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How to Update Hermes Agent to the Latest Version

Use the right Hermes Agent update path for your installation: run the managed updater safely, migrate configuration, preserve Docker data, verify gateways, and recover with a documented rollback when necessary.
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For a Hermes Agent installation managed from its source checkout, the supported update command is hermes update. Record your current version first, keep the updater’s default snapshot, run the configuration checks it requests, and verify the gateway after the update. Docker, Nix, Termux, Windows packages, macOS bundles, and manually maintained checkouts use different procedures.

What “latest version” means for Hermes Agent

Hermes does not have one universal update mechanism. The correct procedure is determined by the system that owns the files you are running:

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  • A Hermes-managed source checkout can update itself with the built-in updater.
  • A manually maintained source checkout is updated with Git and the Python environment’s package installer.
  • A Docker deployment is replaced with a newer image; its container filesystem is not updated in place.
  • Nix, Termux, Windows installers, and the macOS bundled application each use their own package or application update lifecycle.

“Latest” also depends on the channel configured for your installation. A checkout following a stable or release channel should be compared with that channel, while a checkout following another configured branch may legitimately report a different version. Do not switch branches merely because another channel has a newer-looking version number.

“Update to the latest version with a single command: hermes update.” — NousResearch, Hermes Agent documentation

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Identify your installation before changing it

Managed source checkout

This is the normal path when Hermes was installed using its own installer and the hermes command knows how to maintain the checkout. The updater can pull the configured code, update dependencies, validate important files, run post-install hooks, and offer configuration changes introduced by newer releases.

Manual source installation

If you cloned or copied the repository yourself and maintain the virtual environment manually, use Git and uv rather than asking Hermes to modify the checkout. You will need the directory containing the repository and its virtual environment activated before reinstalling.

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Image, package, or app installation

If Hermes runs in Docker, under Nix, in Termux, through Windows App Installer or Microsoft Store, or as the macOS bundled app, the outer system owns the installed files. Updating through that owner prevents the package manager, image metadata, or application updater from being left out of sync.

Safe update sequence for a managed checkout

  1. Record the installed version

    Run:

    hermes --version

    Save the output with the date and the account or environment that runs Hermes. This gives you a precise comparison point if the update changes behavior or you need to roll back.

  2. Check whether an update is available

    For a managed checkout, run:

    hermes update --check

    This checks the configured update source without applying the new code. If the command reports that the checkout is current, you can still run the later verification steps; if it reports that the checkout is behind, continue only after confirming that the displayed source and channel are the ones you intend to use.

  3. Keep the pre-update snapshot enabled

    The updater normally creates a snapshot before changing the installation. The snapshot can include runtime state such as pairing data, scheduled cron jobs, config.yaml, .env, and auth.json. The command-line controls are:

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    hermes update --backup
    hermes update --no-backup

    Use the default backup behavior unless you have a specific operational reason to disable it and have made an equivalent copy yourself. A backup is particularly important when the agent has active pairings, scheduled work, credentials, or customized channel settings.

  4. Apply the update

    Run:

    hermes update

    The documented process retrieves the configured code, validates critical files, installs or refreshes dependencies, and reruns post-install hooks. Stay attached to the terminal until it finishes. Read any prompt about configuration options instead of closing the session: newer releases may require a decision before the migration is complete.

  5. Check and migrate configuration

    After the updater returns, inspect the configuration:

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    hermes config check

    If the check identifies settings that are missing, obsolete, or awaiting migration, add new options interactively with:

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    hermes config migrate

    A successful code update does not necessarily mean that every new setting has been created. Treat a failed configuration check as an incomplete update until you resolve the reported item or obtain a clear, intentional result.

  6. Verify the new version and services

    Record the resulting version:

    hermes --version

    Then exercise the part of Hermes you actually depend on: check that the gateway starts, that its configured messaging connection is available, and that scheduled jobs or pairings still appear. An update may restart a gateway as part of the process, so allow a short interruption before declaring a service failure.

What the managed updater changes

The built-in updater is more than a Git pull. It is designed to coordinate several operations that are easy to perform out of order when done manually:

  • Code retrieval: it pulls from the configured update source rather than an arbitrary branch.
  • Critical-file validation: it checks files needed for a usable installation before completing.
  • Dependency installation: it refreshes the environment required by the new code.
  • Post-install hooks: it reruns setup actions expected after an installation change.
  • Configuration prompts: it can identify options added since the previous version and ask how to configure them.

Because these stages can affect a running service, do not treat the command as a background, instantaneous operation. Schedule it when a brief gateway interruption is acceptable and retain the terminal output for troubleshooting.

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Update instructions by installation type

Installation Update action Important qualification
Hermes-managed source checkout hermes update --check, then hermes update Uses the configured channel and can snapshot state, install dependencies, and prompt for migration.
Manual source checkout Activate the virtual environment; run git pull origin main; then uv pip install -e ".[all]" Run hermes config check and, when needed, hermes config migrate afterward.
Docker Pull the selected newer image and recreate the container Keep the same persistent data mount. Do not run the in-place updater inside the container.
Nix Update the flake or profile and rebuild Nix owns the runtime installation and its update lifecycle.
Termux pkg update, then pkg upgrade hermes-agent These commands update the Termux package rather than a source checkout.
Windows packaged installation Use Windows App Installer or Microsoft Store update controls Choose the service that originally installed Hermes.
macOS bundled application Use the application’s Update control The desktop app’s updater manages the bundled files.

Updating a manually maintained source checkout

Use this path only when you own the repository and virtual environment yourself. Replace the example directory with the location of your checkout:

  1. Change into the repository:

    cd /path/to/hermes-agent
  2. Activate the virtual environment associated with that checkout. Activation syntax depends on the shell and environment you created; the important requirement is that the following commands use the Hermes environment rather than a system Python.

  3. Fetch the intended branch:

    git pull origin main
  4. Reinstall the editable package and all optional dependency groups:

    uv pip install -e ".[all]"
  5. Validate and migrate configuration:

    hermes config check
    hermes config migrate
  6. Run hermes --version and restart or otherwise verify the gateway used by your deployment.

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This procedure does not provide the managed updater’s automatic snapshot unless you make one separately. Copy the relevant runtime state before pulling if the installation contains pairing data, scheduled jobs, credentials, or local configuration that you cannot easily recreate.

Updating Hermes in Docker without losing data

A Docker image has an image-managed filesystem. Hermes documentation states that this filesystem refuses hermes update and prints the image-pull instruction instead. The correct operation is replacement, not in-place mutation:

  1. Identify the image tag or digest selected for your deployment and choose the newer image you intend to run.

  2. Pull that image using the image-management command shown by your deployment documentation or by Hermes’s update message.

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  3. Stop and recreate the container from the new image, preserving the existing environment variables, ports, and especially the same persistent data mount.

  4. Start the replacement container and inspect its logs for dependency, configuration, or authentication errors.

  5. Run the available Hermes configuration check in the new container and confirm that the gateway and scheduled work resume.

Never assume that a container’s writable layer is durable. If pairing data, config.yaml, .env, or auth.json was not stored in a persistent mount or external secret, recreating the container can remove it even when the image update itself succeeds.

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Updating Nix, Termux, Windows, and macOS installations

Nix

Change the flake input or profile that supplies Hermes, then rebuild through your normal Nix workflow. Do not mix a Nix-managed runtime with hermes update; the next Nix activation can overwrite changes made inside the store or profile. After rebuilding, run the version and configuration checks from the activated environment.

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Termux

Refresh package metadata first, then upgrade the Hermes package:

pkg update
pkg upgrade hermes-agent

Because Termux’s package manager owns this installation, resolve any package prompts there. Once it completes, run hermes --version and check the gateway or other services that you launch in Termux.

Windows packaged installs

Open the Windows App Installer or Microsoft Store, depending on which one originally installed Hermes, and use that product’s update flow. A Store installation should not be replaced by files copied from a source checkout unless you are intentionally migrating installation methods and have planned where configuration and credentials will live.

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macOS bundled app

Open the Hermes desktop application and use its Update control. The bundled app updater handles the application payload; running a source-checkout command against the app bundle is not the supported method.

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Configuration migration after an update

New releases can introduce settings that did not exist in the previous configuration. The reliable sequence is to let the updater finish, run hermes config check, and then use hermes config migrate when the check or updater identifies missing options.

  • Answer migration prompts for the environment in which Hermes will actually run, not for a temporary shell.
  • Review changes to config.yaml and related environment files after migration.
  • Keep credentials and secrets intact; migration should add or adjust settings, not expose them in logs or public issue reports.
  • Run the configuration check again if you changed a value manually.

If a migration asks for a choice you cannot safely make during a maintenance window, preserve the snapshot, record the prompt, and complete the decision before relying on the updated gateway.

Verify gateways, messaging, and scheduled work

Version output alone proves only that the executable changed. A practical verification should cover the services that make Hermes useful:

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  • Confirm the gateway process starts and remains running.
  • Check that the configured messaging platform reconnects after any restart.
  • Verify that existing pairings remain present.
  • Inspect one scheduled cron job or other recurring task and confirm its schedule was retained.
  • Run a harmless test interaction before sending production work through the updated agent.

The documentation notes that a messaging-platform /update command also restarts running gateways, causing a brief interruption. If you use that route, wait for the restart to finish and perform the same service checks rather than assuming the command’s acknowledgement means the gateway is healthy.

Rollback when an update causes a problem

For a source checkout, the documented recovery approach is to identify a known-good commit or release tag, reinstall dependencies for that revision, and restart the gateway:

  1. Inspect recent history:

    git log --oneline -10
  2. Choose the commit or release tag that was known to work and check it out using your normal Git command.

  3. Reinstall dependencies for the selected revision, using the same environment and editable-install method as the original installation.

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  4. Run hermes config check.

  5. Restart the gateway:

    hermes gateway restart
  6. Test the gateway, messaging connection, pairings, and scheduled work.

A rollback can expose configuration incompatibilities in the opposite direction: a newer release may have added options that the older code does not recognize. If the check reports unrecognized settings after rollback, remove or revise those options according to the older release’s configuration expectations, then run the check again. Keep the newer snapshot and the exact commit or tag recorded so that you can return to the upgraded state once the cause is understood.

Troubleshooting common update failures

hermes update refuses to run in a container

This normally indicates an image-managed filesystem. Stop attempting in-place updates and follow the image-pull and container-recreation procedure, preserving the data mount.

The update completes but hermes config check reports missing options

Run hermes config migrate and complete the interactive additions. Recheck the configuration before restarting production work.

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The gateway does not return after the update

First allow for the brief restart interval, then inspect the gateway’s service output and run hermes config check. A dependency failure, invalid new setting, or missing secret is more actionable than repeatedly running the update command.

The version did not change

Confirm that you are invoking the intended executable and environment with hermes --version. For a managed checkout, run hermes update --check and inspect the configured channel. For Nix, Termux, Windows, macOS, or Docker, verify that you updated the owning package, profile, app, or image rather than a separate source directory.

A rollback reports unknown configuration keys

Those keys may have been introduced by the newer release. Use hermes config check to identify them, remove only the options the older version cannot parse, and restart after the configuration is accepted.

Choosing the correct update path

When you are unsure which instructions apply, answer these questions in order:

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  1. Who owns the files? Hermes itself, your Git workflow, Docker, Nix, Termux, Windows, or macOS?
  2. Which channel should be current? Stay on the configured stable or release source unless you intentionally maintain another branch or channel.
  3. Can the installation mutate in place? Managed source checkouts can; Docker images and package-managed installations must be replaced or rebuilt through their owner.
  4. What state must survive? Preserve configuration, credentials, pairing data, cron jobs, and persistent mounts before changing code or images.
  5. Does the service need a restart? Plan for the gateway interruption and verify reconnection rather than treating a successful command exit as the final test.

Following those ownership rules avoids the most damaging update mistake: applying a valid command to the wrong installation type and leaving the real runtime unchanged, partially updated, or disconnected from its persistent data.

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