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"Ink" is the React reconciler — implementation detail, not branding. Consistent naming: the classic CLI is the CLI, the new one is the TUI. Updated docs: user-guide/tui.md, user-guide/cli.md cross-link, quickstart, cli-commands reference, environment-variables reference. Updated code: main.py --tui help text, server.py user-visible setup error, AGENTS.md "TUI Architecture" section. Kept "Ink" only where it is literally the library (hermes-ink internal source comments, AGENTS.md tree note flagging ui-tui/ as a React/Ink dir).
142 lines
6.5 KiB
Markdown
142 lines
6.5 KiB
Markdown
---
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sidebar_position: 2
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title: "TUI"
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description: "Launch the modern terminal UI for Hermes — mouse-friendly, rich overlays, and non-blocking input."
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---
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# TUI
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The TUI is the modern front-end for Hermes — a terminal UI backed by the same Python runtime as the [Classic CLI](cli.md). Same agent, same sessions, same slash commands; a cleaner, more responsive surface for interacting with them.
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It's the recommended way to run Hermes interactively.
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## Launch
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```bash
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# Launch the TUI
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hermes --tui
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# Resume the latest TUI session (falls back to the latest classic session)
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hermes --tui -c
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hermes --tui --continue
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# Resume a specific session by ID or title
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hermes --tui -r 20260409_000000_aa11bb
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hermes --tui --resume "my t0p session"
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# Run source directly — skips the prebuild step (for TUI contributors)
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hermes --tui --dev
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```
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You can also enable it via env var:
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```bash
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export HERMES_TUI=1
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hermes # now uses the TUI
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hermes chat # same
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```
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The classic CLI remains available as the default. Anything documented in [CLI Interface](cli.md) — slash commands, quick commands, skill preloading, personalities, multi-line input, interrupts — works in the TUI identically.
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## Why the TUI
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- **Instant first frame** — the banner paints before the app finishes loading, so the terminal never feels frozen while Hermes is starting.
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- **Non-blocking input** — type and queue messages before the session is ready. Your first prompt sends the moment the agent comes online.
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- **Rich overlays** — model picker, session picker, approval and clarification prompts all render as modal panels rather than inline flows.
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- **Live session panel** — tools and skills fill in progressively as they initialize.
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- **Mouse-friendly selection** — drag to highlight with a uniform background instead of SGR inverse. Copy with your terminal's normal copy gesture.
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- **Alternate-screen rendering** — differential updates mean no flicker when streaming, no scrollback clutter after you quit.
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- **Composer affordances** — inline paste-collapse for long snippets, image paste from the clipboard (`Alt+V`), bracketed-paste safety.
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Same [skins](features/skins.md) and [personalities](features/personality.md) apply. Switch mid-session with `/skin ares`, `/personality pirate`, `/theme daylight`, and the UI repaints live.
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## Requirements
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- **Node.js** ≥ 20 — the TUI runs as a subprocess launched from the Python CLI. `hermes doctor` verifies this.
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- **TTY** — like the classic CLI, piping stdin or running in non-interactive environments falls back to single-query mode.
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On first launch Hermes installs the TUI's Node dependencies into `ui-tui/node_modules` (one-time, a few seconds). Subsequent launches are fast. If you pull a new Hermes version, the TUI bundle is rebuilt automatically when sources are newer than the dist.
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### External prebuild
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Distributions that ship a prebuilt bundle (Nix, system packages) can point Hermes at it:
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```bash
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export HERMES_TUI_DIR=/path/to/prebuilt/ui-tui
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hermes --tui
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```
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The directory must contain `dist/entry.js` and an up-to-date `node_modules`.
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## Keybindings
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Keybindings match the [Classic CLI](cli.md#keybindings) exactly. The only behavioral differences:
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- **Mouse drag** highlights text with a uniform selection background.
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- **`Ctrl+V`** pastes text from your clipboard directly into the composer; multi-line pastes stay on one row until you expand them.
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- **Slash autocompletion** opens as a floating panel with descriptions, not an inline dropdown.
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## Slash commands
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All slash commands work unchanged. A few are TUI-owned — they produce richer output or render as overlays rather than inline panels:
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| Command | TUI behavior |
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|---------|--------------|
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| `/help` | Overlay with categorized commands, arrow-key navigable |
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| `/sessions` | Modal session picker — preview, title, token totals, resume inline |
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| `/model` | Modal model picker grouped by provider, with cost hints |
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| `/skin` | Live preview — theme change applies as you browse |
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| `/details` | Toggle verbose tool-call details in the transcript |
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| `/usage` | Rich token / cost / context panel |
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Every other slash command (including installed skills, quick commands, and personality toggles) works identically to the classic CLI. See [Slash Commands Reference](../reference/slash-commands.md).
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## Status line
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The TUI's status line tracks agent state in real time:
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| Status | Meaning |
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|--------|---------|
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| `starting agent…` | Session ID is live; tools and skills still coming online. You can type — messages queue and send when ready. |
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| `ready` | Agent is idle, accepting input. |
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| `thinking…` / `running…` | Agent is reasoning or running a tool. |
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| `interrupted` | Current turn was cancelled; press Enter to send again. |
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| `forging session…` / `resuming…` | Initial connect or `--resume` handshake. |
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The per-skin status-bar colors and thresholds are shared with the classic CLI — see [Skins](features/skins.md) for customization.
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## Configuration
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The TUI respects all standard Hermes config: `~/.hermes/config.yaml`, profiles, personalities, skins, quick commands, credential pools, memory providers, tool/skill enablement. No TUI-specific config file exists.
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A handful of keys tune the TUI surface specifically:
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```yaml
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display:
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skin: default # any built-in or custom skin
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personality: helpful
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details_mode: compact # or "verbose" — default tool-call detail level
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mouse_tracking: true # disable if your terminal conflicts with mouse reporting
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```
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`/details on` / `/details off` / `/details cycle` toggle this at runtime.
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## Sessions
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Sessions are shared between the TUI and the classic CLI — both write to the same `~/.hermes/state.db`. You can start a session in one, resume in the other. The session picker surfaces sessions from both sources, with a source tag.
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See [Sessions](sessions.md) for lifecycle, search, compression, and export.
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## Reverting to the classic CLI
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Launching `hermes` (without `--tui`) stays on the classic CLI. To make a machine prefer the TUI, set `HERMES_TUI=1` in your shell profile. To go back, unset it.
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If the TUI fails to launch (no Node, missing bundle, TTY issue), Hermes prints a diagnostic and falls back — rather than leaving you stuck.
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## See also
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- [CLI Interface](cli.md) — full slash command and keybinding reference (shared)
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- [Sessions](sessions.md) — resume, branch, and history
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- [Skins & Themes](features/skins.md) — theme the banner, status bar, and overlays
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- [Voice Mode](features/voice-mode.md) — works in both interfaces
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- [Configuration](configuration.md) — all config keys
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