Download Hermes Agent

Name: Hermes Agent
Author: Nous Research

The simplest route on macOS or Windows is the official desktop installer. For Linux, servers, WSL2 and command-line workflows, Nous Research also publishes installer scripts and the package on PyPI.

Current version: v0.20.0. Free and MIT-licensed, commercial use included.

Desktop installers for macOS and Windows

Download the current desktop build from the official Hermes Agent website. It is the quickest path if you want the graphical app; the command-line methods below remain available for servers and terminal-first setups.

Linux, macOS, WSL2 and Termux

One command, roughly a minute:

curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash

Read it before you run it. Piping a script straight into a shell is convenient and it is also how you hand a stranger your user account. On any machine that matters, look first:

curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh -o hermes-install.sh
less hermes-install.sh
bash hermes-install.sh

That is not a warning about Hermes specifically — the project is MIT-licensed with public source. It is the habit worth keeping for every install script.

Windows

Native Windows has its own installer. In PowerShell:

iex (irm https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.ps1)

WSL2 works too, using the Linux command above. If you already live in WSL, prefer it — most community guides and troubleshooting answers assume a Unix-shaped filesystem.

With pip

Hermes is published on PyPI as hermes-agent, which suits anyone who would rather manage it inside their own Python environment:

pip install hermes-agent
hermes postinstall

Requires Python 3.11 or newer, below 3.14. The post-install step handles the non-Python tools Hermes uses, including Node.js, ripgrep and ffmpeg. Current packages normally invoke this bootstrap automatically; run it explicitly if pip finishes but hermes doctor reports a missing dependency.

Launch Desktop from a CLI installation

If you already installed the CLI, you can launch its free, MIT-licensed GUI directly:

hermes desktop

On Linux the desktop build needs a compiler present: install build-essential, or g++ on distributions that package it separately.

What you need first

Platform	Prerequisites
macOS	Git
Linux / WSL2	Git, `curl`, `xz-utils`
Windows (native)	PowerShell — the installer handles the rest
Desktop app (Linux)	Also `build-essential` or `g++`

You do not need to install Python, Node.js, ripgrep or ffmpeg yourself. The installer pulls uv, Python 3.11, Node.js v22, ripgrep and ffmpeg as part of the run.

Where it puts things

Install mode	Code	Binary
Per-user (normal)	`~/.hermes/hermes-agent/`	`~/.local/bin/hermes`
Root mode	`/usr/local/lib/hermes-agent/`	`/usr/local/bin/hermes`

Install as your normal user, not with sudo. A root install puts Hermes and its memory in root's home directory, where your everyday user cannot reach it — and the symptom is a confusing command not found rather than a clear error.

After it finishes

Reload your shell so the new binary is on PATH:

source ~/.zshrc    # or: source ~/.bashrc

Then confirm the install is healthy before configuring anything:

hermes doctor

Pick a model provider and start talking to it:

hermes model     # choose your LLM provider
hermes           # start chatting

When you are ready for the rest — tools, gateways, memory location:

hermes setup            # full configuration wizard
hermes tools            # enable or disable tools
hermes gateway setup    # connect Telegram, Discord, Slack…

Step-by-step guides

The commands above are the short version. If you want the walkthrough with the failure modes called out as you go:

Download FAQ

Where do I download Hermes Agent?

Nous Research provides desktop installers for macOS and Windows at hermes-agent.nousresearch.com. CLI users can use the official shell or PowerShell installer, or install the package from PyPI.

Is Hermes Agent safe to install?

The project is MIT-licensed and its source is public on GitHub, so the code is auditable. The install method deserves the usual care given to any script piped into a shell: read it first if you are installing on a machine that matters.

Do I need to install Python or Node.js first?

No. The installer handles uv, Python 3.11, Node.js v22, ripgrep and ffmpeg for you. On non-Windows systems Git is the only real prerequisite, plus curl and xz-utils on Linux.

Where does Hermes Agent install to?

In the normal per-user install, the code goes to ~/.hermes/hermes-agent/ and the launcher is symlinked into ~/.local/bin/hermes. A root-mode install puts them in /usr/local/lib/hermes-agent/ and /usr/local/bin/hermes instead.

How do I know the install worked?

Run hermes doctor. It checks dependencies, config location and provider setup in one pass, and turns most "it is broken" situations into a specific answer.

Install commands verified against the official Nous Research documentation. This is an independent guide, not an official distribution channel — the commands point at Nous Research's own servers, never at files hosted here.