Updating & Uninstalling

Updating​

Update to the latest version with a single command:

hermes update

This pulls the latest code, updates dependencies, and prompts you to configure any new options that were added since your last update.

What happens during an update​

When you run hermes update, the following steps occur:

1. Git pull — pulls the latest code from the main branch and updates submodules
2. Dependency install — runs uv pip install -e ".[all]" to pick up new or changed dependencies
3. Config migration — detects new config options added since your version and prompts you to set them
4. Gateway auto-restart — if the gateway service is running (systemd on Linux, launchd on macOS), it is automatically restarted after the update completes so the new code takes effect immediately

Expected output looks like:

$ hermes update
Updating Hermes Agent...
📥 Pulling latest code...
Already up to date.  (or: Updating abc1234..def5678)
📦 Updating dependencies...
✅ Dependencies updated
🔍 Checking for new config options...
✅ Config is up to date  (or: Found 2 new options — running migration...)
🔄 Restarting gateway service...
✅ Gateway restarted
✅ Hermes Agent updated successfully!

Checking your current version​

hermes version

Compare against the latest release at the GitHub releases page or check for available updates:

hermes update --check

Updating from Messaging Platforms​

You can also update directly from Telegram, Discord, Slack, or WhatsApp by sending:

/update

This pulls the latest code, updates dependencies, and restarts the gateway. The bot will briefly go offline during the restart (typically 5–15 seconds) and then resume.

Manual Update​

If you installed manually (not via the quick installer):

cd /path/to/hermes-agent
export VIRTUAL_ENV="$(pwd)/venv"

# Pull latest code and submodules
git pull origin main
git submodule update --init --recursive

# Reinstall (picks up new dependencies)
uv pip install -e ".[all]"
uv pip install -e "./tinker-atropos"

# Check for new config options
hermes config check
hermes config migrate   # Interactively add any missing options

Rollback instructions​

If an update introduces a problem, you can roll back to a previous version:

cd /path/to/hermes-agent

# List recent versions
git log --oneline -10

# Roll back to a specific commit
git checkout <commit-hash>
git submodule update --init --recursive
uv pip install -e ".[all]"

# Restart the gateway if running
hermes gateway restart

To roll back to a specific release tag:

git checkout v0.6.0
git submodule update --init --recursive
uv pip install -e ".[all]"

Note for Nix users​

If you installed via Nix flake, updates are managed through the Nix package manager:

# Update the flake input
nix flake update hermes-agent

# Or rebuild with the latest
nix profile upgrade hermes-agent

Nix installations are immutable — rollback is handled by Nix's generation system:

nix profile rollback

See Nix Setup for more details.

Uninstalling​

hermes uninstall

The uninstaller gives you the option to keep your configuration files (~/.hermes/) for a future reinstall.

Manual Uninstall​

rm -f ~/.local/bin/hermes
rm -rf /path/to/hermes-agent
rm -rf ~/.hermes            # Optional — keep if you plan to reinstall

hermes gateway stop
# Linux: systemctl --user disable hermes-gateway
# macOS: launchctl remove ai.hermes.gateway