v1.3.2
May 18, 2026Improved
- ·Recover agent sessions from prompt-too-long; route /compact natively
The Workshop Edition · Vol. I, No. 18BSL · macOS · Linux · Windows
HermesIDE
An IDE for the AI coding era — built for developers who pair with agents all day.
Every project · Every agent · One workshop
Hermes is a desktop IDE built for the way you actually work with AI: every project open at once, each session running its own agent. Claude is native via Agent mode — thinking, tool calls and diffs render as first-class UI, not terminal text. Codex, Gemini, your shell, your own scripts run alongside it in terminal mode. Git worktrees are first-class so a fix branch and a feature branch can coexist without a stash dance.
Architecture
Per-session agent
Each open session has its own model, mode, permissions, cwd, and history. No shared global state — switch sessions, switch context.
Built in
Native Claude
Agent mode talks to Claude directly via stream-json. Thinking blocks, tool calls, and diffs render as first-class UI — not terminal text.
Open
BSL-licensed
Source-available under BSL 1.1. Converts to Apache 2.0 three years after each release. Free for everyone, forever.
hermes workshop · 4 sessions · 3 projects
4
Sessions4
ClaudeAgent14s
CodexTerminal
GeminiTerminal
wt
ClaudeAgentfeat/redesign
3 projects · 2 worktrees
hermes-ideagent · sonnet-4-5 · turn 7
FilesContextNotes
Fix the show-more button — it drifts right on press and the click doesn't land. Then run the tests.
thinking · 4s
The button moves because the global button:active rule clobbers its centering transform. I'll scope an override.
editAgentSessionView.css+12−0
+ .agent-code-fence-show-more:active:not(:disabled) {
+ transform: translateX(-50%) scale(0.97);
+ }
Run the tests and commit if green.
claude · sonnet-4-5bypassmediumsend→
FilesContextNotes
▸
▸
M
M
▸
A
tokens12.4k
↑ 8.1k↓ 4.3k
workingClaude · sonnet-4-5assisted
$0.084 this turnhermes-ide
§ Feature 1Multi-project
One window holds every project. Nothing leaks between them.
Every other AI editor wants you to commit to one project at a time. Open a window, open a repo, ask the agent for help, close the window when you're done. Then do it again for the next project.
Hermes runs them all at once. The sidebar is a session list, not a file tree. Each session has its own model, permission mode, shell, working directory, and conversation. You tab between them like apps in a workspace — because that's what they are.
And worktrees are first-class. A fix branch and a feature branch can coexist as two sessions on the same repo, isolated on disk, sharing nothing. Switch between them at the speed of ⌘1, ⌘2 — no git stash dance, no "please commit your changes before checking out branch".
Claim
Sessions are apps.
Each session has its own model (sonnet / haiku / opus), permission mode (manual / assisted / autonomous), and cwd. They don't share state.
Counterclaim
Yet the workspace is one.
Pin attached paths, share themes, browse a unified file tree, navigate every session with ⌘1..⌘9. You're not running nine apps — you're running one workshop.
Truth
Worktrees, not stashes.
Spawn a session on a new worktree — isolated branch, isolated cwd, isolated state. Merge it back when you're ready. No stash dance.
§ Feature 2Native Claude · Agent Mode
Claude talks to Hermes directly.
Agent mode is a per-session subprocess that streams Claude's output as structured events — not bytes on a TTY. Thinking, tool calls, file diffs, permissions: every part gets its own first-class UI.
You can interrupt mid-thought. You can change the model mid-turn. You can hand a permission request the file it needs without cancelling and restarting. The terminal couldn't do any of that.
- Thinking blocksItalic, set off, with a live elapsed counter.
- Tool callsFile ops, search, bash — each with its own card.
- Diff previewInline patches before you accept or skip.
- Interrupt anytimeStop cleanly mid-stream without killing the session.
§ Feature 3Prompt Composer
The prompt, before the prompt.
Stack roles. Pick a style. Drop your task in. Hermes compiles a clean, structured Markdown prompt before sending it — so every session starts from the same high water mark instead of a blank line.
Stackable
Roles compose.
A Backend Engineer who's also a Security Auditor is one click apart from a Backend Engineer alone. Roles add together; Hermes resolves the seams.
Tunable
Styles have dials.
Concise isn't a switch — it's a level from 1 to 5. Pick the loudness of every voice the agent should answer in.
Repeatable
Templates save the lot.
Once you've composed a good prompt structure, save it as a template. Future sessions pre-fill the same shape — change just the task.
§ Feature 3Eight themes · One vocabulary
Eight rooms, one workshop.
Every theme keeps the two-voice contract — a warm operator and a cool agent — except the three mono-tone themes that alias both voices to one accent. Choose a temperament, not a palette.
§ Modes
Decide how much you want to read — and how much you want to ship.
01
Manual
quiet
Every tool call asks first. Every diff lands in front of you. Slow, exact.
02Recommended
Assisted
balanced
Read-only tools auto-approve. Writes still ask. The default rhythm.
03
Autonomous
loud
Bypass mode — let it run. Mark its work with the red Permission chip so you remember.
§ Shortcuts
The keyboard is the workshop.
Hermes is designed around not touching the mouse. Every common action has a one-handed shortcut.
Command palette⌘K
Jump to session⌘1..9
Open composer⌘J
Send to agent⌘↩
New terminal session⌘⇧T
New agent session⌘⇧A
Project switcher⌘P
Stop turnEsc
Slash commands⌘/
Toggle sidebar⌘B
Toggle rail⌘⇧,
Settings⌘,
v1.3.1
May 16, 2026Fixed
- ·Fix subagent popover surface contrast and frosted-theme consistency
v1.3.0
May 16, 2026Improved
- ·Branch picker single-click + agent masthead ticker polish
Get the workshop
Open the workshop. Try it for a week. See if you ever go back.
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