What Changed in the Latest Hermes Agent Update?

TL;DR

Hermes Agent now supports iMessage through Photon, automatically delegates complex work to background agents, and provides clearer control through an updated desktop app. The release also introduces Unreal Engine 5.8 MCP integration, a guided profile builder, a browsable skills hub, a live sub-agent tree, and interface improvements that reduce manual configuration.

Transcript

Hermes Agent just had its biggest update ever. It is safe to say it is now way better than Open Claw. In this video, I will cover eight of the big massive changes you need to know about that you need to start implementing today. Let's not waste any time. Let's get straight into it. There are eight big changes we're going to talk about here. I'm kin... Read More

Key Insights

• Native iMessage support is available through Photon, a free service that provides a phone number connected to the Hermes Agent running on a computer. Users can send quick mobile requests, receive formatted responses, and ask Hermes to perform actions on the connected machine.
• iMessage is presented as the simplest mobile channel for short, quick requests because it uses a familiar application and can be pinned for convenient access. Telegram remains useful for complex mobile work because its threading supports multiple subjects, while the desktop app is recommended at a computer.
• Background-agent delegation is now automatic for sufficiently complex prompts, removing the earlier requirement to enable the feature manually. Hermes can assign work to sub-agents while keeping the main conversation responsive, so users do not have to wait silently for a lengthy task to finish.
• The live sub-agent tree is a monitoring interface that shows active sub-agents, their assigned work, commands, and tool calls. In the demonstrated research task, five agents performed 28 tool calls while the user continued chatting with Hermes and added Nvidia to the assignment.
• Unreal Engine 5.8 MCP integration lets Hermes perform AI-assisted game-building work inside Unreal Engine. The presenter positions it as an option for creating complex 3D projects, including first-person and third-person games, and states that using the integration does not cost anything.
• The updated desktop app is designed for multitasking through separate chat windows. Users can right-click a session, open it in a new window, arrange multiple Hermes conversations beside one another, and watch different agents work on separate tasks at the same time.
• The desktop model selector provides direct control over the active model and thinking level from the bottom of the interface. It replaces workflows that previously required a slash-model command or configuration-file changes, making frequent model switching faster and more accessible.
• The Hermes dashboard now simplifies specialization through a guided profile builder and a browsable skills hub. Users can create multiple profiles with selected models and skills, while the hub exposes featured options and hundreds of other skills that can be discovered and installed.

Questions & Answers

Q: How do you connect Hermes Agent to iMessage?

Hermes Agent connects to iMessage through Photon, a free service that provides a phone number users can text. The presenter recommends asking Hermes to hook itself up to iMessage through Photon according to the new update's best practices. Hermes can create the account and provide the number, although the user may need to open a link and log in.

Q: When should you use iMessage, Telegram, or the Hermes desktop app?

iMessage is recommended for quick requests while away from a computer because it is easy to open, familiar, and suitable for short exchanges. Telegram is more useful for complex mobile work that benefits from threads covering different subjects. When working at a computer, the updated desktop app is presented as the best interface because it supports multitasking, model selection, sub-agent monitoring, and a terminal.

Q: How do background agents work in the updated Hermes Agent?

Background agents let Hermes delegate parts of a complex assignment to sub-agents that continue working independently. The main Hermes conversation remains responsive, allowing the user to ask questions or extend the assignment while that work proceeds. The update enables this behavior automatically when a prompt is sufficiently complex, so users no longer need to turn on a separate flag before using it.

Q: What information does the Hermes sub-agent tree show?

The live sub-agent tree shows which sub-agents Hermes has created, what each one is working on, the commands they run, and their tool calls. It gives users a way to follow parallel activity without blocking the main conversation. In the research demonstration, the interface showed five agents completing 28 tool calls while Hermes remained available for additional instructions.

Q: How can Hermes Agent be used with Unreal Engine 5.8?

The new Unreal Engine 5.8 MCP integration allows Hermes Agent to assist with building projects in Unreal Engine through an AI-directed workflow. The presenter describes using it for complex 3D games, including first-person and third-person projects, and contrasts that capability with browser-based 3.js development. The transcript also states that users can build through this integration without paying for the capability.

Q: What changed in the Hermes Agent desktop app?

The desktop app now lets users open individual chats in separate windows by right-clicking a session and selecting the new-window option. It also includes a model selector for changing models and thinking levels, a live pane for monitoring sub-agents, and a built-in terminal. These changes allow multiple agents, configuration controls, command execution, and conversations to remain within the Hermes interface.

Q: How do you create specialized profiles in Hermes Agent?

Running the Hermes dashboard opens the browser-based management experience, where users can create new profiles through a guided builder. A profile can be given a distinct name, model, and collection of skills, enabling separate agents for responsibilities such as coding or memory management. The builder replaces much of the earlier manual process involving configuration files and text-file changes.

Q: What is the new Hermes Agent skills hub?

The skills hub is a section of the Hermes dashboard for discovering capabilities that can be added to an agent. The existing skills area already showed installed skills, while the new browse hub presents featured choices and allows users to explore hundreds of other skills. It makes finding and installing relevant skills more direct than relying only on previously configured options.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Native iMessage support lets users contact Hermes through a familiar mobile app while retaining access to the agent running on their computer. The presenter recommends iMessage for quick requests while traveling, the desktop app when working at a computer, and Telegram when mobile tasks benefit from separate threads for different subjects.

• Complex prompts can now trigger background agents automatically, without requiring users to enable a flag. These sub-agents continue working while the main Hermes conversation remains available. A live tree displays their assignments, commands, and tool calls, making parallel research easier to observe and allowing users to add tasks before existing work finishes.

• The updated Hermes experience adds Unreal Engine 5.8 MCP integration, separate desktop chat windows, a model selector, an embedded terminal, guided profile creation, and a browsable skills hub. Together, these additions support game development, multitasking, faster model changes, specialized agent profiles, and easier discovery of installable capabilities without extensive manual file editing.