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SimpleX Chat
SimpleX Chat is a private, decentralised messaging platform where users own their contacts and groups. Unlike other platforms, SimpleX assigns no persistent user IDs — every contact is identified by an opaque internal ID generated at connection time, which makes it one of the most private messengers available.
Run
hermes gateway setupand pick SimpleX for a guided walk-through.
Prerequisites
- The simplex-chat CLI installed and running as a daemon
- Python package websockets (
pip install websockets)
Install simplex-chat
Download the latest release from the simplex-chat GitHub releases page:
# Linux / macOS binary
curl -L https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/releases/latest/download/simplex-chat-ubuntu-22_04-x86-64 -o simplex-chat
chmod +x simplex-chat
The SimpleX Chat project does not publish a prebuilt Docker image for the chat client; to run it under Docker, build from source from the simplex-chat repository.
Start the daemon
simplex-chat -p 5225
The daemon listens on WebSocket at ws://127.0.0.1:5225 by default.
Configure Hermes
Via setup wizard
hermes setup gateway
Select SimpleX Chat and follow the prompts.
Via environment variables
Add these to ~/.hermes/.env:
SIMPLEX_WS_URL=ws://127.0.0.1:5225
SIMPLEX_ALLOWED_USERS=<contact-id-1>,<contact-id-2>
SIMPLEX_HOME_CHANNEL=<contact-id>
| Variable | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
SIMPLEX_WS_URL |
Yes | WebSocket URL of the simplex-chat daemon |
SIMPLEX_ALLOWED_USERS |
Recommended | Comma-separated contact IDs allowed to use the agent |
SIMPLEX_ALLOW_ALL_USERS |
Optional | Set true to allow every contact (use carefully) |
SIMPLEX_HOME_CHANNEL |
Optional | Default contact ID for cron job delivery |
SIMPLEX_HOME_CHANNEL_NAME |
Optional | Human label for the home channel |
Find your contact ID
After starting the daemon, open a conversation with your agent contact. The contact ID will appear in session logs or via hermes send_message action=list.
Authorization
By default all contacts are denied. You must either:
- Set
SIMPLEX_ALLOWED_USERSto a comma-separated list of contact IDs, or - Use DM pairing — send any message to the bot and it will reply with a pairing code. Enter that code via
hermes gateway pair.
Using SimpleX with cron jobs
cronjob(
action="create",
schedule="every 1h",
deliver="simplex", # uses SIMPLEX_HOME_CHANNEL
prompt="Check for alerts and summarise."
)
Or target a specific contact:
send_message(target="simplex:<contact-id>", message="Done!")
Privacy notes
- SimpleX never reveals phone numbers or email addresses — contacts use opaque IDs
- The connection between Hermes and the daemon is local WebSocket (
ws://127.0.0.1:5225) — no data leaves your machine - Messages are end-to-end encrypted by the SimpleX protocol before reaching the daemon
Troubleshooting
"Cannot reach daemon" — Ensure simplex-chat -p 5225 is running and the port matches SIMPLEX_WS_URL.
"websockets not installed" — Run pip install websockets.
Messages not received — Check that the contact's ID is in SIMPLEX_ALLOWED_USERS or approve them via DM pairing.