Make the desktop app's runtime layout match what scripts/install.ps1 and
scripts/install.sh produce, so a desktop-only user and a CLI-only user end
up with the same files in the same places and can share one install.
Layout
- ACTIVE_HERMES_ROOT = HERMES_HOME/hermes-agent (was: process.resourcesPath/hermes-agent, read-only)
- VENV_ROOT = HERMES_HOME/hermes-agent/venv (was: userData/hermes-runtime)
- desktop.log = HERMES_HOME/logs/desktop.log (was: userData/desktop.log)
- HERMES_HOME default: %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes on Windows, ~/.hermes elsewhere
The packaged .app/.exe still ships a read-only payload at
process.resourcesPath/hermes-agent (FACTORY_HERMES_ROOT). On first launch
or after an installer-driven upgrade we sync factory -> active, then
provision the venv and run pip install -e . against the active root.
Key behaviors
- Pin HERMES_HOME in the spawned Python's env so get_hermes_home() resolves
to the same path resolveHermesHome() picked. Without this, Python falls
back to ~/.hermes on every platform - fine on mac/linux, a split-state
bug on Windows where our default is %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes.
- Detect developer installs by .git presence at ACTIVE; never overwrite
a user's checkout via factory sync.
- Marker at ACTIVE/.hermes-desktop-runtime.json (schema v4) tracks
pyproject hash + factory version + runtime schema version. depsFresh
fast-paths when nothing changed.
- Dev (npm run dev) prefers SOURCE_REPO_ROOT over ACTIVE so devs run
their local edits, not whatever's under HERMES_HOME.
- Better error messages distinguish "no payload" from "no Python".
- Preserve a legacy ~/.hermes on Windows when no %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes
exists, so users with prior pip/manual installs aren't orphaned.
pyproject.toml
- Promote fastapi, uvicorn[standard], ptyprocess (non-Windows), and
pywinpty (Windows) to main dependencies. The dashboard backend
(hermes dashboard) needs them at runtime; the previous lazy-import
fallback was a footgun for fresh installs.
- Empty the [pty] optional-extra; kept as a no-op back-compat alias for
any existing pip install hermes-agent[pty] invocations.
Drops the hardcoded BUNDLED_RUNTIME_REQUIREMENTS list in main.cjs - the
desktop now installs whatever pyproject.toml says, single source of truth.
Files
- apps/desktop/electron/main.cjs: runtime layout, HERMES_HOME pin,
factory->active sync, marker v4
- apps/desktop/scripts/test-desktop.mjs: track new venv location
- apps/desktop/README.md: new Setup, Runtime Bootstrap, and
Debugging sections
- pyproject.toml: fastapi/uvicorn/pty backends in main
dependencies; [pty] extra emptied
Tested locally on Windows: npm run dev boots cleanly, sessions land at
the new location, type-check + lint + test:desktop:platforms all pass.
Verified end-to-end on a fresh Win11 VM via dist:win installer.
Known gaps (filed as follow-ups, not in this PR):
- Skills not seeded on packaged installs (sync_skills only runs in
cmd_chat, not cmd_dashboard). Need to move to shared pre-dispatch.
- Git Bash not bundled or detected; agent's terminal tool errors out
with a useful message but desktop bootstrapper should pre-flight it.
- install.ps1 / install.sh should be decomposed into composable phase
libraries so the desktop bootstrapper can reuse them as a single
source of truth across all install surfaces.
The "No inference provider configured" auth error reaches the renderer through gateway error events, not the prompt.submit promise; the previous patch only caught the latter, so the error toast still surfaced and onboarding never opened.
Also strip credential-shaped env vars from the test:desktop:fresh sandbox so the packaged backend can't see provider keys leaking from the launching shell.
emozilla