Hermes Agent App + Connect New Hermes Desktop App

1

Hi everyone,

I’m running Hermes Agent on Umbrel OS and would like to use the new Hermes Desktop App as the frontend.

Has anyone successfully connected an Umbrel-hosted Hermes Agent to Hermes Desktop? If so, could you share a step-by-step guide?

Specifically I’m looking for:

  • Whether Umbrel’s Hermes Agent supports remote connection from Hermes Desktop
  • Any required environment variables, tokens, or gateway settings
  • Which URL/port should be used
  • Any reverse proxy or networking configuration needed
  • Common issues and fixes

A guide, screenshots, or documentation link would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

2

You are looking for many things. :slight_smile: If you server is at home and you will access it away as well as local, I recommend using Tailscale. I’m sure the information is out there. What the hardware you are running your agent on? Are you using the big LLM’s or a local LLM, or hybrid? Agents are neat but do you really have a use case for them?

3

Thanks for the suggestions. For my setup, I’m using ChatGPT 5.5 as the LLM backend with Hermes Agent on Umbrel OS. My main goal is to connect the new Hermes Desktop App as the frontend, ideally both locally and remotely, because I just don’t like the old interface. I’m open to using Tailscale if that’s the recommended path. Can I also use Nostr VPN instead? I’m still looking for the exact URL/port, environment variables, tokens, or gateway settings needed for Hermes Desktop to connect to the Umbrel-hosted agent. Did you try to connect it to umbrel hermes agent app?

4

Yes — it should be possible, but the connection is to the Hermes Agent backend/dashboard running on Umbrel, not to the “Umbrel App Store” itself.

Umbrel’s Hermes Agent app runs Hermes inside the Umbrel sandbox and exposes a browser terminal plus a management dashboard. The Hermes Desktop app is designed to talk to a hermes dashboard backend, either local or remote.

Locally, on the same network

Use the Umbrel app’s local address/port for Hermes Agent. In Hermes Desktop, go to:

Settings → Gateway → Remote gateway

Then enter a URL like:

http://umbrel.local:

or:

http://:

Hermes’ own docs say the desktop app can connect to a backend on “a home server,” and the remote backend must be a reachable hermes dashboard process.

Remotely

Yes, but do not expose Hermes directly to the public internet. Hermes’ docs warn that the dashboard can read/write .env secrets and run agent commands, and recommend using a VPN such as Tailscale for trusted-network access.

Best remote setup:

Hermes Desktop → Tailscale/VPN → Umbrel Hermes Agent dashboard

Then in Desktop use something like:

http://:

Important catch

The Desktop app may try to bootstrap its own local Hermes runtime on first launch unless you configure remote mode early. A current GitHub issue notes a workaround using environment variables before first launch:

HERMES_DESKTOP_REMOTE_URL=http://:
HERMES_DESKTOP_REMOTE_TOKEN=

There is not yet a separate “client-only” desktop build that fully avoids local runtime logic.

Bottom line

Local: yes, if you can reach the Hermes dashboard URL from your computer.
Remote: yes, preferably through Tailscale/VPN, not a raw public port.
Direct Umbrel App Store integration: no; the Desktop app connects to the Hermes Agent service/dashboard, not the App Store listing.