Hermes IDE is a vendor-neutral desktop console for centrally running and managing various coding agents, emphasizing a terminal-first way of working. It supports running coding agents from different vendors side by side at the same time, including Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity, OpenCode, GitHub Copilot, goose, Aider, Kiro, and also supports any command the user adds themselves. Each task corresponds to an independent agent, terminal, and branch, and provides a unified inbox that centrally shows which agents are waiting for the user to handle them.
In terms of main capabilities, Hermes IDE provides one line of status information for each agent, showing its status, model, approval mode, and branch. Badges in the interface count the number of agents waiting for approval, answers, or review, and clicking them opens the inbox. Each agent runs in its own terminal, in the same way it would run in other environments. Below its title, it explains what the agent is doing and how Hermes knows this information. Every round of changes is recorded, so a single round can be compared or restored individually without affecting the current branch.
In terms of usage, the user only needs to describe the task, select an agent, and press Enter, and the agent will start in a terminal on a new branch, using that task as the first prompt. Users can choose the account, model, effort level, and approval mode, and Hermes will show the exact command before starting. Edits within the worktree run automatically, while commands, network, and operations on other folders request confirmation. Permissions for edits within the worktree can be remembered, for example Claude Code's --permission-mode acceptEdits. Each session shows only one status: working, needs approval, asked, done, error, or idle. When an agent reports its own status, it is marked as exact. All matters requiring user attention are collected in the inbox in earliest-first order, and ⌘I jumps to the next agent waiting to be handled.
When the user leaves the computer, Hermes can send a short message to ntfy, Telegram, or the user's own webhook, stating that an agent is waiting. The message contains only the agent, work location, task name, and status, and does not contain prompts or code. Notifications on the computer appear only when an agent is waiting for the user or has finished, and do not pop up for the session the user is currently viewing.
In terms of code review, Hermes saves each round of agent changes to git without touching the user's branch, staging area, or stash. Review Desk can display changes by round or by file, send the user's line comments to the agent that wrote that line, and land the work results in one step. For larger features, you can check Track as a feature to let the agent work in stages: question, research, design, structure, plan, implement. Each stage is a short markdown file in the repository, and the agent pauses after each stage until the user approves, edits, or skips.
For account management, Hermes checks which agents are installed and logged in, as well as which options each agent provides at startup. Users can keep both work and personal accounts at the same time and choose for each task. Hermes does not change the agent's own global settings. For cost, Hermes displays the cost reported by the agent; when the agent only writes the token count into the record, Hermes estimates the cost at list price and marks it as an estimate, otherwise it displays n/a. After a limit is set, once the reported cost reaches the limit, the agent stops, and tasks exceeding the limit wait in the queue.
Platform support includes macOS, Linux, and best-effort Windows, is free, and is source-visible under the BSL 1.1 license. Its recent updates include: v2.3.3 fixes message delivery issues when a project is attached to a running terminal session; v2.3.2 ensures that content entered in hidden password prompts (such as sudo, ssh, script passwords) is not remembered or suggested; v2.3.1 improves the self-explanation of the reply bar below the session and avoids hiding replies beyond the edge; v2.3.0 adds a search box to the project menu in the task launcher; v2.2.10 displays a small card from the Hermes team at the bottom of the session list, sharing version updates and other information, which can be closed and will not appear again.
Regarding limitations and information not provided: its specific charging model, prices, and platform details are not provided in the above materials. The official statement clearly states that Hermes IDE is not affiliated with Nous Research or its Hermes Agent, and is not endorsed by the relevant parties. All product names and logos are trademarks of their respective owners.
