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Hermes Computer Use Setup: Let an AI Work in Another Window While You Type

Set up Hermes Computer Use so an agent can interact with desktop apps while you keep typing, with platform prerequisites and troubleshooting steps.
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To let Hermes operate desktop apps while you keep working, enable its Computer Use toolset, confirm the driver is installed, grant the required operating-system permissions, and start a Computer Use session. Hermes documents the feature as interacting with a target window without taking keyboard focus, moving your real cursor, or switching virtual desktops. The exact setup depends on where Hermes’ display is running and which operating system hosts it.

What Computer Use does—and what “background” means

Hermes Computer Use is for desktop-level interaction: it can inspect the accessibility tree and send synthesized input to a target app without bringing that window to the foreground. The bundled skill describes the intended workflow as letting you keep typing in your editor while the agent clicks around in a browser in another window. These are documented product behaviors, not independently verified test results. See the Hermes Computer Use guide and its bundled Computer Use skill.

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“Background” does not mean the agent can act on any computer from anywhere: it operates on the machine hosting the bot’s screen. Depending on configuration, that may be the local gateway host or a supported sandbox display. Some hosted sandboxes cannot provide a display; Hermes refuses Computer Use in that arrangement unless it is configured to use a supported gateway placement.

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Set up Computer Use

  1. Enable the toolset. In the CLI, run hermes tools and select Computer Use. You can also enable it from the dashboard or desktop app. Current installers and the desktop app include the driver by default, though setup may be skipped or a download may fail.
  2. Install or verify the driver. If it is missing or needs repair, run hermes computer-use install. Then check it with hermes computer-use status.
  3. Meet your operating system’s requirements. Use the relevant platform instructions below before starting a session.
  4. Start a session. Run hermes -t computer_use chat. To make the toolset available through the regular configuration, add computer_use to the enabled toolsets in ~/.hermes/config.yaml.
  5. Diagnose setup failures. Run hermes computer-use doctor. The guide identifies this as the first diagnostic step for common driver, permission, and display problems.

These commands and setup options are documented in the Computer Use guide.

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Check the prerequisites for your operating system

Platform What to check
macOS Grant Accessibility and Screen Recording in System Settings → Privacy & Security to the identity reported by hermes computer-use doctor. The guide identifies the driver as CuaDriver / com.trycua.driver.
Windows The guide lists no install-time permission prerequisite. For use over SSH rather than RDP or a local console, follow the guide’s autostart pattern: SSH can put the process in Session 0, without an interactive desktop.
Linux Provide a reachable display: DISPLAY for X11 or XDG_SESSION_TYPE=wayland for Wayland. Wayland capture also needs an XWayland bridge, and AT-SPI must be enabled.

The current guide says the driver is installed for macOS, Windows, and glibc Linux targets; it lists no musl or Android build. Platform and display requirements are documented in the Hermes setup guide.

Choose Computer Use or browser tools

Use Computer Use when the agent needs to interact with desktop UI beyond webpage content: native apps, browser chrome, permission prompts, extension popups, or native dialogs. For webpage content and DOM-oriented navigation or interaction, the bundled skill directs users to browser tools such as browser_navigate, browser_click, browser_type, browser_snapshot, and—when Browser Use CLI is active—browser_exec.

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Hermes Browser Use mode uses a packaged Chromium locally by default, rather than the user’s installed Chrome. Cloud browser providers and connected-browser paths can be configured separately. See the Hermes Browser Automation guide and the bundled skill’s tool guidance.

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Keep the agent’s actions scoped and predictable

  • Start with a capture so the agent can inspect the current state, then scope captures to the target app. The bundled skill advises against raising a window unless you explicitly ask.
  • After an action that changes the interface, capture again before using element indices. Indices can become stale when the screen state changes.
  • If a click appears ineffective, capture the screen and check whether a modal dialog is blocking the target.
  • Remember that Computer Use acts on the display where the bot is hosted. If a sandbox has no usable display, configure a supported gateway placement instead of expecting it to control your local screen automatically.

These workflow recommendations and behavior details come from the Computer Use guide and bundled skill.

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Troubleshoot common setup and action failures

  • Driver missing: Enable Computer Use in hermes tools, or run hermes computer-use install, then confirm with hermes computer-use status.
  • macOS permissions still appear unavailable: If the permission check remains stale after a driver update, the guide describes resetting the relevant Accessibility or Screen Capture grant and granting it again to the identity reported by the doctor.
  • Linux capture is empty: Check that the display is set and reachable. A pure Wayland setup without the XWayland bridge can also cause empty captures.
  • Windows capture is empty over SSH: Check whether the process is in Session 0; use the guide’s Windows SSH autostart procedure to run it with an interactive desktop.
  • Clicks do nothing: Capture again to look for a blocking modal, and obtain fresh element indices after the interface changes.

For platform-specific diagnostic steps, use hermes computer-use doctor and the official troubleshooting guidance.

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