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This FAQ explains how Herm fits with Hermes Agent and Eikon. It favors current source truth over old release notes.

Runtime and install

No. Herm is a terminal UI for Hermes Agent. Hermes Agent owns models, providers, tools, sessions, profiles, cron, skills, memory, MCP, and gateway runtime behavior.Herm starts and talks to the Hermes gateway so you can operate those surfaces from one terminal interface.
Herm tracks current Hermes Agent behavior. It does not promise compatibility with old Hermes Agent versions because gateway and session interfaces change quickly.If an update breaks Herm, use /status and /logs to inspect Herm and gateway versions, then update Herm to a current release.
Yes. Bun is the development runtime and the recommended package runner. The npm global install is also supported.
To try Herm without a global install, run:
Windows is supported through the npm launcher. If the gateway cannot find Python or the Eikon tab reports Python-related errors, set HERMES_PYTHON to the full interpreter path.

Configuration and data

Herm reads Hermes Agent data from HERMES_HOME, which defaults to ~/.hermes. Hermes Agent stores sessions, profiles, skills, memory, cron jobs, and related runtime data there.Herm stores its own UI preferences in $HERMES_HOME/herm/tui.json by default. Set HERM_CONFIG_DIR to move those preferences elsewhere.
Use /model in the chat composer to open the model picker. You can also use the Config tab, which exposes the main model slot and auxiliary model slots.Model behavior is still owned by Hermes Agent. Herm only provides the UI for editing the relevant settings.
Edit the active profile .env file, then run /reload in Herm. The gateway re-reads environment values without a full restart.

Eikons

An eikon is an animated terminal avatar shown in the Herm chat sidebar. .eikon artifacts decode to typed NDJSON runtime records and may be stored as plain UTF-8 or gzip-compressed bytes.Standard states are idle, listening, thinking, speaking, working, and error.
Open /marketplace, select an entry, and press Enter to open its actions dialog. Choose an install action, then use the dialog or Gallery to activate the entry when ready.For local source media or package sources, open /gallery, press n, and use the New / Install dialog.
eikon.liftaris.dev is a discovery gallery. It previews catalog entries and shows install instructions. Native install, use, update, source download, and deletion flows happen in Herm or the Eikon CLI.

Themes, skins, and plugins

A skin is a Hermes Agent skin setting that Herm can mirror with a matching Herm theme and bundled eikon when available. Use /skin [name] to apply one.Switching skins does not delete local themes, eikons, or sessions.
Herm plugins are bundled TypeScript modules. A plugin exports a HermPlugin with an id, optional enabled flag, and tui(api) factory.Current plugins can register app_bottom UI, routes, command-palette actions, gateway event listeners, KV state, lifecycle cleanup, and Eikon rasterizers. User-installed plugin directories are not loaded yet.
Start with the bundled demo.clock and demo.files source files, then read Plugin examples. Those examples match the current bundled-only plugin model.