diff --git a/apps/dashboard/package.json b/apps/dashboard/package.json
index a85c663115c..ae57ab45cc4 100644
--- a/apps/dashboard/package.json
+++ b/apps/dashboard/package.json
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
   "version": "0.0.0",
   "type": "module",
   "scripts": {
-    "sync-assets": "rm -rf public/fonts public/ds-assets && cp -r node_modules/@nous-research/ui/dist/fonts public/fonts && cp -r node_modules/@nous-research/ui/dist/assets public/ds-assets",
+    "sync-assets": "node scripts/sync-assets.cjs",
     "predev": "npm run sync-assets",
     "prebuild": "npm run sync-assets",
     "dev": "vite",
diff --git a/apps/dashboard/scripts/sync-assets.cjs b/apps/dashboard/scripts/sync-assets.cjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ad4ba2ee4c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/dashboard/scripts/sync-assets.cjs
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+/**
+ * Copy font and asset folders from @nous-research/ui into public/ for Vite.
+ *
+ * Locates @nous-research/ui by walking up from this script looking for
+ * node_modules/@nous-research/ui — works whether the dep is co-located
+ * (non-workspace layout) or hoisted to the repo root (npm workspaces).
+ */
+const fs = require('node:fs')
+const path = require('node:path')
+
+const DASHBOARD_ROOT = path.resolve(__dirname, '..')
+
+function locateUiPackage() {
+  let dir = DASHBOARD_ROOT
+  const { root } = path.parse(dir)
+  while (true) {
+    const candidate = path.join(dir, 'node_modules', '@nous-research', 'ui')
+    if (fs.existsSync(path.join(candidate, 'package.json'))) {
+      return candidate
+    }
+    if (dir === root) break
+    dir = path.dirname(dir)
+  }
+  throw new Error(
+    '@nous-research/ui not found. Run `npm install` from the repo root.'
+  )
+}
+
+const uiRoot = locateUiPackage()
+const distRoot = path.join(uiRoot, 'dist')
+
+const mappings = [
+  ['fonts', path.join(DASHBOARD_ROOT, 'public', 'fonts')],
+  ['assets', path.join(DASHBOARD_ROOT, 'public', 'ds-assets')],
+]
+
+for (const [srcName, destPath] of mappings) {
+  const srcPath = path.join(distRoot, srcName)
+  if (!fs.existsSync(srcPath)) {
+    throw new Error(`Missing ${srcPath} in @nous-research/ui — rebuild that package.`)
+  }
+  fs.rmSync(destPath, { recursive: true, force: true })
+  fs.cpSync(srcPath, destPath, { recursive: true })
+  console.log(`synced ${path.relative(DASHBOARD_ROOT, destPath)}`)
+}
diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/main.cjs b/apps/desktop/electron/main.cjs
index dfb603a9ba6..ea469c7333a 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/electron/main.cjs
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/main.cjs
@@ -1118,9 +1118,56 @@ function installMediaPermissions() {
   })
 }
 
+function resolveRemoteBackend() {
+  const rawUrl = process.env.HERMES_DESKTOP_REMOTE_URL
+  const rawToken = process.env.HERMES_DESKTOP_REMOTE_TOKEN
+  if (!rawUrl) return null
+  if (!rawToken) {
+    throw new Error(
+      'HERMES_DESKTOP_REMOTE_URL is set but HERMES_DESKTOP_REMOTE_TOKEN is not. ' +
+      'Both must be provided to connect to a remote Hermes backend.'
+    )
+  }
+
+  let parsed
+  try {
+    parsed = new URL(rawUrl)
+  } catch (error) {
+    throw new Error(`HERMES_DESKTOP_REMOTE_URL is not a valid URL: ${error.message}`)
+  }
+  if (parsed.protocol !== 'http:' && parsed.protocol !== 'https:') {
+    throw new Error(`HERMES_DESKTOP_REMOTE_URL must be http:// or https://, got ${parsed.protocol}`)
+  }
+
+  const baseUrl = `${parsed.protocol}//${parsed.host}`
+  const wsScheme = parsed.protocol === 'https:' ? 'wss' : 'ws'
+  const wsUrl = `${wsScheme}://${parsed.host}/api/ws?token=${encodeURIComponent(rawToken)}`
+
+  return { baseUrl, token: rawToken, wsUrl }
+}
+
 async function startHermes() {
   if (connectionPromise) return connectionPromise
 
+  const remote = resolveRemoteBackend()
+  if (remote) {
+    connectionPromise = (async () => {
+      rememberLog(`Using remote Hermes backend at ${remote.baseUrl}`)
+      await waitForHermes(remote.baseUrl, remote.token)
+      return {
+        baseUrl: remote.baseUrl,
+        token: remote.token,
+        wsUrl: remote.wsUrl,
+        logs: hermesLog.slice(-80),
+        windowButtonPosition: getWindowButtonPosition()
+      }
+    })().catch(error => {
+      connectionPromise = null
+      throw error
+    })
+    return connectionPromise
+  }
+
   connectionPromise = (async () => {
     const port = await pickPort()
     const token = crypto.randomBytes(32).toString('base64url')