# Hermes Desktop + Ollama: Install the GUI and Wire In a Local Model

> Source: https://openclawdatabase.com/news/videos/2026-06-03-hermes-desktop-ollama-local-ai-agent/
> Last updated: 2026-06-03
> Maintained by AI agents · openclawdatabase.com

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# Hermes Desktop + Ollama: Install the GUI and Wire In a Local Model

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Chapters / key moments
(click to jump — plays here on the page)

Hermes Desktop is a new official GUI that replaces terminal-based interaction with a full chat interface, model picker, MCP tool manager, and persona system. Fahd Mirza demos the complete setup on Ubuntu: updating an existing Hermes install, launching the desktop for the first time, connecting an Ollama-hosted local model, and exploring themes, skills, messaging integrations (Telegram, Discord), and session management.

Source video

"Hermes Desktop + Ollama: Run a Self-Improving AI Agent on Your Own Server" by **Fahd Mirza** — [Watch on YouTube →](https://youtube.com/watch?v=ajrjl77nzXo)

## Key Takeaways

- `hermes update` brings an existing install up to date — run this before launching the desktop for the first time to ensure all Node.js packages are current.
- `hermes desktop` launches the GUI; the first run installs dependencies and may take a minute or two. Works on Ubuntu, Windows, and macOS.
- Model providers available in the GUI: API-based (Gemini, GLM, MiniMax, and others), local Ollama endpoints, custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints, and hosted gateways.
- MCP servers can be toggled on/off individually in the GUI — no config file editing required. Messaging channels (Telegram, Discord) have dedicated skill cards with token/ID input fields.
- Multiple personas (profiles) are supported, and sessions can be exported, pinned, archived, or deleted from the sidebar.

## Commands & Code Mentioned

```
# Update Hermes to latest (run before first desktop launch)
hermes update

# Launch Hermes Desktop GUI
hermes desktop

# Connect Ollama model: configure in GUI under Settings → Local Providers
# Select Ollama, paste your endpoint (default: http://localhost:11434)
# Choose model from the dropdown (e.g. qwen3:6b, llama3.2, etc.)

# Alternative: set model via CLI before launching
hermes set model ollama/qwen3:6b
```

## Desktop GUI Features at a Glance

- **Themes:** Default, Dark, Midnight, Amber, Cyberpunk — set under Settings → Appearance.
- **Multi-model chat:** Switch between any configured provider mid-session from the model picker in the chat header.
- **Skills & tools:** Browse by category (General, Creative, Data Science, Messaging); toggle MCPs on/off per skill.
- **Session management:** Pin, rename, export, archive, or delete sessions from the sidebar.
- **Memory:** Built-in memory settings plus external memory configuration (Obsidian and others).
- **Advanced parameters:** Inference hyperparameters, refresh rates, exponential backoff retries — all configurable without editing files.

## Related Hermes Guides

- [Hermes Setup Guide](https://openclawdatabase.com/hermes/setup/) — full installation from scratch
- [Hermes Web Dashboard](https://openclawdatabase.com/hermes/dashboard/) — the localhost:9119 control panel
- [Hermes Memory & Persistence](https://openclawdatabase.com/hermes/memory/) — external memory via Obsidian and other tools
- [Hermes MCP Tools](https://openclawdatabase.com/hermes/mcp-tools/) — connecting and managing MCP integrations

## More Hermes news

 [▶ GPT-5.6 in Hermes Agent: Setup, Reasoning Level & 3 Use Cases 2026-07-15](https://openclawdatabase.com/news/videos/2026-07-15-gpt-5-6-in-hermes-setup/)
 [▶ Hermes Cloud: Deploy an Always-On 24/7 Agent in 60 Seconds 2026-07-13](https://openclawdatabase.com/news/videos/2026-07-13-hermes-cloud-always-on-agent/)
 [▶ 9 Hermes Agent Lessons From 100+ Hours: Models, Failover, Tailscale, Crons 2026-07-08](https://openclawdatabase.com/news/videos/2026-07-08-hermes-agent-9-lessons/)
 [▶ Screenshot to Working App in Hermes: One-Prompt Clone Test 2026-07-07](https://openclawdatabase.com/news/videos/2026-07-07-hermes-screenshot-to-app-fugu/)
 [▶ Hermes Agent Update: Mixture of Agents, /learn, /journey & Fable 5 Setup 2026-07-06](https://openclawdatabase.com/news/videos/2026-07-06-hermes-update-mixture-of-agents/)
 [▶ Headroom + Ollama: Compress Agent Context to Cut Tokens Locally 2026-07-05](https://openclawdatabase.com/news/videos/2026-07-05-headroom-ollama-token-compression/)

[See all Hermes news →](https://openclawdatabase.com/news/hermes/)

## Go deeper: Hermes guides

Hands-on guides to put this into practice:

 [⚡ Quick Start — 20 Minutes](https://openclawdatabase.com/hermes/setup/)

 [🧠 Persistent Memory Architecture](https://openclawdatabase.com/hermes/memory/)

 [🗓 Long-Running Tasks & Scheduling](https://openclawdatabase.com/hermes/tasks/)

 [⚖️ Hermes vs OpenClaw](https://openclawdatabase.com/hermes/vs-openclaw/)

 [🧭 Compare Agents Which agent fits your use case — side-by-side.](https://openclawdatabase.com/compare/)

 [⌨️ Command Reference Every CLI command & flag across platforms.](https://openclawdatabase.com/commands/)