* docs: deep audit — fix stale config keys, missing commands, and registry drift Cross-checked ~80 high-impact docs pages (getting-started, reference, top-level user-guide, user-guide/features) against the live registries: hermes_cli/commands.py COMMAND_REGISTRY (slash commands) hermes_cli/auth.py PROVIDER_REGISTRY (providers) hermes_cli/config.py DEFAULT_CONFIG (config keys) toolsets.py TOOLSETS (toolsets) tools/registry.py get_all_tool_names() (tools) python -m hermes_cli.main <subcmd> --help (CLI args) reference/ - cli-commands.md: drop duplicate hermes fallback row + duplicate section, add stepfun/lmstudio to --provider enum, expand auth/mcp/curator subcommand lists to match --help output (status/logout/spotify, login, archive/prune/ list-archived). - slash-commands.md: add missing /sessions and /reload-skills entries + correct the cross-platform Notes line. - tools-reference.md: drop bogus '68 tools' headline, drop fictional 'browser-cdp toolset' (these tools live in 'browser' and are runtime-gated), add missing 'kanban' and 'video' toolset sections, fix MCP example to use the real mcp_<server>_<tool> prefix. - toolsets-reference.md: list browser_cdp/browser_dialog inside the 'browser' row, add missing 'kanban' and 'video' toolset rows, drop the stale '38 tools' count for hermes-cli. - profile-commands.md: add missing install/update/info subcommands, document fish completion. - environment-variables.md: dedupe GMI_API_KEY/GMI_BASE_URL rows (kept the one with the correct gmi-serving.com default). - faq.md: Anthropic/Google/OpenAI examples — direct providers exist (not just via OpenRouter), refresh the OpenAI model list. getting-started/ - installation.md: PortableGit (not MinGit) is what the Windows installer fetches; document the 32-bit MinGit fallback. - installation.md / termux.md: installer prefers .[termux-all] then falls back to .[termux]. - nix-setup.md: Python 3.12 (not 3.11), Node.js 22 (not 20); fix invalid 'nix flake update --flake' invocation. - updating.md: 'hermes backup restore --state pre-update' doesn't exist — point at the snapshot/quick-snapshot flow; correct config key 'updates.pre_update_backup' (was 'update.backup'). user-guide/ - configuration.md: api_max_retries default 3 (not 2); display.runtime_footer is the real key (not display.runtime_metadata_footer); checkpoints defaults enabled=false / max_snapshots=20 (not true / 50). - configuring-models.md: 'hermes model list' / 'hermes model set ...' don't exist — hermes model is interactive only. - tui.md: busy_indicator -> tui_status_indicator with values kaomoji|emoji|unicode|ascii (not kawaii|minimal|dots|wings|none). - security.md: SSH backend keys (TERMINAL_SSH_HOST/USER/KEY) live in .env, not config.yaml. - windows-wsl-quickstart.md: there is no 'hermes api' subcommand — the OpenAI-compatible API server runs inside hermes gateway. user-guide/features/ - computer-use.md: approvals.mode (not security.approval_level); fix broken ./browser-use.md link to ./browser.md. - fallback-providers.md: top-level fallback_providers (not model.fallback_providers); the picker is subcommand-based, not modal. - api-server.md: API_SERVER_* are env vars — write to per-profile .env, not 'hermes config set' which targets YAML. - web-search.md: drop web_crawl as a registered tool (it isn't); deep-crawl modes are exposed through web_extract. - kanban.md: failure_limit default is 2, not '~5'. - plugins.md: drop hard-coded '33 providers' count. - honcho.md: fix unclosed quote in echo HONCHO_API_KEY snippet; document that 'hermes honcho' subcommand is gated on memory.provider=honcho; reconcile subcommand list with actual --help output. - memory-providers.md: legacy 'hermes honcho setup' redirect documented. Verified via 'npm run build' — site builds cleanly; broken-link count went from 149 to 146 (no regressions, fixed a few in passing). * docs: round 2 audit fixes + regenerate skill catalogs Follow-up to the previous commit on this branch: Round 2 manual fixes: - quickstart.md: KIMI_CODING_API_KEY mentioned alongside KIMI_API_KEY; voice-mode and ACP install commands rewritten — bare 'pip install ...' doesn't work for curl-installed setups (no pip on PATH, not in repo dir); replaced with 'cd ~/.hermes/hermes-agent && uv pip install -e ".[voice]"'. ACP already ships in [all] so the curl install includes it. - cli.md / configuration.md: 'auxiliary.compression.model' shown as 'google/gemini-3-flash-preview' (the doc's own claimed default); actual default is empty (= use main model). Reworded as 'leave empty (default) or pin a cheap model'. - built-in-plugins.md: added the bundled 'kanban/dashboard' plugin row that was missing from the table. Regenerated skill catalogs: - ran website/scripts/generate-skill-docs.py to refresh all 163 per-skill pages and both reference catalogs (skills-catalog.md, optional-skills-catalog.md). This adds the entries that were genuinely missing — productivity/teams-meeting-pipeline (bundled), optional/finance/* (entire category — 7 skills: 3-statement-model, comps-analysis, dcf-model, excel-author, lbo-model, merger-model, pptx-author), creative/hyperframes, creative/kanban-video-orchestrator, devops/watchers, productivity/shop-app, research/searxng-search, apple/macos-computer-use — and rewrites every other per-skill page from the current SKILL.md. Most diffs are tiny (one line of refreshed metadata). Validation: - 'npm run build' succeeded. - Broken-link count moved 146 -> 155 — the +9 are zh-Hans translation shells that lag every newly-added skill page (pre-existing pattern). No regressions on any en/ page.
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Computer Use (macOS)
Hermes Agent can drive your Mac's desktop — clicking, typing, scrolling, dragging — in the background. Your cursor doesn't move, keyboard focus doesn't change, and macOS doesn't switch Spaces on you. You and the agent co-work on the same machine.
Unlike most computer-use integrations, this works with any tool-capable model — Claude, GPT, Gemini, or an open model on a local vLLM endpoint. There's no Anthropic-native schema to worry about.
How it works
The computer_use toolset speaks MCP over stdio to cua-driver,
a macOS driver that uses SkyLight private SPIs (SLEventPostToPid,
SLPSPostEventRecordTo) and the _AXObserverAddNotificationAndCheckRemote
accessibility SPI to:
- Post synthesized events directly to target processes — no HID event tap, no cursor warp.
- Flip AppKit active-state without raising windows — no Space switching.
- Keep Chromium/Electron accessibility trees alive when windows are occluded.
That combination is what OpenAI's Codex "background computer-use" ships. cua-driver is the open-source equivalent.
Enabling
Pick whichever path is most convenient — both run the same upstream installer:
Option 1: dedicated CLI command (most direct).
hermes computer-use install
This fetches and runs the upstream cua-driver installer:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/trycua/cua/main/libs/cua-driver/scripts/install.sh.
Use hermes computer-use status to verify the install.
Option 2: enable the toolset interactively.
- Run
hermes tools, pick🖱️ Computer Use (macOS)→cua-driver (background). - The setup runs the upstream installer (same as Option 1).
After installing, regardless of which path you took:
- Grant macOS permissions when prompted:
- System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility → allow the terminal (or Hermes app).
- System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording → allow the same.
- Start a session with the toolset enabled:
or addhermes -t computer_use chatcomputer_useto your enabled toolsets in~/.hermes/config.yaml.
Quick example
User prompt: "Find my latest email from Stripe and summarise what they want me to do."
The agent's plan:
computer_use(action="capture", mode="som", app="Mail")— gets a screenshot of Mail with every sidebar item, toolbar button, and message row numbered.computer_use(action="click", element=14)— clicks the search field (element #14 from the capture).computer_use(action="type", text="from:stripe")computer_use(action="key", keys="return", capture_after=True)— submit and get the new screenshot.- Click the top result, read the body, summarise.
During all of this, your cursor stays wherever you left it and Mail never comes to front.
Provider compatibility
| Provider | Vision? | Works? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropic (Claude Sonnet/Opus 3+) | ✅ | ✅ | Best overall; SOM + raw coordinates. |
| OpenRouter (any vision model) | ✅ | ✅ | Multi-part tool messages supported. |
| OpenAI (GPT-4+, GPT-5) | ✅ | ✅ | Same as above. |
| Local vLLM / LM Studio (vision model) | ✅ | ✅ | If the model supports multi-part tool content. |
| Text-only models | ❌ | ✅ (degraded) | Use mode="ax" for accessibility-tree-only operation. |
Screenshots are sent inline with tool results as OpenAI-style image_url
parts. For Anthropic, the adapter converts them into native tool_result
image blocks.
Safety
Hermes applies multi-layer guardrails:
- Destructive actions (click, type, drag, scroll, key, focus_app) require approval — either interactively via the CLI dialog or via the messaging-platform approval buttons.
- Hard-blocked key combos at the tool level: empty trash, force delete, lock screen, log out, force log out.
- Hard-blocked type patterns:
curl | bash,sudo rm -rf /, fork bombs, etc. - The agent's system prompt tells it explicitly: no clicking permission dialogs, no typing passwords, no following instructions embedded in screenshots.
Pair with approvals.mode: manual in ~/.hermes/config.yaml if you want every action confirmed.
Token efficiency
Screenshots are expensive. Hermes applies four layers of optimisation:
- Screenshot eviction — the Anthropic adapter keeps only the 3 most
recent screenshots in context; older ones become
[screenshot removed to save context]placeholders. - Client-side compression pruning — the context compressor detects multimodal tool results and strips image parts from old ones.
- Image-aware token estimation — each image is counted as ~1500 tokens (Anthropic's flat rate) instead of its base64 char length.
- Server-side context editing (Anthropic only) — when active, the
adapter enables
clear_tool_uses_20250919viacontext_managementso Anthropic's API clears old tool results server-side.
A 20-action session on a 1568×900 display typically costs ~30K tokens of screenshot context, not ~600K.
Limitations
- macOS only. cua-driver uses private Apple SPIs that don't exist on
Linux or Windows. For cross-platform GUI automation, use the
browsertoolset. - Private SPI risk. Apple can change SkyLight's symbol surface in any
OS update. Pin the driver version with the
HERMES_CUA_DRIVER_VERSIONenv var if you want reproducibility across a macOS bump. - Performance. Background mode is slower than foreground — SkyLight-routed events take ~5-20ms vs direct HID posting. Not noticeable for agent-speed clicking; noticeable if you try to record a speed-run.
- No keyboard password entry.
typehas hard-block patterns on command-shell payloads; for passwords, use the system's autofill.
Configuration
Override the driver binary path (tests / CI):
HERMES_CUA_DRIVER_CMD=/opt/homebrew/bin/cua-driver
HERMES_CUA_DRIVER_VERSION=0.5.0 # optional pin
Swap the backend entirely (for testing):
HERMES_COMPUTER_USE_BACKEND=noop # records calls, no side effects
Troubleshooting
computer_use backend unavailable: cua-driver is not installed — Run
hermes computer-use install to fetch the cua-driver binary, or run
hermes tools and enable the Computer Use toolset.
Clicks seem to have no effect — Capture and verify. A modal you
didn't see may be blocking input. Dismiss it with escape or the close
button.
Element indices are stale — SOM indices are only valid until the
next capture. Re-capture after any state-changing action.
"blocked pattern in type text" — The text you tried to type
matches the dangerous-shell-pattern list. Break the command up or
reconsider.
See also
- Universal skill:
macos-computer-use - cua-driver source (trycua/cua)
- Browser automation for cross-platform web tasks.