hermes-agent/apps/desktop
brooklyn! 85b65e29f0
feat(desktop): session hygiene, archive, media streaming + connecting overlay (#37099)
* feat(desktop): session hygiene, archive, media streaming + connecting overlay

Address a batch of desktop feedback:

- Stop leaking empty "Untitled" sessions: the TUI gateway pre-created a DB
  row on every session.create (i.e. every launch/draft). Persist the row
  lazily on first prompt instead, and hide message-less rows in the sidebar.
- Archive/hide sessions: new `archived` column + set_session_archived, web
  API (`?archived=` + PATCH archived), Ctrl/⌘-click and a context-menu item
  in the sidebar, and an "Archived Chats" settings panel to restore/delete.
- Videos load via a streaming `hermes-media://` protocol instead of capped,
  in-memory data URLs (16 MB limit) — bypasses the cap and supports seeking.
- Background-process completions route to the session that launched them:
  the completion event now carries session_key and each poller only consumes
  its own.
- Sidebar: "Group by workspace" toggle is always visible; each workspace
  group gets a "+" to start a session in that directory; "New agent"/"Agents"
  relabeled to "New session"/"Sessions".
- New gateway connecting overlay (ascii decode → fade out) replacing the bare
  skeleton/"starting gateway" state.

* fix(desktop): bail connecting overlay on boot error

The shownRef latch kept the connecting overlay mounted behind
BootFailureOverlay after a hard boot failure. Return null on boot.error
so the failure recovery surface fully owns the screen.

* fix(desktop): address Copilot review

- /api/sessions: validate `archived` (400 on unknown) and return `archived`
  as a JSON boolean instead of SQLite's 0/1.
- PATCH /api/sessions/{id}: 400 (not a misleading 404) when the body has no
  updatable fields; stop conflating a no-op with "not found".
- hermes-media protocol: drop `bypassCSP` — streaming only needs
  secure/standard/stream/supportFetchAPI.
- Sidebar workspace header: split the toggle and the "+" into sibling buttons
  so we no longer nest interactive elements inside a <button>.

* fix(desktop): address Copilot re-review

- hermes-media protocol: restrict streaming to an audio/video extension
  allowlist (415 otherwise) so it can't be used to read arbitrary local files.
- Connecting overlay: use z-[1200] instead of the non-standard z-1200 utility.

* Potential fix for pull request finding

Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
2026-06-01 20:41:34 -05:00
..
assets Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00
electron feat(desktop): session hygiene, archive, media streaming + connecting overlay (#37099) 2026-06-01 20:41:34 -05:00
public Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00
scripts Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00
src feat(desktop): session hygiene, archive, media streaming + connecting overlay (#37099) 2026-06-01 20:41:34 -05:00
.prettierrc Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00
components.json Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00
eslint.config.mjs Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00
index.html Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00
package-lock.json Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00
package.json Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00
preview-demo.html Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00
README.md Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00
tsconfig.json Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00
vite.config.ts Add Hermes desktop app (#20059) 2026-05-31 17:46:56 -05:00

Hermes Desktop ☤

Download Documentation Discord License: MIT

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 agentStreaming responses, live tool activity, structured tool summaries, and the same conversation history as every other Hermes surface.
Side-by-side previewsRender web pages, files, and tool outputs in a right-hand pane while you keep chatting.
File browserExplore and preview the working directory without leaving the app.
VoiceTalk to Hermes and hear it back.
Settings & onboardingManage providers, models, tools, and credentials from a real UI. First-run setup gets you to your first message in seconds.
Stays currentBuilt-in updates pull the latest agent and rebuild the app in place.

Install

Add --include-desktop to the one-line installer and it sets up the agent and builds the desktop app in one go:

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

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

When a release ships desktop installers they're attached to its releases page.dmg (macOS), .exe / .msi (Windows), .AppImage / .deb / .rpm (Linux). These are published manually, so the install-with-Hermes path above is the most reliable way to get the latest.


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). The only thing worth knowing:

  • Windows — the installer bundles its own Git and Python; no admin rights or system changes required.
  • macOS / Linux — uses your system Python 3.11+ (installed automatically if missing).

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:

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 only the Electron shell. On first launch it installs the Hermes Agent runtime into HERMES_HOME (~/.hermes, or %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes on Windows) — the same layout a CLI install uses, so the two are interchangeable. The renderer (React, in src/) talks to a hermes dashboard --tui backend over the standard gateway APIs and reuses the embedded TUI rather than reimplementing chat. The install, backend-resolution, and self-update logic all live in electron/main.cjs.

Verification

Run before opening a PR (lint may surface pre-existing warnings but must exit cleanly):

npm run fix
npm run type-check
npm run lint
npm run test:desktop:all

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.

# Force a clean first-launch setup
rm "$HOME/.hermes/hermes-agent/.hermes-bootstrap-complete"   # macOS/Linux
# Rebuild a broken Python venv
rm -rf "$HOME/.hermes/hermes-agent/venv"                     # macOS/Linux
# Reset a stuck macOS microphone prompt
tccutil reset Microphone com.nousresearch.hermes

Community


License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Built by Nous Research.