Hermes Desktop v0.7.1

Hermes Desktop v0.7.1

v0.7.1 is a focused reliability release for people already working inside
Hermes Desktop every day. It improves in-app chat approval handling, adds more
complete Kanban operations, and makes cron jobs more flexible while preserving
the same direct SSH-only model.

Hermes Desktop still talks to the selected Hermes host over SSH. The host
remains the source of truth. There is no gateway API, remote helper daemon,
local mirror, or background sync layer added in this release.

Highlights

• safer in-app chat behavior when Hermes requests command approval during a
  non-interactive turn
• clearer Auto-approve commands copy: it approves command requests for the
  current turn, and without it approval-required commands may be blocked in
  chat
• a new approval-needed state when a chat turn cannot continue usefully because
  manual approval is required; users can retry with auto-approve enabled or
  resume the same session in Terminal to review the command themselves
• no forced interruption when Hermes receives a denial and can still continue:
  in that case the transcript shows Hermes' normal response
• richer Kanban task editing, including dependency links and task metadata
  updates from the native board UI
• Kanban recovery actions for tasks that need operator attention after warning
  or worker recovery states
• script-only cron jobs, which run a host script and deliver stdout directly
  without creating an agent turn
• cron job details now show script and working-directory metadata where
  available, making scheduler state easier to inspect from the app
• menu command intent handling is more stable when switching sections during
  app-level flows
• continued localization coverage for English, Simplified Chinese, and Russian
  strings touched by this release

Compatibility

• The app still requires SSH access from this Mac to the Hermes host, with
  python3 available on the host.
• In-app chat still requires the remote hermes CLI to be available on the
  host's non-interactive SSH PATH.
• Auto-approve uses Hermes' own auto-approval mode for that chat turn. Leave it
  off for safer default chat turns; use it only when you intentionally want the
  turn to approve command requests automatically.
• If you want to review commands manually, use Resume in Terminal and continue
  the session from Hermes' interactive terminal surface.
• Multiple Kanban boards and newer Kanban operations require a Hermes Agent
  build with the upstream board and task APIs used by this release.
• Script-only cron jobs appear and save correctly when the host supports the
  cron job fields used by current Hermes Agent builds.

Still True

• Hermes Desktop still connects directly over SSH.
• The Hermes host remains the source of truth.
• Sessions, Kanban, cron jobs, files, skills, usage, and terminal work stay
  anchored to the selected host and profile.
• There is no desktop gateway API, remote helper daemon, local mirror, or shadow
  sync layer.

Notes

• universal macOS build for Apple Silicon and Intel
• open source
• ad-hoc signed and not notarized yet, so first launch may still require
  right-click -> Open / Open Anyway
• release archive: HermesDesktop.app.zip
• checksum: HermesDesktop.app.zip.sha256

Hermes Desktop v0.7.0

Hermes Desktop v0.7.0

v0.7.0 is a release about staying close to upstream Hermes while making the
desktop workspace feel more deliberate.

Since v0.6.1, the biggest change is the Kanban upgrade: Hermes Desktop now
understands the newer upstream board model, while keeping the same host-first
SSH design. The default board still lives at ~/.hermes/kanban.db, and newer
Hermes Agent builds can expose additional boards under the host-wide Kanban
home.

This release also adds a small but useful app update check, refreshes the
README preview gallery, and gives the embedded terminal a more polished set of
appearance controls.

Highlights

• upstream Kanban board management, including board selection, board creation,
  board archive, and fallback behavior for hosts that only expose the default
  ~/.hermes/kanban.db board
• richer Kanban task operations over SSH: task creation, search, filters,
  assignment, comments, block, unblock, complete, archive, delete, run history,
  event history, worker log tailing, and dispatcher nudging when the host
  supports it
• Kanban compatibility checks that clearly tell users when a newer Hermes Agent
  build is needed for multiple boards or home-channel subscriptions
• terminal appearance polish with six stable presets, custom background and
  text color tuning, and anchored ANSI palettes so prompts, git output, and
  command-line tools stay readable
• built-in Hermes Desktop update checks against GitHub Releases, with automatic
  checks limited to the app itself and manual checks available from the Hermes
  menu
• refreshed README preview gallery with six current screenshots: Sessions,
  Kanban, Files, Usage, Skills, and Terminal
• documentation updates that describe the host-wide Kanban home, app-only update
  checks, and the 0.7.0 release packaging path
• continued localization coverage for English, Simplified Chinese, and Russian
  strings touched by this release

Compatibility

• Multiple Kanban boards require a Hermes Agent build with the newer upstream
  board APIs.
• Hosts with only the default upstream Kanban database still use
  ~/.hermes/kanban.db.
• The update checker checks Hermes Desktop releases only. It does not update
  Hermes Agent on the host and does not send host, profile, file, session, or
  Kanban content to GitHub.

Still True

• Hermes Desktop still connects directly over SSH.
• The Hermes host remains the source of truth.
• There is no desktop gateway API, remote helper daemon, local mirror, or shadow
  sync layer.
• Kanban, sessions, cron jobs, files, skills, usage, and terminal work stay
  anchored to the selected host.
• The app continues to favor a native Mac surface for the real Hermes workflow
  over a second transport model.

Notes

• universal macOS build for Apple Silicon and Intel
• open source
• ad-hoc signed and not notarized yet, so first launch may still require
  right-click -> Open / Open Anyway
• release archive: HermesDesktop.app.zip
• checksum: HermesDesktop.app.zip.sha256

Hermes Desktop v0.6.1

Hermes Desktop v0.6.1 is a focused patch release for v0.6.0.

What changed:

• Fixed the read-only SQLite fallback used by Kanban, Sessions, Usage, and remote discovery when the SSH-spawned python3 cannot import the Hermes CLI modules.
• On some hosts, WAL-mode Hermes databases could fail to open through SQLite's mode=ro URI path when -wal / -shm sidecar files were absent or not usable. For affected users this could surface as Unable to load the remote Hermes Kanban board: unable to open database file.
• Hermes Desktop now first tries the normal read-only open path, verifies the schema can be read, and only falls back to SQLite immutable=1 for the specific read-only/WAL failure mode.

Scope:

• This did not affect every v0.6.0 user.
• Users were most likely to see it when non-interactive SSH resolved python3 outside the Hermes Agent virtualenv, causing Hermes Desktop to use its direct SQLite fallback.
• The SSH-first product model is unchanged: no gateway, daemon, local mirror, or background sync layer has been added.

Thanks to @OmarB97 for reporting and diagnosing the WAL read-only edge case.

Download:

• Use HermesDesktop.app.zip, the single universal macOS archive for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
• This build is still ad-hoc signed and not notarized, so macOS may still require right-click > Open on first launch.

Validation:

• Ran ./scripts/run-tests.sh: 46 tests passed.
• Added a regression test that executes the generated remote Python helper against a WAL-mode SQLite database in the affected read-only/sidecar state.
• Built HERMES_VERSION=0.6.1 ./scripts/package-github-release.sh.
• Verified CFBundleShortVersionString is 0.6.1 and CFBundleVersion is 72.
• Verified universal architectures: x86_64 arm64.
• Verified ad-hoc signature with codesign --verify --deep --strict.
• Verified checksum with shasum -a 256 -c dist/HermesDesktop.app.zip.sha256.
• Verified archive integrity with unzip -t dist/HermesDesktop.app.zip.

SHA-256:

7b9e4db2fb3c1c513d31a61b753c702a115834d2d1448f7c6e2657608ffb547d  HermesDesktop.app.zip

Hermes Desktop v0.6.0

Hermes Desktop v0.6.0 is the release where the app becomes a fuller native host workbench while keeping the original SSH-first model intact.

What changed:

• Added SSH-backed workspace file browsing and bookmarks for selected remote text files, including project notes such as AGENTS.md or AGENT.md, alongside the canonical Hermes files. Saves remain conflict-aware, and editable files are limited to 10 MB.
• Added a native session workbench with richer search, pinned sessions, readable transcripts, compact tool-output summaries, in-app chat continuation, and terminal resume.
• Added upstream Kanban board support for the host-wide ~/.hermes/kanban.db, including create, assign, comment, block, unblock, complete, archive, delete, run history, event history, worker log visibility, and dispatcher nudging.
• Improved terminal and SSH reliability, including resize/reflow fixes, isolated interactive shells, shorter SSH control socket paths, and recreation of the temporary control socket directory if macOS prunes it.
• Refreshed README screenshots, release notes, and the GitHub Pages website copy for the v0.6.0 surface.
• Kept English, Simplified Chinese, and Russian localization tables in sync with release-support tests.

Still true:

• Hermes Desktop connects directly over SSH.
• The Hermes host remains the source of truth.
• There is no gateway API, remote daemon, local mirror, or shadow sync layer.
• Workspace file bookmarks are local pointers to remote host files, not a second copy of the filesystem.

Download:

• Use HermesDesktop.app.zip, the single universal macOS archive for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
• This build is still ad-hoc signed and not notarized, so macOS may still require right-click > Open on first launch.

Validation:

• Ran ./scripts/run-tests.sh: 45 tests passed.
• Built HERMES_VERSION=0.6.0 ./scripts/package-github-release.sh.
• Verified CFBundleShortVersionString is 0.6.0 and CFBundleVersion is 71.
• Verified universal architectures: x86_64 arm64.
• Verified ad-hoc signature with codesign --verify --deep --strict.
• Verified checksum with shasum -c dist/HermesDesktop.app.zip.sha256.
• Verified the release zip contains en, ru, and zh-Hans localizations in both the app resources and SwiftPM resource bundle.

SHA-256:

2dcca4f236ecbe3138347f4c80aa26cae16be45fdbe1e3775baf426379343a70  HermesDesktop.app.zip

Hermes Desktop v0.5.5

Hotfix release for the macOS startup crash reported after the localization updates.

What changed:

• Fixed the packaged localization resources by including the SwiftPM resource bundle expected by the app.
• Hardened localization lookup so a missing localized string falls back safely instead of touching the fragile Bundle.module accessor at runtime.
• Added release-build checks so missing en, ru, or zh-Hans localization resources fail packaging immediately.

Validation:

• Ran ./scripts/run-tests.sh: 11 tests passed.
• Built the universal macOS app for x86_64 and arm64.
• Verified codesign with codesign --verify --deep --strict.
• Verified the release zip contains HermesDesktop_HermesDesktop.bundle plus en, ru, and zh-Hans localizations.
• Launched the packaged 0.5.5 app locally and confirmed there was no Bundle.module startup crash.

SHA-256:
ed6b18342f5c95b69d5096080e5a7059ccd826d354641db1b421c35f934458fb HermesDesktop.app.zip

This build is still ad-hoc signed and not notarized, so macOS may still require right-click > Open on first launch.

Hermes Desktop v0.5.4

What's new

• Expands Simplified Chinese and Russian localization coverage across the app.
• Localizes additional copy in Connections, Overview, Files, Sessions, Skills, Cron Jobs, Terminal appearance controls, shared UI, and common alerts/status text.
• Keeps technical examples, remote data, file names, commands, model IDs, and provider values unchanged where they are meant to remain literal.

Download

Use the single universal archive below for both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs:

• HermesDesktop.app.zip

SHA-256:

3d4e672e52e68082727bba6b20cf77959c156d6721d75d292e4861b0f83709e1  HermesDesktop.app.zip

Verification

• swift build
• ./scripts/run-tests.sh: 11 tests in 4 suites passed
• plutil -lint for en, zh-Hans, and ru Localizable.strings
• Built universal app bundle for arm64 and x86_64
• Verified app signature with codesign --verify --deep --strict
• Verified bundled localization resources: en.lproj, zh-Hans.lproj, and ru.lproj

The app is still ad-hoc signed and not notarized, so macOS may require right-click > Open on first launch.

Hermes Desktop v0.5.3

What's new

• Improves Simplified Chinese and Russian localization coverage across the Usage dashboard.
• Localizes Usage panel headings, descriptions, mini-stat labels, chart labels, empty states, and token metadata strings that were still appearing in English in v0.5.2.

Download

Use the single universal archive below for both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs:

• HermesDesktop.app.zip

SHA-256:

1c85094a2b58abe9539a4cc556570ecdc054b3598bd33ac0e0de1be4c359a8df  HermesDesktop.app.zip

Verification

• swift build
• ./scripts/run-tests.sh: 11 tests in 4 suites passed
• plutil -lint for en, zh-Hans, and ru Localizable.strings
• Built universal app bundle for arm64 and x86_64
• Verified app signature with codesign --verify --deep --strict
• Verified bundled localization resources: en.lproj, zh-Hans.lproj, and ru.lproj

The app is still ad-hoc signed and not notarized, so macOS may require right-click > Open on first launch.

Hermes Desktop v0.5.2

What's new

• Adds bundled app localization resources for English, Simplified Chinese, and Russian.
• Packages the localization folders into the macOS app bundle so macOS can follow the user's preferred system language.
• Updates README to document the bundled language support.

Download

Use the single universal archive below for both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs:

• HermesDesktop.app.zip

SHA-256:

a6670d21291981c489767354500de01fa006d51f33a32c546069cc4d44fa5a3f  HermesDesktop.app.zip

Verification

• Built universal app bundle for arm64 and x86_64.
• Verified app signature with codesign --verify --deep --strict.
• Verified bundled localization resources: en.lproj, zh-Hans.lproj, and ru.lproj.
• Validated all Localizable.strings files with plutil -lint.

The app is still ad-hoc signed and not notarized, so macOS may require right-click > Open on first launch.

Hermes Desktop v0.5.1

Hermes Desktop v0.5.1 is a focused patch release.

Changes in this release:

• Fix the Skills view for Hermes profiles that use skills.external_dirs in config.yaml
• Discover external skill directories with local precedence, aligned with Hermes semantics
• Show external skills clearly in the UI and keep them read-only instead of writing ambiguously to the wrong source
• Publish the project landing site through GitHub Pages

This release is otherwise intentionally small and low-risk.

Hermes Desktop v0.5.0

Hermes Desktop v0.5.0

v0.5.0 is the release where Hermes Desktop starts to feel like a complete
native Mac workspace for Hermes Agent over SSH.

Since v0.4.1, the app has grown from a strong SSH-first companion into a much
fuller daily environment for living with Hermes on macOS: cron jobs are now
first-class, Hermes profiles on the same host stay coherent across the app, the
terminal is more mature with tabs and appearance controls, and usage can now
surface host-wide totals when more than one readable profile is available.

Just as important, the broader Hermes ecosystem is clearer now. Nous Research
ships the official Hermes web dashboard, and that makes the split cleaner:
Hermes Desktop is not trying to replace the browser dashboard. It is the native
Mac workspace for direct SSH-based daily use.

Highlights

• first-class cron job workflows on the live Hermes host, including browse,
  create, edit, pause, resume, run-now, and delete flows
• profile-aware host workflows across overview, usage, cron, skills, files, and
  terminal behavior
• terminal tabs, appearance presets, and color customization for a stronger
  long-running shell experience on macOS
• host-wide usage totals across readable Hermes profiles when that data is
  available
• tighter overview and skill workflows, with better workspace clarity and
  remote editing support
• version-stamped universal macOS packaging for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs

Still True

• Hermes Desktop still connects directly over SSH
• the host remains the source of truth
• there is no gateway API, remote daemon, local mirror, or shadow sync layer
• the app stays focused on the real Hermes workflow instead of inventing a
  second transport model

Notes

• universal macOS build for Apple Silicon and Intel
• open source
• not notarized yet, so first launch may still require right-click -> Open /
  Open Anyway