# How to install Hermes Agent on Mac > Hermes Agent officially supports Apple Silicon Macs. Install the desktop app or run the one-line terminal installer, then pick a model to start. Canonical: https://hermeswatcher.com/learn/install-hermes-agent-mac Section: Learn ยท Getting started Last reviewed: Oct 28, 2026 Basis: Explained from the official Hermes Agent docs and repository (Nous Research). Steps follow the linked official sources. ## Short answer Yes, Macs with Apple Silicon (M1 and later) are officially supported. The official docs list macOS on Apple Silicon as Tier 1, which means the team aims never to break installs and updates there. Intel Macs are not officially supported. The Installation page says the macOS installer is Apple Silicon only, and the desktop bootstrap installer reports that it is not supported on an Intel Mac. There are two ways to install: - Desktop app: the route the Quickstart recommends. It bundles the agent, Python, dependencies and the interfaces. - Command line installer: one command in Terminal. Choose this if you only want the terminal or plan to run Hermes as a background service. ## What you need - A Mac with Apple Silicon. - For the command line installer: Git, curl, tar and SHA-256 utilities. - No Python or Node.js. The installer provides Python 3.14, Node.js, npm, ripgrep and FFmpeg. - Do not use Homebrew (`brew install hermes-agent`) or pip. The Platform Support page lists both as unsupported install methods. ## Install Desktop app: download it from hermes-agent.nousresearch.com, open the DMG, then copy `Hermes.app` to Applications. Command line: open Terminal and run the official one-liner. Terminal: ``` curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash ``` The installer clones the source, sets up its own Python 3.14 and tools, and by default also adds a pinned Chromium for the browser tool. New installs follow the stable channel, which is the latest published release. Started with the command line and want the app too? Run `hermes desktop`. ## First run and setup Reload your shell so it can find the `hermes` command, then start chatting. Terminal: ``` source ~/.zshrc hermes ``` Terminal: ``` hermes model # Choose your LLM provider and model hermes tools # Configure which tools are enabled hermes gateway setup # Set up messaging platforms hermes config set # Set individual config values hermes config get # Inspect individual config values hermes setup # Or run the full setup wizard to configure everything at once ``` The setup wizard offers three modes on a fresh install. Quick Setup uses a Nous Portal login, so there are no API keys to manage. Full Setup lets you bring your own keys. Blank Slate turns on only your provider and model, plus the File Operations and Terminal toolsets. If you only want to pick a provider and model, run `hermes model` instead of the full wizard. The official docs say Hermes needs a model with at least 64,000 tokens of context. Smaller models are rejected at startup. Using the Nous Portal? `hermes setup --portal` logs you in, sets Nous as your provider and turns on the Tool Gateway in one step. `hermes doctor` checks the install. Want a local model instead of an API? The docs' Run Local LLMs on Mac guide targets Apple Silicon and says its 9B starter model fits comfortably in 8 GB or more of unified memory. ## Where your settings live and how to update - Secrets such as API keys: `~/.hermes/.env`. - Other settings: `~/.hermes/config.yaml`. - The agent's identity file is `~/.hermes/SOUL.md`. Memories are in `~/.hermes/memories/`. - The command is `~/.local/bin/hermes` and the code is in `~/.hermes/hermes-agent/`. - Update the desktop app with its in-app Update control. - Update a command line install with `hermes update`. Before a big update, read /learn/updating-hermes-safely. ## Common problems - `hermes: command not found`: reload your shell with `source ~/.zshrc`, or open a new Terminal window. - Permission denied on `source ~/.zshrc`: the file permissions are wrong. The FAQ fix is `chmod 644 ~/.zshrc`. - Running the gateway as a background service and it cannot find Node or ffmpeg: launchd uses a minimal PATH. Run `hermes gateway install` again after installing new tools so it captures the updated PATH. - Do not use sudo with the installer. The FAQ says it installs to `~/.local/bin`. Still stuck? See /troubleshoot/install-or-update-failed. ## Next step Next: follow /learn/first-24-hours-default-setup. To reach your agent from your phone, connect a chat app with the messaging gateway: /learn/messaging-gateway-explained. On a Mac, `hermes gateway install` sets it up as a launchd agent so it starts when you log in. ## Related tools - [Wake up to a useful research briefing](https://hermeswatcher.com/workflows/daily-research-briefing.md) - [CLI: run bounded tasks and inspect the working environment](https://hermeswatcher.com/tools/cli.md) - [Desktop: manage conversations and inspect artifacts visually](https://hermeswatcher.com/tools/desktop.md) - [Models and providers: configure the actual inference route](https://hermeswatcher.com/tools/models.md) ## Sources - [Installation](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/getting-started/installation) - [Platform Support](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/getting-started/platform-support) - [Quickstart](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/getting-started/quickstart) - [Updating & Uninstalling](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/getting-started/updating) - [FAQ & Troubleshooting](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/reference/faq) - [Messaging Gateway](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/messaging) - [Which File Does What](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/which-file-does-what) - [Run Local LLMs on Mac](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/guides/local-llm-on-mac) --- HermesWatcher is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nous Research. The [official Hermes Agent documentation](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs) and [repository](https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent) from Nous Research are the authority; each page here lists the official sources it was written from. If this site and the official docs disagree, trust the official docs. Index for agents: https://hermeswatcher.com/llms.txt