How to install Hermes Agent on Windows (native or WSL2)

Short answer

Yes, Windows is officially supported. The official docs list Windows 10 and 11 (x86_64 and ARM64) as Tier 1, which means the team aims never to break installs and updates there. They also say Hermes runs natively on Windows, with no WSL, Cygwin or Docker needed.

You have two native options and one alternative:

• Desktop app: the easiest route. It bundles the agent, Python, dependencies and the interfaces. It needs Windows 11 22H2 or later.
• Command line installer (PowerShell): works on Windows 10 and 11. Choose this if you are on Windows 10 or only want the terminal.
• WSL2: run the Linux installer inside WSL2. Choose this if you do POSIX-heavy development work or want the same setup as Linux.

Native and WSL2 installs can live side by side on the same PC. If you are unsure, start native.

What you need

• Windows 10 or 11 for the PowerShell installer. Windows 11 22H2 or later for the desktop app package.
• No admin rights for a native install.
• No Python or Node.js. The installer provides Python 3.14, Node.js, npm, ripgrep and FFmpeg. If Git is missing, it sets up its own pinned copy of Git for Windows.
• For WSL2: Windows 10 22H2 or later, or Windows 11. The docs test against Ubuntu LTS. Debian also works. WSL1 is not reliable.
• Windows Terminal is recommended. Legacy cmd.exe has Unicode problems.

Install

Desktop app: download the .appinstaller file from hermes-agent.nousresearch.com and open it with Windows App Installer. A Microsoft Store version also exists.

Command line (native): open PowerShell and run the first command below. No admin window is needed.

WSL2 instead: install WSL from an Admin PowerShell window, then run the Linux installer inside your WSL distro.

PowerShell (native)

iex (irm https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.ps1)

Admin PowerShell (WSL2 only)

wsl --install

Inside WSL

curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash
source ~/.bashrc
hermes

The native installer adds Hermes to your user PATH. Existing terminals do not see that change, so close PowerShell and open a new window before you continue.

In WSL2, keep your projects on the Linux side, not under /mnt/c. The WSL2 guide says files under /mnt/c are 10 to 100 times slower.

First run and setup

In a new PowerShell window, type hermes to start chatting. Before that, connect a model. The official docs list these commands:

PowerShell

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. Run hermes doctor any time to check the install.

Where your settings live and how to update

• Native: everything is under %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\. Secrets are in %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\.env, launchers in %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\bin\ and the code in %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\hermes-agent\.
• WSL2: settings are in ~/.hermes/ inside the Linux side, as on Linux.
• Update a command line or WSL2 install with hermes update.
• Update a sideloaded desktop app with its in-app Update control and Windows App Installer. The Store version updates through the Microsoft Store.

For backups and rollback before a big update, see How to update Hermes Agent safely.

Common problems

• hermes is not found right after install: open a new PowerShell window. The PATH change only reaches new terminals.
• Antivirus flags uv.exe: the README calls this a false positive for %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\bin\uv.exe. It gives verification steps and this exclusion, run from an Admin PowerShell: Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\hermes\bin".
• The [scriptblock]::Create form of the installer fails: use the plain irm and iex one-liner above instead.
• On Windows ARM64, some optional extras are not available, such as Faster-Whisper speech-to-text.
• In WSL2, OAuth logins fail after the PC sleeps: the clock has drifted. Run sudo hwclock -s inside WSL.
• In WSL2, scripts break with odd errors: check for Windows CRLF line endings.

More fixes are in Hermes Agent on Windows: command not found and other fixes and Hermes Agent install or update failed.

Next step

Next: follow Hermes Agent setup: your first 24 hours to get a safe default setup. When the CLI chat works, connect a chat app with the messaging gateway: Hermes Agent messaging gateway explained.

Spotted something wrong or out of date? Tell us on X at @HermesWatcher↗ (opens in a new tab) and we will fix it.

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