Hermes Agent v0.16.0 adds desktop app and browser admin panel

Hermes Agent v0.16.0, released June 5, 2026, is centered on a new native desktop app and a much broader web dashboard, according to the project’s release notes. The update is called “The Surface Release” because it is meant to make Hermes easier to use where people already work: on the desktop, in the browser, and across messaging platforms.

The biggest addition is the desktop app, which Hermes says is a real macOS, Linux, and Windows application rather than a terminal wrapper. It supports one-click install, in-app self-update, drag-and-drop file attachments, clipboard image paste, a command palette, an inline model picker in the status bar, and multiple profiles in one window.

The company also said the desktop app can connect to a remote Hermes gateway instead of running everything locally. That means a laptop can act as a thin client while the agent runs on another machine, such as a homelab server or a hosted box, using OAuth or username/password sign-in over a secure WebSocket.

The web dashboard also changed significantly. Hermes said it now acts as a full administration panel, with browser-based controls for messaging channels, the MCP catalog, credentials, webhooks, memory, gateway settings, and system updates.

MCP stands for Model Context Protocol, a way for an agent to connect to external tools and services. In this release, users can enable or disable MCP entries from the browser and manage channels such as Telegram, Discord, and Slack without SSHing into the server or editing config files by hand.

First-time setup was also simplified. Hermes added a “Quick Setup via Nous Portal” path that takes users from install to first message in seconds, alongside a fuller setup flow for advanced users. The release notes say the goal is for new users to get started without reading documentation first.

The update also adds a fuzzy-searchable model picker across the desktop app, web dashboard, TUI, and CLI. Hermes said users can type a few letters to find a model, and the catalog now refreshes hourly instead of daily so new models appear sooner.

Other usability changes include a new /undo command that can back up the last N user turns, plus a choice of default interface between the classic CLI and the TUI. The TUI is Hermes’ text-based user interface.

Hermes also trimmed its default skill set. The project said redundant and dead skills were removed, while heavier or niche skills were moved to optional installs so they are available on demand but no longer loaded by default.

The Skills Hub gained NVIDIA/skills as a trusted tap alongside OpenAI, Anthropic, and HuggingFace. Hermes said that makes NVIDIA’s verified skills easier to browse, search, and install.

The release also includes a full Simplified Chinese translation across the desktop app, and the company says the language choice is stored in the user’s config file. On the security side, Hermes said it addressed CVE-2026-48710 with a Starlette pin, hardened SSRF handling off the main event loop, and stripped subprocess credentials. The release notes also mention fixes for two P0 issues, 62 P1 issues, and 16 security-tagged issues closed in the cycle.