Hermes WebUI: A Web Interface Built for Local AI Agents

Hermes WebUI is a local-first web interface designed for Hermes Agent, supporting features like intelligent model routing, multi-model conversations, and visual recognition. It is built with FastAPI + Tailwind CSS v4. Its core concept is local-first: all data is stored on the user's machine, no cloud dependency, runs offline, and provides a friendly and intuitive web interaction experience for Hermes Agent which was previously only available via command line.

Hermes is an open-source AI Agent developed by NousResearch, with capabilities like file operations and code execution, but it was originally only available via terminal. The design philosophy of Hermes WebUI is not to add new features to Hermes, but to provide an intuitive web interface. Its core is local-first: data is stored in ~/.hermes/ and ~/.maan/ directories, no registration required, no data uploads, and it runs fully offline.

The backend uses FastAPI to provide asynchronous APIs, and the frontend uses Tailwind CSS v4 + native JS, which is lightweight and efficient. It calls the run_conversation() method of Hermes Agent through an SDK bridge layer, ensuring real Agent capabilities, real-time data synchronization, and seamless switching between terminal and web. The intelligent model routing system automatically determines the task type to select the model: local Ollama model for simple conversations, tools or cloud APIs for complex tasks, and powerful cloud models for long texts. The routing status is displayed with LED indicators, and user correction is supported.

1. Multi-modal Chat: Supports multi-session management, history persistence, message recall and retry, SSE streaming response; allows pasting images and uploading files, terminal output is filtered into Markdown with syntax highlighting.
2. Agent Console: Status bar shows execution phase and time consumed; heartbeat detection (10-second slow reminder /25-second freeze warning); task termination allowed; tool panel displays parameters and results of called tools.
3. Memory Management: Edit SOUL.md (personality rules), MEMORY.md (accumulated knowledge), USER.md (user information), real-time synchronization with CLI; supports extracting memory from conversations and memory snapshot backup.
4. Skill Manager: View, enable/disable, delete skills; import ZIP packages to expand capabilities.
5. Personalization: Set Agent and user names and avatars; choose preset themes or custom colors.

Frontend resources (CSS, fonts, icons) are self-hosted; Tailwind v4 is pre-built; Google Fonts and Material Symbols are served locally, so the UI loads fully offline. The backend enables Bearer Token authentication by default; the token is automatically generated and stored in ~/.maan/auth_token, and authentication can be disabled for development.

1. Cloud APIs: Supports cloud APIs like OpenAI and Anthropic; complex tasks are routed automatically, with local-first + cloud supplement.
2. Cross-platform: Double-click launch.bat on Windows; run install-macos.sh on macOS; use start.sh on Linux; WSL2 supports path conversion.
3. Mobile Support: Responsive layout; switches to a slide-in sidebar at the 768px breakpoint.
4. Auto-update: The Support page detects new versions on GitHub; streams git pull logs; one-click update.

Suitable for:

• Hermes Agent users who prefer graphical interfaces;
• Developers who need to manage Agent memory and skills;
• Sensitive users who value data privacy;
• Users who often work offline;
• Users who want to customize the identity of their AI assistant.

Hermes WebUI focuses on providing a high-quality interaction experience for Hermes Agent, integrating features like intelligent model routing, memory management, and personalization, achieving local-first and privacy-first. It is an enhancement tool for existing Hermes users, an excellent reference for developers exploring local AI Agents, and represents the practice of the 'local-first' concept in edge-side AI.