Interfaces: CLI, API server, IDE, voice
There are several ways to reach the same agent, and each suits different work:
- CLI / TUI — daily work, deep sessions, the full tool set
- Desktop app — for people who want a graphical interface
- Messaging gateway — from a phone, from a team, on the move
- API server — an OpenAI-compatible HTTP endpoint; other programs call Hermes as if it were a model
- ACP / IDE — inside editors such as VS Code, Zed and JetBrains
- Dashboard — configuration and monitoring in a browser
- Voice mode — spoken interaction in the CLI and on messaging platforms
The API server is the most misunderstood piece. It exposes Hermes as an OpenAI-compatible endpoint — so any program that speaks the OpenAI API (your own app, n8n, an editor plugin) can call Hermes. The difference: a plain model endpoint returns text, while Hermes uses tools and then answers.
Per the docs, the API server drops some interactive tools (such as the clarify tool and text-to-speech) — because there is no human waiting to answer.
| Interface | Command | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| CLI / TUI | `hermes`, `hermes --tui` | Code, research, long sessions |
| Scripted mode | `hermes -z "..."` | Cron, CI, pipelines |
| Desktop | `hermes desktop` | A graphical interface |
| API server | `hermes serve` | Other programs connecting in |
| IDE (ACP) | `hermes acp` | Working inside the editor |
| Dashboard | `hermes dashboard` | Configuration and monitoring |
The choice of interface is also a security decision: in the CLI you see every approval prompt, while in API-server and cron modes interactive approval is impossible. The docs have separate settings for this — for example, the approval behaviour in cron and single-query modes defaults to deny. So as the interface changes, the approval policy has to be chosen deliberately too.
Practice. Bring up the API server with hermes serve and send it a plain HTTP request (with curl or an OpenAI SDK). Then ask the same question from the CLI and compare the two answers. Done means: you can name a tool that does not work in API mode, and say why.
📚 Sources and documentation
- API serverofficialhermes-agent.nousresearch.com
- IDE integration (ACP)officialhermes-agent.nousresearch.com
- CLI guideofficialhermes-agent.nousresearch.com
- Voice modeofficialhermes-agent.nousresearch.com