Hermes Agent v0.23.0, the Hearth Release from Nous Research (November 5, 2026), serves the full Desktop workspace in a browser from your own gateway, unifies every surface on one session owner, adds conversation rewind and inline terminal images, and expands plugins with spend limits and safer updates.
Last updated: November 7, 2026
Table of contents
- What shipped in the Hearth Release
- Webapp, one gateway, and Desktop
- Rewind, terminal images, and Group Chats
- Plugins, MCP spend limits, and skills
- Upgrade notes and how to update
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
What shipped in the Hearth Release
The official Hermes Agent v0.23.0 GitHub release (November 5, 2026) rolls up v0.22.1–v0.22.7 and frames a shared “hearth”: browser Webapp, one gateway owning every conversation, inline terminal images, rewind, multi-gateway Desktop, Group Chat routing, hermes plugins update, paid MCP price tags, pluggable delegation, and leaner skills.
Hermes remains MIT-licensed on the official site and NousResearch/hermes-agent. Model and Portal pricing are separate. Related FreeAnswers guides: Codex CLI 0.167, Copilot CLI 1.0.105, and OpenClaw 2026.10.10.
| Area | v0.23.0 power-user change | Default / note |
|---|---|---|
| Webapp | Desktop workspace in-browser from your gateway | Off until enabled |
| Sessions | One gateway owns CLI, TUI, Desktop, ACP, bots, cron | One queue/history |
| Terminal / rewind | Inline images; Esc Esc or /rewind |
Edit/resend or fork |
| Desktop | All gateways stay connected | Electron 44; macOS 13+ / 64-bit Win |
| Plugins / MCP | Update all; catalog 600→1,050+; paid tool prices | Auto-update opt-in; spend limits |
| Skills / default | 58→44 skills; GLM-5.3 silent default | curator lock; 1M context |
Webapp, one gateway, and Desktop
The Webapp mirrors Desktop chats, Group Chats, plugins, and settings from the gateway listener. Release notes and the configuration guide say it stays off until webapp.enabled or Web Access is on; hermes webapp opens it. Prefer loopback locally; use 0.0.0.0 only when you intend network or reverse-proxy access behind sign-in. Docker and Nix ship the Webapp bundle.
Each machine’s gateway now owns every session. CLI, TUI, Desktop, API, ACP editors, bots, and cron attach as clients, so chats share one queue and history instead of multiple agent copies double-writing. Desktop keeps every registered gateway connected (This device, SSH, URL), terminal tabs stay on their host, and Group Chats can mix bots across machines. Unlike browser-first products such as Cursor Live Apps or Cursor Cloud Agents, Hermes still centers a self-hosted gateway.
Rewind, terminal images, and Group Chats
Pasted images and tool screenshots draw inline in kitty and Ghostty (CLI/TUI) and in iTerm2, WezTerm, and Konsole (CLI), with coloured blocks elsewhere and full resolution in VS Code’s terminal when enabled.
In the TUI or classic CLI, Esc Esc or /rewind lists earlier messages so you can edit and resend or fork a new session; the original stays unchanged. Mid-turn /new in the TUI starts a fresh session while the busy one continues.
Bot Mode Group Chats can use a lead bot or auto router when nobody is named, accept cron posts into rooms, keep purpose/shared notes, cap bot-to-bot loops, and show live bot status. Desktop and the Webapp share one room list.
Plugins, MCP spend limits, and skills
hermes plugins update updates installed plugins at once; opt-in Auto-update covers CLI, chat, Desktop, and dashboard, and unsafe updates are held back. The catalog grew from about 600 to over 1,050 entries with a Verified vendor tier. Notes call out Meshy, ElevenLabs Music/SFX, X Chat, REA, bubblewrap, and advanced-delegation; Camofox, mcp-serve, agent importers, and Singularity moved to plugins.
Paid MCP tools can declare costs; approvals show price and running total, and Hermes asks before a chat exceeds its limit even in YOLO. Use /delegation with the default backend or the advanced-delegation plugin for model/profile routes. Built-in skills fell from 58 to 44, Office skills merged into microsoft-office, and hermes curator lock blocks agent rewrites of curated skills. See also Mage-VL-Cowork.
Upgrade notes and how to update
Breaking or behavior changes from the notes:
- Old
browser_*tools →browser_execonly (Camofox plugin auto-installs for prior users). - Desktop needs macOS 13+ / 64-bit Windows (Electron 44).
hermes mcp serve→hermes mcp-servefor MCP server clients.- Office skills → one
microsoft-officeskill; Webapp remains off until enabled.
Installers now pin the latest stable release. The quickstart still recommends hermes setup/hermes model, a verified chat, then gateway/plugins. Setup may offer imports from OpenClaw, Claude Code, Codex CLI, or Cursor when found.
- Run
hermes update(or upgrade Desktop), thenhermes doctor. - Rewrite any
browser_*references tobrowser_exec; change MCP launchers tohermes mcp-serve. - Confirm Desktop OS support, then enable the Webapp with
webapp.enabledor Web Access, restart the gateway, and open viahermes webapp. - Optionally run
hermes plugins update, set MCP spend limits, and try Esc Esc //rewind.
Frequently asked questions
What is Hermes Agent 0.23 (the Hearth Release)?
Hermes Agent v0.23.0 is Nous Research’s November 5, 2026 open-source agent release (the Hearth Release). It adds a browser Webapp from your gateway, one gateway-owned conversation across surfaces, rewind, inline terminal images, multi-gateway Desktop, plugin tooling growth, and MCP spend limits.
How do I turn on the Hermes Agent Webapp?
The Webapp is off by default. Enable webapp.enabled or Web Access in Settings, restart the gateway, then use hermes webapp. Docs cover loopback versus 0.0.0.0 binds; Docker and Nix ship the bundle.
What does one gateway owning every conversation mean?
Each machine now runs one gateway that owns every session. CLI, TUI, Desktop, ACP editors, bots, and cron attach as clients, so a chat opened anywhere shares one queue and one history instead of separate agent copies.
How do I rewind a Hermes conversation?
In the TUI or classic CLI, press Esc twice on an empty prompt or type /rewind, pick a message, then edit and resend or fork. The original session stays unchanged. The TUI can start /new while a turn is still running.
What breaking changes should I check before upgrading to 0.23?
Switch to browser_exec only; Desktop needs macOS 13+ or 64-bit Windows (Electron 44); hermes mcp serve becomes hermes mcp-serve; Office skills merge into microsoft-office; and the Webapp stays off until enabled.
What is the default model in Hermes Agent 0.23?
When you never pick a model, the silent default moves from GLM-5.2 to GLM-5.3 at about the same price with the same 1M context on Nous Portal and OpenRouter, per the v0.23.0 notes.
Sources
- GitHub — Hermes Agent v0.23.0 release notes (The Hearth Release)
- Nous Research — Hermes Agent official site
- Hermes Agent docs — Quickstart
- Hermes Agent docs — Configuration (Webapp section)
- GitHub — NousResearch/hermes-agent repository