1. What Are the Graphical Ways to Run Hermes?
Hermes has two graphical options besides the terminal (the CLI/TUI): a native Desktop app and a web dashboard that runs in your browser. The key thing to understand up front is that these are not separate products — all three surfaces share one agent core and one memory. Whatever you do in the desktop app shows up in the CLI, and vice versa: sessions, skills, API keys, and memory are the same underneath. If you want the bigger picture of what Hermes is first, start with our Hermes Agent guide from Nous Research.
| Surface | When to use it | How to open |
|---|---|---|
| CLI / TUI | Terminal users; scripting, SSH, keyboard-first workflows | hermes --tui |
| Desktop app | Beginners who want a native GUI with no terminal at all | Download the installer (macOS / Windows) |
| Web dashboard | Configuring settings, browsing sessions, and monitoring from a browser tab | hermes dashboard → http://127.0.0.1:9119 |
Prefer the command line, or brand new to Hermes and not sure it's for you? Two companion reads: our step-by-step Hermes install guide covers every setup path, and our Hermes Agent vs OpenClaw comparison helps you decide if it's the right agent for you.
2. What Is the Hermes Desktop App?
The Hermes Desktop app is a native application for macOS and Windows, shipped as a public preview since June 2026. It's the friendliest way to run Hermes if you'd rather not touch a terminal at all. You download an installer from hermes-agent.nousresearch.com, run it, and you're working in a full graphical interface.
What you get in the desktop app:
- • Streaming tool output — watch the agent's tools run in real time.
- • A side-by-side preview pane — see results next to the conversation.
- • A file browser — navigate files the agent is working with visually.
- • Voice input and output — talk to the agent and hear it back.
- • A settings UI — configure everything without editing config files by hand.
Because it sits on the same core as the CLI, anything you start in the desktop app is available in the terminal later — no export, no sync step. It's the same agent wearing a GUI.
3. What Is the Hermes Web Dashboard?
The web dashboard is a browser-based control panel for Hermes. You launch it with a single command, and it starts a local server on your own machine — by default at http://127.0.0.1:9119:
Community documentation describes the dashboard as being built on a FastAPI backend with a React 19 single-page app front end. Note that 127.0.0.1 means it runs entirely on your computer — your data stays local unless you deliberately change the host binding to allow network access (more on that below).
From that one browser tab, the dashboard lets you (again, as community-documented — not every item is in the official docs yet):
- • Configure settings and API keys without editing YAML by hand.
- • Browse sessions and revisit past conversations.
- • Schedule tasks to run on a cadence.
- • Monitor usage analytics to see what the agent has been doing.
- • Manage files, profiles, skills, memory, and logs in one place.
- • Drop into an embedded web terminal when you do want a shell.
In short: the dashboard is the point-and-click layer over everything Hermes stores in ~/.hermes/, so you rarely need to open a config file yourself.
4. How Do I Open the Hermes Dashboard?
Three steps, assuming Hermes is already installed:
If you haven't installed Hermes yet, our how-to-install-Hermes guide walks through every method (macOS, Windows, Linux, pip, and Docker) before you get here. Secrets live in ~/.hermes/.env and settings in ~/.hermes/config.yaml — the dashboard simply edits those for you through a UI.
5. Can I Access the Dashboard From Another Device?
By default, no — and that's intentional. The dashboard binds to localhost (127.0.0.1), meaning only the machine it's running on can reach it. To open it up to your phone, another laptop, or a server, you have to explicitly change the host binding to allow network access.
Be careful here: exposing the dashboard to a network means anyone who can reach that address can drive your agent, read your sessions, and see your keys. Only do this behind authentication or a VPN — never bind it to a public interface on an untrusted network. If you just want a GUI on your own computer, leave it on localhost and use the desktop app or the default dashboard.
6. Desktop App vs. Web Dashboard — Which Should I Use?
They overlap, but they're aimed at slightly different moments:
- • Reach for the desktop app when you want a polished, installed application for everyday chatting with the agent — streaming output, a preview pane, voice, and a file browser, with nothing to launch from a terminal.
- • Reach for the web dashboard when you want to administer Hermes — tweak settings and keys, browse sessions, schedule tasks, watch analytics, and manage skills, memory, and logs — all from a browser tab, with an embedded terminal on hand.
You don't have to choose permanently. Since everything runs on one core and one memory, you can chat in the desktop app, open the dashboard to schedule a task, then drop to the CLI for a scripted run — all against the same agent state.
7. Frequently Asked Questions
Does Hermes have a web UI/dashboard?
Yes. Alongside the terminal CLI/TUI and the native desktop app, Hermes has a browser-based web dashboard. You start it with hermes dashboard, which runs a local server (by default at http://127.0.0.1:9119). Community documentation describes it as a FastAPI backend with a React 19 single-page app.
How do I open the Hermes dashboard?
Run hermes dashboard in your terminal, then open http://127.0.0.1:9119 in any browser. The server runs locally on your machine, so your data stays on your computer unless you explicitly change the host binding to allow network access.
What platforms does the Hermes Desktop app support?
macOS and Windows, via an installer you download from hermes-agent.nousresearch.com. It's been in public preview since June 2026 and gives you streaming tool output, a side-by-side preview pane, a file browser, voice input/output, and a settings UI — no terminal required.
Are the desktop app and dashboard free?
Yes — both are free and open source under the MIT license, just like the rest of Hermes. Config lives in ~/.hermes/ (secrets in .env, settings in config.yaml). You only pay for the model inference you use.