files Collapse all files

10
website/docs/getting-started/installation.md
View file

@ -24,9 +24,15 @@ Open PowerShell and run:
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex
```
The native Windows installer provisions `uv`, Python 3.11, Node.js 22, `ripgrep`, and `ffmpeg`, clones the repo under `%LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\hermes-agent`, creates a virtualenv, and adds `hermes` to your **User PATH**. Restart your terminal (or open a new PowerShell window) after the install so PATH picks up.
The installer handles **everything**: `uv`, Python 3.11, Node.js 22, `ripgrep`, `ffmpeg`, **and a portable Git Bash** (MinGit — a slim, self-contained Git for Windows distribution that Hermes uses for shell commands). It clones the repo under `%LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\hermes-agent`, creates a virtualenv, and adds `hermes` to your **User PATH**. Restart your terminal (or open a new PowerShell window) after the install so PATH picks up.
**Prerequisite:** Install [Git for Windows](https://git-scm.com/download/win) first. Hermes uses the bundled Git Bash to execute terminal commands — the same approach Claude Code and other coding agents take on Windows. If you install Git to a non-default location, set `HERMES_GIT_BASH_PATH` in your environment to point at `bash.exe`.
**How Git is handled:**
1. If `git` is already on your PATH, the installer uses your existing install.
2. Otherwise it downloads portable **MinGit** (~45MB, from the official `git-for-windows` GitHub release) and unpacks it to `%LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\git`. No admin rights required. Completely isolated — it won't interfere with any system Git install, broken or otherwise.
**Why not use winget?** Earlier designs auto-installed Git via `winget install Git.Git`, but winget fails badly when a system Git install is in a partial or broken state (exactly when users need the installer to just work). The portable MinGit approach sidesteps winget, the Windows installer registry, and any existing system Git entirely. If the Hermes Git install itself ever breaks, `Remove-Item %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\git` and re-run the installer — no system impact, no uninstall drama.
The installer also sets `HERMES_GIT_BASH_PATH` to the located `bash.exe` so Hermes resolves it deterministically in fresh shells.
If you prefer WSL2, the Linux installer above works inside it; both native and WSL installs can coexist without conflict (native data lives under `%LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes`, WSL data lives under `~/.hermes`).