hermes-agent/apps/desktop
brooklyn! 1a3e608524
feat(desktop): per-profile remote gateway hosts (#39778)
* feat(desktop): per-profile remote gateway hosts

Profile switching silently failed whenever the desktop was connected to a
remote backend: the rail routed non-active profiles to a local pool backend,
but spawnPoolBackend hard-threw "Profiles are unavailable when connected to a
remote Hermes backend", and the renderer swallowed the error into an infinite
reconnect backoff while still marking the profile active. Remote was also a
single app-global setting, so there was no way to give a profile its own host.

Add per-profile remote hosts so each profile can point at its own backend:

- connection.json gains a validated `profiles` map; profileRemoteOverride()
  (pure, unit-tested) selects an explicit per-profile remote.
- resolveRemoteBackend(profile) precedence: per-profile override → env override
  → global remote → local spawn. spawnPoolBackend now connects to a profile's
  remote (no local child) instead of throwing; startHermes resolves the primary
  profile's remote.
- coerce/sanitize connection config are scope-aware (global vs named profile)
  and preserve each other's entries; IPC get/save/apply/test thread an optional
  profile. Per-profile apply drops only that profile's pool backend.
- Settings → Gateway adds an "Applies to" scope selector reusing the existing
  URL/token/OAuth/test UX per profile.

Tests: connection-config pure suite (+6) and desktop platform suite pass;
tsc/eslint/vitest clean.

* refactor(desktop): DRY per-profile remote helpers

Share connectionScopeKey + normAuthMode from connection-config.cjs (drop the
main.cjs copy), collapse the scope/auth ternaries, route the env remote through
buildRemoteConnection, and fold the duplicated remote-block validation into
buildRemoteBlock. No behavior change; pure suite + live E2E still green.
2026-06-05 12:14:18 +00:00
..
assets Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00
electron feat(desktop): per-profile remote gateway hosts (#39778) 2026-06-05 12:14:18 +00:00
public Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00
scripts fix(desktop): recover from corrupt cached Electron download on build 2026-06-04 07:17:33 -07:00
src feat(desktop): per-profile remote gateway hosts (#39778) 2026-06-05 12:14:18 +00:00
.prettierrc Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00
components.json Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00
eslint.config.mjs Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00
index.html fix(desktop): triage batch of GUI quality-of-life fixes (#37536) 2026-06-02 16:33:22 -04:00
package.json fix(deps): bump react-router-dom to 7.17.0 (GHSA-8x6r-g9mw-2r78) 2026-06-04 21:30:23 -07:00
preview-demo.html Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00
README.md fix(docs): update all install instructions everywhere 2026-06-04 21:07:45 -04:00
tsconfig.json Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00
vite.config.ts chore(desktop): silence Vite chunk-size warning for intentional single bundle (#38888) 2026-06-04 02:28:57 -07:00

Hermes Desktop ☤

Download Documentation Discord License: MIT

The native desktop app for Hermes Agent — the self-improving AI agent from Nous Research. Same agent, same skills, same memory as the CLI and gateway, in a polished native window — chat with streaming tool output, side-by-side previews, a file browser, voice, and settings, no terminal required. Available for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Chat with the full agentStreaming responses, live tool activity, structured tool summaries, and the same conversation history as every other Hermes surface.
Side-by-side previewsRender web pages, files, and tool outputs in a right-hand pane while you keep chatting.
File browserExplore and preview the working directory without leaving the app.
VoiceTalk to Hermes and hear it back.
Settings & onboardingManage providers, models, tools, and credentials from a real UI. First-run setup gets you to your first message in seconds.
Stays currentBuilt-in updates pull the latest agent and rebuild the app in place.

Install

Add --include-desktop to the one-line installer and it sets up the agent and builds the desktop app in one go:

curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash -s -- --include-desktop

Already have the Hermes CLI? Just run:

hermes desktop

It builds and launches the GUI against your existing install — same config, keys, sessions, and skills. On first launch Hermes walks you through picking a provider and model; nothing else to configure.

Prebuilt installers

Prebuilt installers are built and distributed via the Hermes Desktop website..


Updating

The app checks for updates in the background and offers a one-click update when one is ready. You can also update any time from the CLI:

hermes update

Requirements

The installer handles everything for you (Python 3.11+, a portable Git, ripgrep).


Development

Want to hack on the app itself? Install workspace deps from the repo root once, then run the dev server from this directory:

npm install          # from repo root — links apps/desktop, web, apps/shared
cd apps/desktop
npm run dev          # Vite renderer + Electron, which boots the Python backend

Point the app at a specific source checkout, or sandbox it away from your real config:

HERMES_DESKTOP_HERMES_ROOT=/path/to/clone npm run dev
HERMES_HOME=/tmp/throwaway npm run dev
npm run dev:fake-boot   # exercise the startup overlay with deterministic delays

Building installers

npm run dist:mac     # DMG + zip
npm run dist:win     # NSIS + MSI
npm run dist:linux   # AppImage + deb + rpm
npm run pack         # unpacked app under release/ (no installer)

Installers are built and uploaded to GitHub Releases manually. macOS/Windows signing & notarization happen automatically when the relevant credentials are present in the environment (CSC_LINK / CSC_KEY_PASSWORD / APPLE_* for macOS, WIN_CSC_* for Windows).

How it works

The packaged app ships only the Electron shell. On first launch it installs 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. The renderer (React, in src/) talks to a hermes dashboard backend over the standard gateway APIs and reuses the embedded TUI rather than reimplementing chat. The install, backend-resolution, and self-update logic all live in electron/main.cjs.

Verification

Run before opening a PR (lint may surface pre-existing warnings but must exit cleanly):

npm run fix
npm run type-check
npm run lint
npm run test:desktop:all

Troubleshooting

Boot logs land in HERMES_HOME/logs/desktop.log (includes backend output and recent Python tracebacks) — check it first if the app reports a boot failure.

macOS / Linux:

# Force a clean first-launch setup
rm "$HOME/.hermes/hermes-agent/.hermes-bootstrap-complete"
# Rebuild a broken Python venv
rm -rf "$HOME/.hermes/hermes-agent/venv"
# Reset a stuck macOS microphone prompt (macOS only)
tccutil reset Microphone com.nousresearch.hermes

Windows (PowerShell):

# Force a clean first-launch setup
Remove-Item "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\hermes\hermes-agent\.hermes-bootstrap-complete"
# Rebuild a broken Python venv
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\hermes\hermes-agent\venv"

The default Hermes home on Windows is %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes. Set the HERMES_HOME env var if you've relocated it.


Community


License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Built by Nous Research.