hermes-agent/website/docs/getting-started/installation.md

---
sidebar_position: 2
title: "Installation"
description: "Install Hermes Agent on Linux, macOS, WSL2, native Windows (early beta), or Android via Termux"
---

# Installation

Get Hermes Agent up and running in under two minutes with the one-line installer.

## Quick Install

### pip (recommended for most users)

```bash
pip install hermes-agent
```

This gives you the full Hermes Agent — CLI, web dashboard, and TUI — with zero external dependencies for core usage. Node.js, browser engines, and other optional tools are bootstrapped lazily on first use (e.g. when you run `hermes --tui` or use browser tools).

PyPI releases track **tagged versions** (major and minor releases), not every commit on `main`. If you want bleeding-edge changes as they land, use the git install below.

After installing, run:

```bash
hermes setup   # interactive wizard — configures your LLM provider and API key
hermes         # start chatting
```

:::tip Optional: install everything upfront
`hermes postinstall` installs Node.js, browser engines, ripgrep, and ffmpeg in one shot — then runs the setup wizard. Use this if you want the full experience (TUI, browser tools, voice) without waiting for lazy installs on first use.
:::

:::tip
If you have [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/) installed, `uv pip install hermes-agent` is faster.
:::

### One-Line Installer (Linux / macOS / WSL2)

For a git-based install that tracks `main` and gives you the latest changes immediately:

```bash
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
```

### Windows (native, PowerShell) — Early Beta

:::warning Early BETA
Native Windows support is **early beta**. It installs and works for the common paths, but hasn't been road-tested as broadly as our POSIX installers. Please [file issues](https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/issues) when you hit rough edges. For the most battle-tested setup on Windows today, use the Linux/macOS one-liner above inside **WSL2** instead.
:::

Open PowerShell and run:

```powershell
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex
```

The installer handles **everything**: `uv`, Python 3.11, Node.js 22, `ripgrep`, `ffmpeg`, **and a portable Git Bash** (PortableGit — a self-contained Git-for-Windows distribution that ships `bash.exe` and the full POSIX toolchain Hermes uses for shell commands; on 32-bit Windows the installer falls back to MinGit, which lacks bash and disables terminal-tool / agent-browser features).  It clones the repo under `%LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\hermes-agent`, creates a virtualenv, and adds `hermes` to your **User PATH**.  Restart your terminal (or open a new PowerShell window) after the install so PATH picks up.

**How Git is handled:**
1. If `git` is already on your PATH, the installer uses your existing install.
2. Otherwise it downloads portable **PortableGit** (~50MB, from the official `git-for-windows` GitHub release) and unpacks it to `%LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\git`.  No admin rights required.  Completely isolated — it won't interfere with any system Git install, broken or otherwise.  (On 32-bit Windows it falls back to MinGit because PortableGit ships only 64-bit and ARM64 assets; bash-dependent Hermes features won't work on 32-bit hosts.)

**Why not use winget?**  Earlier designs auto-installed Git via `winget install Git.Git`, but winget fails badly when a system Git install is in a partial or broken state (exactly when users need the installer to just work).  The portable Git approach sidesteps winget, the Windows installer registry, and any existing system Git entirely.  If the Hermes Git install itself ever breaks, `Remove-Item %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\git` and re-run the installer — no system impact, no uninstall drama.

The installer also sets `HERMES_GIT_BASH_PATH` to the located `bash.exe` so Hermes resolves it deterministically in fresh shells.

If you prefer WSL2, the Linux installer above works inside it; both native and WSL installs can coexist without conflict (native data lives under `%LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes`, WSL data lives under `~/.hermes`).

### Android / Termux

Hermes now ships a Termux-aware installer path too:

```bash
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
```

The installer detects Termux automatically and switches to a tested Android flow:
- uses Termux `pkg` for system dependencies (`git`, `python`, `nodejs`, `ripgrep`, `ffmpeg`, build tools)
- creates the virtualenv with `python -m venv`
- exports `ANDROID_API_LEVEL` automatically for Android wheel builds
- prefers the broad `.[termux-all]` extra and falls back to the smaller `.[termux]` extra (and finally a base install) if the first attempt fails to compile
- skips the untested browser / WhatsApp bootstrap by default

If you want the fully explicit path, follow the dedicated [Termux guide](./termux.md).

:::note Windows Feature Parity (Early Beta)

Native Windows is in **early beta**. Everything except the browser-based dashboard chat terminal runs natively on Windows:
- **CLI (`hermes chat`, `hermes setup`, `hermes gateway`, …)** — native, uses your default terminal
- **Gateway (Telegram, Discord, Slack, …)** — native, runs as a background PowerShell process
- **Cron scheduler** — native
- **Browser tool** — native (Chromium via Node.js)
- **MCP servers** — native (stdio and HTTP transports both supported)
- **Dashboard `/chat` terminal pane** — **WSL2 only** (uses a POSIX PTY; native Windows has no equivalent).  The rest of the dashboard (sessions, jobs, metrics) works natively — only the embedded PTY terminal tab is gated.

Set `HERMES_DISABLE_WINDOWS_UTF8=1` in your environment if you hit an encoding-related bug and want to fall back to the legacy cp1252 stdio path (useful for bisecting).
:::

### What the Installer Does

The installer handles everything automatically — all dependencies (Python, Node.js, ripgrep, ffmpeg), the repo clone, virtual environment, global `hermes` command setup, and LLM provider configuration. By the end, you're ready to chat.

#### Install Layout

Where the installer puts things depends on whether you're installing as a normal user or as root:

| Installer | Code lives at | `hermes` binary | Data directory |
|---|---|---|---|
| pip install | Python site-packages | `~/.local/bin/hermes` (console_scripts) | `~/.hermes/` |
| Per-user (git installer) | `~/.hermes/hermes-agent/` | `~/.local/bin/hermes` (symlink) | `~/.hermes/` |
| Root-mode (`sudo curl … \| sudo bash`) | `/usr/local/lib/hermes-agent/` | `/usr/local/bin/hermes` | `/root/.hermes/` (or `$HERMES_HOME`) |

The root-mode **FHS layout** (`/usr/local/lib/…`, `/usr/local/bin/hermes`) matches where other system-wide developer tools land on Linux. It's useful for shared-machine deployments where one system install should serve every user. Per-user config (auth, skills, sessions) still lives under each user's `~/.hermes/` or explicit `HERMES_HOME`.

### After Installation

Reload your shell and start chatting:

```bash
source ~/.bashrc   # or: source ~/.zshrc
hermes             # Start chatting!
```

To reconfigure individual settings later, use the dedicated commands:

```bash
hermes model          # Choose your LLM provider and model
hermes tools          # Configure which tools are enabled
hermes gateway setup  # Set up messaging platforms
hermes config set     # Set individual config values
hermes setup          # Or run the full setup wizard to configure everything at once
```

---

## Prerequisites

**pip install:** No prerequisites beyond Python 3.11+. Everything else is handled automatically.

**Git installer:** The only prerequisite is **Git**. The installer automatically handles everything else:

- **uv** (fast Python package manager)
- **Python 3.11** (via uv, no sudo needed)
- **Node.js v22** (for browser automation and WhatsApp bridge)
- **ripgrep** (fast file search)
- **ffmpeg** (audio format conversion for TTS)

:::info
You do **not** need to install Python, Node.js, ripgrep, or ffmpeg manually. The installer detects what's missing and installs it for you. Just make sure `git` is available (`git --version`).
:::

:::tip Nix users
If you use Nix (on NixOS, macOS, or Linux), there's a dedicated setup path with a Nix flake, declarative NixOS module, and optional container mode. See the **[Nix & NixOS Setup](./nix-setup.md)** guide.
:::

---

## Manual / Developer Installation

If you want to clone the repo and install from source — for contributing, running from a specific branch, or having full control over the virtual environment — see the [Development Setup](../developer-guide/contributing.md#development-setup) section in the Contributing guide.

---

## Non-Sudo / System Service User Installs

Running Hermes as a dedicated unprivileged user (e.g. a `hermes` systemd service account, or any user without `sudo` access) is supported. The only thing on the install path that genuinely needs root is Playwright's `--with-deps` step, which `apt`-installs shared libraries (`libnss3`, `libxkbcommon`, etc.) used by Chromium. The installer detects whether sudo is available and gracefully degrades when it isn't — it will install the Chromium binary into the service user's own Playwright cache and print the exact command an administrator needs to run separately.

**Recommended split (Debian/Ubuntu):**

1. **One time, as an admin user with sudo**, install the system libraries Chromium needs:
   ```bash
   sudo npx playwright install-deps chromium
   ```
   (You can run this from anywhere — `npx` will fetch Playwright on the fly.)

2. **As the unprivileged service user**, run the regular installer. It will detect the missing sudo, skip `--with-deps`, and install Chromium into the user's local Playwright cache:
   ```bash
   curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
   ```

   If you want to skip the Playwright step entirely — for example because you're running headless and don't need browser automation — pass `--skip-browser`:
   ```bash
   curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.sh | bash -s -- --skip-browser
   ```

3. **Make `hermes` available to the service user's shells.** The installer writes the launcher to `~/.local/bin/hermes`. System service accounts often have a minimal PATH that doesn't include `~/.local/bin`. Either add it to the user's environment, or symlink the launcher into a system location:
   ```bash
   # Option A — add to the service user's profile
   echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc

   # Option B — symlink system-wide (run as an admin)
   sudo ln -s /home/hermes/.hermes/hermes-agent/venv/bin/hermes /usr/local/bin/hermes
   ```

4. **Verify:** `hermes doctor` should now run cleanly. If you get `ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'dotenv'`, you're invoking the repo source `hermes` file (`~/.hermes/hermes-agent/hermes`) with system Python instead of the venv launcher (`~/.hermes/hermes-agent/venv/bin/hermes`) — fix step 3.

The same pattern works on Arch (the installer uses pacman with the same sudo-detection logic), Fedora/RHEL, and openSUSE — those distros don't support `--with-deps` at all, so an administrator always installs the system libraries separately. The relevant `dnf`/`zypper` commands are printed by the installer.

---

## Troubleshooting

| Problem | Solution |
|---------|----------|
| `hermes: command not found` | Reload your shell (`source ~/.bashrc`) or check PATH |
| `API key not set` | Run `hermes model` to configure your provider, or `hermes config set OPENROUTER_API_KEY your_key` |
| Missing config after update | Run `hermes config check` then `hermes config migrate` |

For more diagnostics, run `hermes doctor` — it will tell you exactly what's missing and how to fix it.