Hermes AgentAI agentAn AI program that performs work steps by itself, for example reading a message, drafting a reply, and recording the result.Open the glossary 0.23.0 was released on November 5, 2026. It opens the full Desktop workspace in a browser tab, served by the gateway on your own machine. The upgrade is safe for most users, but check 4 changes first: the old browser tools are removed, hermes mcp serve has a new name, Desktop no longer supports macOS 11 and 12, and 3 Office skills are merged.
Hermes Agent is an open-source AI agent from Nous Research. It runs tasks through the terminal, the Desktop app, chat bots such as Telegram, and cron schedules. The gateway is the Hermes background process that receives messages from all of these entry points and runs the agent.
The official v0.23.0 release notes name this release "The Hearth Release". Since v0.22.0, it contains about 1,950 merged PRs, about 850 closed issues, and 666 contributors. It also rolls up the v0.22.1 to v0.22.7 patches, released from October 14 to November 3, 2026.
What is new in Hermes Agent 0.23.0?
Release 0.23.0 brings 6 main changes that you feel in daily use. This table shows each change and the users that get the most benefit.
| Change | What happens | Most benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Webapp | Your gateway serves the Desktop workspace in a browser tab. This feature is off by default. | Business owners who monitor the agent from a phone |
| 1 gateway for all chats | The CLI, TUI, Desktop, editors, bots, and cron use 1 queue and 1 history for each chat. | Teams that use Telegram and Desktop together |
| Rewind | Press Esc 2 times or type /rewind, then edit an earlier message or fork a session. | Developers and prompt writers |
| Images in the terminal | The CLI and TUI show images in kitty, Ghostty, iTerm2, WezTerm, and Konsole. | Users who often send screenshots |
| Prices for paid MCPMCPA standard that lets an AI program use your tools and data under clear permissions.Open the glossary tools | The approval prompt shows the price of each call, the chat total, and the spend limit. | Teams that use paid media or 3D tools |
| Subagent delegation | The advanced-delegation plugin sends each subagent task to a specified model or profile. | Operators who want lower model cost |
The plugin catalog grew from about 600 to more than 1,050 entries. The built-in skills went from 58 to 44. Group Chats now stop bot-to-bot exchanges after 4 hops from the last human message, through the max_hops setting.
The default model also changed. If you never selected a model, Hermes now uses GLM-5.3, not GLM-5.2. The release notes say the price is about the same, with a 1 million token context window.
What does "1 gateway owns every conversation" mean?
Each machine now runs 1 gateway, and all Hermes entry points connect to it as clients. Before, the CLI, Desktop, bots, and cron could each run their own copy of the agent on the same chat.
The release notes say that the old design caused messages to be written 2 times or lost between entry points. Now a chat that you open in Telegram is the same chat in Desktop: 1 queue and 1 history. You can also edit a queued prompt from Desktop, and it does not run 2 times.
Daily effect: you can start a task through Telegram on the road, then continue it on a laptop without copying context. Desktop also stays connected to all gateways at the same time, including SSH gateways. Technical effect: the gateway is now a single point of failure. If the gateway stops, all entry points stop.
How do the Webapp, rewind, and terminal images feel in use?
These 3 features reduce tool switching, because you open the agent from a browser, correct an old prompt, and see images in the chat.
- Webapp. Turn it on with
webapp.enabled: trueor with Settings, then Web Access, in Desktop. Thehermes webappcommand opens it. The Webapp is for 1 user, so a signed-in tab acts as you. - Rewind. Select an earlier message, edit it, and send it again. You can also start a new session from that point. The original session does not change.
- Terminal images. Pasted images and tool screenshots show as images, not as file paths. Other terminals show colored blocks.
Keep 1 risk in mind. The Webapp can open through a public URL with sign-in, and a signed-in tab has full control of the agent, including the terminal. For Hermes on a VPS, limit access with a VPN such as Tailscale or a sign-in layer such as Cloudflare Access.
How do spend limits for paid MCP tools work?
An MCP server can now declare the price of each tool and a spend limit for each chat. Hermes asks for approval before a chat goes over that limit. MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard that connects an AI agent to external tools and data.
Prices and limits can come from a plugin package or from config.yaml. The approval prompt shows the price of the call and the running total of the chat. According to PR #142470 and the release notes, Hermes still asks when a call would go over the limit, also on a trusted server and in YOLO mode.
The limit is clear: this feature works only when the MCP server or your configuration declares a price. A paid tool without a price shows no number. If you build your own MCP server, declare a price for each tool from the start. Our guide to MCP clients for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, OpenClaw, and Hermes shows how to connect 1 server to more than 1 agent.
Is this release cheaper to run for an agent that works all day?
Yes, the release notes record savings in tokens, file edit time, and memory for long-lived gateways. The numbers in this table come from the release notes, not from our own test.
| Area | Before | After 0.23.0 |
|---|---|---|
| One-shot run | Full prompt | 1,570 fewer prompt tokens for each call |
| Recurring cron job | Separate prompt cache for each run | 1 cache key for every run of the same job |
| TypeScript file edit with LSP | 10.1 seconds | About 0.06 seconds |
| Desktop sidebar, about 35,000 cron runs | 121 seconds | Instant |
The gateway also no longer freezes about 1 time each minute during memory trims. Closed sessions now release their memory. For a business that runs bots and cron 24 hours a day, these changes decrease token cost and server load.
Which changes can break your setup?
4 changes need action, and Hermes does not fix 1 of them automatically. This table shows each symptom and the action.
| Change | Symptom if you do nothing | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Old browser tools removed (PR #143146) | Prompts, skills, or toolsets that call the 10 browser_* tools fail | Use browser_exec. Camofox users get the camofox plugin automatically. |
hermes mcp serve becomes hermes mcp-serve | MCP clients that start Hermes as a server do not start | Change the command in the client configuration. Hermes does not rewrite it. |
| Desktop moves to Electron 44 (PR #142727) | Desktop does not run on macOS 11, macOS 12, or 32-bit Windows | Use macOS 13 or later, 64-bit Windows, or move to the CLI. |
| Word, PowerPoint, and Excel skills merged | Old skill copies stay on disk and can confuse the agent | Use the microsoft-office skill. Remove the old copies if you do not need them. |
What problems did users report after the release?
In the first 5 hours after the release, users opened 29 new issues on the Hermes GitHub, and 19 of them have the word bug in the title. Not all reports are about version 0.23.0.
- Issue #149798: on v0.23.0 on macOS, the TUI pane inside Desktop stays disconnected with code 1006. The standalone gateway and
hermes --tuiwork normally. - Issue #149776: a profile with a symlinked home folder loses its identity under the 0.23 gateway. Old sessions do not open again.
- Issue #149736: after you switch the gateway connection, the open chat in Desktop can go blank, and the next message goes to a new session. The reporter found the same code in v0.22.5.
All 3 issues were open on November 6, 2026, at 09:30 WIB (UTC+7). If you use a symlinked profile or the Desktop terminal pane every day, wait for the next 0.23.x patch.
How do you upgrade to Hermes Agent 0.23.0 safely?
A safe upgrade starts with a backup of the Hermes folder. Then check the 4 changes above before you run hermes update.
- Copy the
~/.hermesfolder to a different location. This folder holds the configuration, profiles, skills, and session history. - Find the old browser tool names with
grep -rn "browser_navigate\|browser_click" ~/.hermes. Replace each result withbrowser_exec. - Check the MCP clients that run
hermes mcp serve. Change the command tohermes mcp-serve. - Wait until no session runs. In this release,
hermes gateway stopandrestartrefuse to run while a session is live. - Run
hermes update, then runhermes doctor. - Send 1 message from the Telegram bot and 1 message from the CLI. Make sure that each message goes to the correct history.
- Run 1 cron job manually from Desktop or the CLI. Make sure that the result goes to the correct destination.
- Keep the Webapp off until you set up access limits.
For new installs, install.sh now uses the latest stable release, not the tip of the main branch. Server setup steps are in our guide how to set up Hermes Agent on a VPS. The missed-cron and skill lock features from the earlier patch are in our Hermes Agent 0.22.6 article.
Who should upgrade now, and who can wait?
Bot and CLI users on Linux servers can upgrade this week, but Desktop users with special setups should wait for the next patch.
| User profile | Recommendation | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Telegram or Discord bot on a VPS, no Desktop | Upgrade this week | The gateway uses less memory and fewer tokens. Most early bug reports are about Desktop. |
| Developer who uses the CLI or TUI | Upgrade after the browser tool check | Rewind and fast file edits with LSP help immediately. |
| Desktop user on macOS 11 or 12 | Wait, or move to the CLI | Electron 44 does not run on these systems. |
| Profile with a symlinked home folder | Wait | Issue #149776 is still open. |
| Team that uses paid MCP tools | Upgrade, then declare tool prices | Spend limits work only when prices are declared. |
Example scenario (illustration, not client data). An online shop runs Hermes on a VPS. The owner gives tasks through Telegram, and a cron job sends a stock report each morning. After the upgrade, the owner opens the same chat in Desktop at the office and continues the task without copying context. The admin then declares a price for the product image tool and sets a spend limit for each chat.
What should you do this week?
Check the 4 changes that can break your setup and back up ~/.hermes. Then upgrade the bot server first and Desktop later. Monitor the 3 issues above before you move your team's Desktop installs.
If you need an AI agent installed with clear access limits, our team can help through the AI agent installation and operations service. We install the agent, set the permissions, and then train your team to use it.
Questions and answers
Does the Hermes Agent 0.23.0 Webapp turn on automatically after the upgrade?
No. The Webapp is off by default. You must set webapp.enabled: true or turn on Web Access in Desktop Settings.
Do scripts that use browser_navigate still work in 0.23.0?
No. Release 0.23.0 removes the 10 browser_* tools. Replace these calls with browser_exec before you upgrade.
Does the MCP spend limit also apply in YOLO mode?
Yes. Hermes still asks for approval before a chat goes over its spend limit, also in YOLO mode, if the server or configuration declares tool prices.
Does Hermes Desktop 0.23.0 still run on macOS 12?
No. Desktop 0.23.0 uses Electron 44, which needs macOS 13 or later. You can still use the CLI and the Webapp from an older machine.
How many changes are in Hermes Agent 0.23.0?
The release notes list about 1,950 merged PRs and about 850 closed issues since v0.22.0, from 666 contributors.
