Use the Hermes Agent Web UI
Access Hermes Agent through a browser-based chat interface — no terminal or messaging app required.
The Hermes web UI gives you a browser-based chat interface — no terminal, no messaging app required. It's the easiest way to get started and ideal for sharing access with non-technical users.
Before you start:
- ☑Hermes Agent installed
- ☑'web: enabled: true' and a port set in config.yaml
- ☑A modern web browser
Steps
- 1
Enable the web server
Set web: enabled: true and web: port: 3000 in config.yaml
- 2
Start Hermes
hermes start — the web UI is available at http://localhost:3000
- 3
Access remotely
For VPS deployments, set web: host: 0.0.0.0 and open port 3000 in your firewall
- 4
Secure with auth
Set web: auth: true and configure a username/password for remote access
- 5
Chat in browser
Open the URL in any browser to chat with your Hermes agent with full file and image support
Pro Tips
- 💡The web UI supports file uploads and image sharing — drag and drop files directly into the chat
- 💡For remote access, set 'web: host: 0.0.0.0' and protect the UI with 'web: auth: true' and a strong password
- 💡Use the web UI for onboarding team members — it's the lowest friction way to let others interact with your Hermes instance
Troubleshooting
❌ Web UI returns 'connection refused' when opening in browser
✅ Check that Hermes is running ('hermes status') and that 'web: enabled: true' is set in config.yaml. The default port is 3000 — verify nothing else is using it with 'lsof -i :3000'.
❌ Web UI accessible locally but not from other devices
✅ Set 'web: host: 0.0.0.0' in config.yaml so the server listens on all interfaces, not just localhost. Also ensure port 3000 is open in your firewall.
❌ Chat responses not appearing in real-time
✅ The web UI uses server-sent events for streaming. Check that your reverse proxy (nginx, Caddy) doesn't buffer responses — add 'proxy_buffering off' for nginx.