releasev0.14.0updatemigrationnew-features

Hermes Agent v0.14.0: PyPI, Proxy, Grok, and the Foundation Release

By Hermes Agent· · 6 min read

Hermes v0.14.0 hits PyPI, debloats with lazy installs, adds a local OpenAI-compatible proxy, xAI Grok OAuth, Windows beta, and Teams support.

TLDR: Hermes Agent v0.14.0 (The Foundation Release) is the biggest update yet — 808 commits, 633 merged PRs, 545 issues closed. Now on PyPI (pip install hermes-agent), heavy backends lazy-install on first use, xAI Grok works via SuperGrok OAuth, hermes proxy exposes a local OpenAI-compatible endpoint, and Microsoft Teams joins the 22-platform fleet. Cold-start is 19 s faster, browser_console is 180x faster, and per-write semantic diagnostics catch errors instantly. Here’s everything you need to know to upgrade.

Key Takeaways

  • PyPI package: pip install hermes-agent — no more cloning, no shell installers
  • Debloating wave: Heavy backends lazy-install on first use; [all] extras dropped
  • xAI Grok: Free via SuperGrok OAuth — no API key needed for grok-4.3 (1M context)
  • hermes proxy: Local OpenAI-compatible endpoint backed by any OAuth provider
  • x_search: First-class X/Twitter search tool — direct from chat
  • Microsoft Teams: Full Graph stack — auth, webhook listener, pipeline, outbound delivery
  • Native Windows beta: First official Windows support
  • /handoff: Live session transfer — move context to another model mid-conversation
  • LSP diagnostics: Every write_file/patch surfaces syntax errors immediately

PyPI Is Here — No More Cloning

The single biggest quality-of-life change: Hermes is now a proper PyPI package.

pip install hermes-agent
hermes

That’s it. No cloning the repo. No shell installers. No make setup. The package ships the Ink TUI bundle and the shell launcher. Update with:

pip install --upgrade hermes-agent

If you’re upgrading from a git clone, you can migrate configs from the old location:

hermes doctor

The doctor command checks for legacy paths and repairs them automatically.

The Debloating Wave

Heavy dependencies — vision models, audio processors, document parsers — no longer install by default. They install lazily on first use. This means:

  • pip install hermes-agent is fast and small
  • The first time you use vision_analyze, Hermes installs the vision backend
  • The first time you use tts, it pulls the TTS pipeline
  • No more massive dependency chains for features you never use

Migration note: If you were using pip install hermes-agent[all], this extra is deprecated. It still works but will be removed in v0.15.0. Switch to the base package — Hermes handles the rest lazily.

The release also ships a supply-chain advisory checker that warns about known-vulnerable transitive dependencies on install.

xAI Grok via SuperGrok OAuth

Hermes now supports xAI Grok through SuperGrok OAuth — meaning you don’t need an API key for grok-4.3. Just authenticate with your SuperGrok account:

hermes auth add xai-oauth

Follow the OAuth flow (supports SSH-to-tunnel for headless servers). Once authorized, grok-4.3 is available with its full 1 million token context window.

hermes proxy — Local OpenAI-Compatible Endpoint

This is a game-changer for tool interoperability:

hermes proxy

Starts a local OpenAI-compatible HTTP endpoint backed by any of Hermes’s OAuth providers (Claude Pro, ChatGPT Pro, SuperGrok). This works with:

  • Codex CLI — point it at http://localhost:8080/v1
  • Aider — use --openai-api-base http://localhost:8080
  • Cline, Continue, and any OpenAI-compatible client

No API keys needed. Your existing OAuth subscription is reused.

x_search — First-Class X/Twitter Search

Search X/Twitter directly from chat without custom skills. Configure via:

hermes auth add x-api-key

Or use OAuth for full access. Then in chat:

Search X for recent news about open source AI agents

The tool returns structured results with engagement metrics and date validation. Results gracefully degrade when the API is rate-limited — you always get something useful back.

Microsoft Teams Integration

Full end-to-end Microsoft Teams support joins the gateway family (now 22 platforms):

  1. Auth: Microsoft Graph OAuth via hermes auth add teams
  2. Listener: Webhook subscription to Teams channels
  3. Pipeline: Hermes processes messages with full tool access
  4. Outbound: Deliver responses back to any Teams channel

Setup is a single guided flow:

hermes gateway setup --platform teams

What Else Changed

Performance

  • 180x faster browser_console — persistent Chrome connection replaces per-call DevTools sessions. Page interactions feel instantaneous.
  • Cold-start: ~19 seconds shaved off hermes launch. The hermes tools All-Platforms screen dropped from 14 s to under 1.5 s.
  • Cross-session prompt caching: System prompt, skills, and memory cache for 1 hour across sessions. First response after /new is faster and cheaper (Claude).

New Platforms

  • LINE — Japan/Korea/Taiwan’s dominant messaging app
  • SimpleX Chat — privacy-focused, no user IDs, no phone number required

/handoff — Live Session Transfer

Move an active session — including tool calls, context, and state — to another model or profile mid-conversation:

/handoff claude-sonnet-5

The current model’s context is serialized and loaded into the new model. Useful when you hit a reasoning wall and want to try a different approach.

Native Button UI for clarify

On Telegram and Discord, clarification prompts now render as native platform buttons instead of typed option numbers. Tap to answer — no typing required.

Security Hardening

Recent commits hardened several attack surfaces:

  • API key leakage protection: Custom endpoints can no longer impersonate official provider hosts to steal credentials. Vendor-specific API keys are only sent to their authoritative domains.
  • .env write-protection: Hermes now denies write_file operations to <root>/.env when running under a profile, preventing accidental credential exposure.
  • Vision routing: The supports_vision override is now respected in auto-mode routing, so you can declaratively tell Hermes which models can handle images.

LSP Semantic Diagnostics

Every write_file and patch call now runs a delta-lint check. Instead of waiting for a build to catch mistakes, syntax errors surface immediately with line numbers. Supported for Python, JSON, YAML, TOML, and JavaScript/TypeScript.

How to Upgrade

If you installed via git:

# Clean upgrade path
git pull origin main
pip install -e .

If you’re on the new PyPI package:

pip install --upgrade hermes-agent

Verify the install:

hermes --version
# Should show: v0.14.0 (v2026.5.16)

Deprecations

FeatureStatusReplacement
pip install hermes-agent[all]Deprecated, removed in v0.15.0Use base hermes-agent — lazy installs handle deps
Git-clone-based installSoft-deprecatedUse PyPI package for cleaner updates
Legacy .hermes-memory pathAuto-migratedhermes doctor handles migration

What’s Next

The Foundation Release is exactly what it sounds like — the base Hermes will build on for the next major cycle. Expect skills-hub deduplication improvements, deeper Windows support, expanded OAuth providers, and the kanban video orchestrator moving toward stable.

Join the community on GitHub to track progress on v0.15.0.