dc58758a4b
Follow-up to #65890 (router transitions off) and #65898 (structural compare + first-paint budget): profiling the switch path on real 1000+- message sessions with a new CDP harness showed the remaining freeze is NOT markdown rendering — it's a forced-reflow cascade from mount-time layout reads interleaved with style writes across the transcript's layout effects, plus the first-paint budget cut landing too late to stop the full-budget commit. Measured on the two largest local sessions (996 and 1363 messages), main-thread longtask totals per switch: warm 2450ms -> 557ms and 1158ms -> 194ms; first paint 1690ms -> 444ms. Harness: scripts/profile-session-switch.mjs (same CDP family as profile-real-stream.mjs). - use-resize-observer: drop the synchronous initial callback and ride the observer's spec-guaranteed first delivery instead (same frame, after layout, before paint). The sync call ran while the commit's layout was dirty, so every size read in a callback forced a full reflow — with one instance per user bubble (measureClamp read scrollHeight, then WROTE --human-msg-full, re-dirtying layout for the next bubble), the switch commit thrashed for over a second. Inside RO timing the same reads are free. Composer metrics (2x getBoundingClientRect + documentElement style writes) rides the same fix. - Same class, same fix at the remaining call sites profiling surfaced: ExpandableBlock and TerminalOutput (dozens per tool-heavy transcript) now measure/pin via RO initial delivery; the tool-window and thinking-preview pins drop their sync pin() call; the thread timeline's initial active-tick compute joins its existing scroll-time rAF batching so back-to-back transcript updates coalesce. - thread/list: cut the render budget in the RENDER phase (state-from- props adjustment) instead of the post-commit layout effect. The effect-time cut was too late — on a warm switch React first built and committed the full 300-part tree, then re-rendered at 60, then bumped back to 300, so the expensive commit still happened (and on a cold switch the bump rAF usually fired while the transcript was still empty, so the prefetched messages rendered at full budget anyway). The render-phase cut restarts the component before any child renders; a second trigger handles the cold path where messages land later under the same sessionKey. - thread/list: backfill 60 -> 300 inside startTransition so the older turns' markdown+shiki render is interruptible background work instead of a synchronous freeze one frame after the switch paints. Functional Math.max so an urgent "Show earlier" click can't be rebased back down. - composer focus: skip the rAF/timeout focus retries when the element is already focused — focus() runs the full focusing steps (forcing layout) even on the active element, ~585ms per switch on a large dirty DOM. - Replace the tautological render-budget test (it re-declared the constants locally and asserted 60 < 300) with behavior tests of the now-exported buildGroups + firstVisibleGroupIndex. Verification: apps/desktop `npx tsc --noEmit` clean; full `npx vitest run` 210 files / 1763 passed; manual CDP check confirms the deferred backfill commits the full transcript, stays pinned to bottom, and "Show earlier" still pages. |
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| .. | ||
| assets | ||
| electron | ||
| pr-assets | ||
| public | ||
| scripts | ||
| src | ||
| AGENTS.md | ||
| components.json | ||
| DESIGN.md | ||
| eslint.config.mjs | ||
| index.html | ||
| package.json | ||
| preview-demo.html | ||
| README.md | ||
| tsconfig.electron.json | ||
| tsconfig.json | ||
| vite.config.ts | ||
| vitest.config.ts | ||
| vitest.setup.ts | ||
Hermes Desktop ☤
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 agent | Streaming responses, live tool activity, structured tool summaries, and the same conversation history as every other Hermes surface. |
| Side-by-side previews | Render web pages, files, and tool outputs in a right-hand pane while you keep chatting. |
| File browser | Explore and preview the working directory without leaving the app. |
| Voice | Talk to Hermes and hear it back. |
| Settings & onboarding | Manage providers, models, tools, and credentials from a real UI. First-run setup gets you to your first message in seconds. |
| Stays current | Built-in updates pull the latest agent and rebuild the app in place. |
Install
Install with Hermes (recommended)
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:
# throwaway HERMES_HOME, separate Electron userData, distinct app name to avoid the single-instance lock
../scripts/dev-sandbox.sh npm run dev
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 the Electron shell and a native React chat surface. On
first launch it can install the Hermes Agent runtime into HERMES_HOME
(~/.hermes, or %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes on Windows), using the same layout as a
CLI install.
The app has three boundaries:
- Electron resolves and validates a runnable backend, owns native filesystem/git/window capabilities, and exposes a narrow preload bridge.
- React owns the Desktop routes, panes, interaction state, and
@assistant-ui/reacttranscript. - Hermes Agent runs as a headless
hermes serveprocess and exposes thetui_gatewayJSON-RPC/WebSocket API. The renderer connects throughapps/shared, which is also used by the browser dashboard.
Backend resolution is an ordered ladder:
HERMES_DESKTOP_HERMES_ROOT- the current source checkout during development
- a completed managed install
HERMES_DESKTOP_HERMES, orhermesonPATH- a system Python that can import the Hermes runtime
- the first-launch bootstrap installer
Candidates are probed before use; an existing shim or interpreter is not enough.
A runtime that predates serve falls back to headless
dashboard --no-open. This is compatibility for the backend command only and
does not launch or embed the dashboard UI.
The Electron orchestration entry point is electron/main.ts; pure resolution,
probe, hardening, and platform policies live in focused modules beside it. The
renderer is under src/, with shared atoms in src/store and transport/native
adapters in src/lib.
Before changing the app, read:
AGENTS.md: architecture, state ownership, resolver/fallback, transport, performance, and testing rules.DESIGN.md: visual system, information architecture, motion, direct manipulation, and keyboard behavior.
Connections, projects, and switching
Desktop supports a managed local backend, explicit remote gateways, and Hermes Cloud connections. Remote and cloud modes use the same remote-capability path; authentication and discovery differ, not the renderer feature model.
Projects are the workspace abstraction. A project may own multiple folders, repositories, worktrees, and sessions; a bare new chat remains detached unless the user enters a project or configures a default project directory. Use the Projects UI rather than adding a second per-session folder-picker workflow.
Changing profiles or connection modes is a soft workspace switch, not another cold boot. The shell and current management overlay remain mounted while gateway-bound nanostores are wiped, query-backed data is invalidated, and the new connection repopulates skeletons. This prevents rows or transcripts from the previous gateway bleeding into the next one.
Verification
Run before opening a PR (lint may surface pre-existing warnings but must exit cleanly):
npm run fix
npm run typecheck
npm run lint
npm run test:ui
npm run test:desktop:platforms
Run npm run test:desktop:all for install, boot, update, packaging, or other
release-path changes.
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 theHERMES_HOMEenv var if you've relocated it.
Community
- 💬 Discord
- 📖 Documentation
- 🐛 Issues
License
MIT — see LICENSE.
Built by Nous Research.