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docs: clarify desktop is self-contained, not dependent on the dashboard

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The desktop app spawns a headless `hermes dashboard --no-open` backend and
talks to it through the shared @hermes/shared WebSocket client — it never
runs or requires the browser dashboard UI. Spell this out in the desktop
README, the desktop docs page, and AGENTS.md so "dashboard" stops reading
as a desktop prerequisite.
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Brooklyn Nicholson 2026-06-28 21:50:33 -05:00
parent e9b95dfd19
commit f019a999d8
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2
AGENTS.md
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@ -491,7 +491,7 @@ The dashboard embeds the real `hermes --tui` — **not** a rewrite. See `hermes
### Electron Desktop Chat App (`apps/desktop/`)
A **separate** chat surface from both the classic CLI and the dashboard's embedded TUI. It is an Electron + React + nanostore renderer (`@assistant-ui/react`) that talks to a `tui_gateway` backend over JSON-RPC (`requestGateway(method, params)`). It does NOT embed `hermes --tui` — it has its own composer, transcript, and slash-command pipeline. Route desktop bugs to the `hermes-desktop-app-work` skill, not `hermes-dashboard-work`.
A **separate** chat surface from both the classic CLI and the dashboard's embedded TUI. It is an Electron + React + nanostore renderer (`@assistant-ui/react`) that talks to a `tui_gateway` backend over JSON-RPC (`requestGateway(method, params)`). The WebSocket/JSON-RPC transport lives in the framework-agnostic `apps/shared` package (`@hermes/shared` — `JsonRpcGatewayClient` + WS URL helpers), which the web dashboard (`web/`) also consumes; **desktop has no build/runtime dependency on the dashboard frontend** — it only spawns a headless `hermes dashboard --no-open` backend server, never the browser dashboard UI. It does NOT embed `hermes --tui` — it has its own composer, transcript, and slash-command pipeline. Route desktop bugs to the `hermes-desktop-app-work` skill, not `hermes-dashboard-work`.
**Slash commands in the desktop app are curated client-side, then dispatched to the backend.** The pipeline:

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apps/desktop/README.md
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@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ Installers are built and uploaded to GitHub Releases manually. macOS/Windows sig
### How it works
The packaged app ships the Electron shell and a native React chat surface. On first launch it can install the Hermes Agent runtime into `HERMES_HOME` (`~/.hermes`, or `%LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes` on Windows) — the **same layout a CLI install uses**, so the two are interchangeable. Backend resolution first honours `HERMES_DESKTOP_HERMES_ROOT`, then a completed managed install, then a probed `hermes` on `PATH` (unless `HERMES_DESKTOP_IGNORE_EXISTING=1` is set), and finally an explicit `HERMES_DESKTOP_HERMES` command override for packagers/troubleshooting. The renderer (React, in `src/`) talks to a `hermes dashboard` backend over the `tui_gateway`/dashboard APIs and reuses the agent runtime rather than embedding `hermes --tui`. The install, backend-resolution, and self-update logic all live in `electron/main.cjs`.
The packaged app ships the Electron shell and a native React chat surface. On first launch it can install the Hermes Agent runtime into `HERMES_HOME` (`~/.hermes`, or `%LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes` on Windows) — the **same layout a CLI install uses**, so the two are interchangeable. Backend resolution first honours `HERMES_DESKTOP_HERMES_ROOT`, then a completed managed install, then a probed `hermes` on `PATH` (unless `HERMES_DESKTOP_IGNORE_EXISTING=1` is set), and finally an explicit `HERMES_DESKTOP_HERMES` command override for packagers/troubleshooting. The renderer (React, in `src/`) talks to a headless backend the app launches for you — a `hermes dashboard --no-open` process that serves the `tui_gateway` JSON-RPC/WebSocket API — through the framework-agnostic client in [`apps/shared`](../shared/) (the same client the web dashboard consumes), and reuses the agent runtime rather than embedding `hermes --tui`. The app is **self-contained**: `dashboard` here is just the name of the backend server it manages, **not** the browser dashboard UI — you never run or open the web dashboard to use the desktop app. The install, backend-resolution, and self-update logic all live in `electron/main.cjs`.
### Verification

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website/docs/user-guide/desktop.md
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@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ To launch via the CLI, simply run `hermes desktop`. By default it installs works
## How it works
The packaged app ships the Electron shell and a native React chat surface. On first launch it can install the Hermes Agent runtime into `HERMES_HOME` (`~/.hermes`, or `%LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes` on Windows) — **the same layout a CLI install uses**, which is why the two are interchangeable. Backend resolution first honours `HERMES_DESKTOP_HERMES_ROOT`, then a completed managed install, then a probed `hermes` on `PATH` (unless `--ignore-existing` / `HERMES_DESKTOP_IGNORE_EXISTING=1` is set), and finally an explicit `HERMES_DESKTOP_HERMES` command override for packagers such as Nix. The React renderer talks to a `hermes dashboard` backend over the `tui_gateway`/dashboard APIs and reuses the agent runtime rather than embedding `hermes --tui`. Install, backend-resolution, and self-update logic live in the Electron main process.
The packaged app ships the Electron shell and a native React chat surface. On first launch it can install the Hermes Agent runtime into `HERMES_HOME` (`~/.hermes`, or `%LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes` on Windows) — **the same layout a CLI install uses**, which is why the two are interchangeable. Backend resolution first honours `HERMES_DESKTOP_HERMES_ROOT`, then a completed managed install, then a probed `hermes` on `PATH` (unless `--ignore-existing` / `HERMES_DESKTOP_IGNORE_EXISTING=1` is set), and finally an explicit `HERMES_DESKTOP_HERMES` command override for packagers such as Nix. The React renderer talks to a headless backend the app launches for you — a `hermes dashboard --no-open` process that serves the `tui_gateway` JSON-RPC/WebSocket API — and reuses the agent runtime rather than embedding `hermes --tui`. The desktop app is **self-contained**: `dashboard` here is just the name of that backend server, **not** the browser dashboard UI — you never need to run or open the [web dashboard](./features/web-dashboard.md) to use the app. Install, backend-resolution, and self-update logic live in the Electron main process.
## Connecting to a remote backend