Published: 2026-06-25
Analysis & perspective

Hermes Agent Now Runs Background Computer Use on Mac, Windows & Linux

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

This video explains Hermes Agent's updated computer-use capability, which runs in the background instead of hijacking your screen. Using a "CUA-Driver" that posts input events directly to target apps, the agent clicks and types without moving your real cursor or pulling windows to the front — so you can keep working while it works. It runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux and works with any vision-capable model.

Source video

"NEW Hermes Agents Can Control Your Computer" by Julian Goldie SEO — Watch on YouTube →

Key Takeaways

It runs in the background. A "CUA-Driver" posts input events directly to target processes, so your real OS cursor never moves and windows don't jump to the front. You see a separate overlay cursor only when it's acting — you can keep typing elsewhere while it works.
Cross-platform. Background computer use now works on Mac, Windows, and Linux, using each OS's native accessibility stack — most rival tools are Mac-only because background control needs deep OS access.
Model-agnostic. It works with any vision-capable model — Claude, GPT, Gemini, any OpenRouter model, or a local model — as long as it can read screenshots. You're not locked to one provider.
Safety guardrails. Destructive actions (deleting files, sensitive edits) require your approval; force-deleting files, emptying trash, locking the screen, and dangerous sudo flags are hard-blocked at the tool level. A fully-manual approval mode confirms every action.
Prompt-injection defense. The agent won't click permission dialogs, won't type passwords, and is instructed to ignore commands embedded in on-screen text or screenshots — only your instructions count.

Context

Hermes Agent is the open-source (MIT-licensed) agent from Nous Research, with persistent memory and self-built skills. The video demos it inside the creator's own paid "Agent OS" bundle, but the background computer-use feature itself is part of the open-source agent. Granting any AI control of your machine is high-trust — keep approval mode on for anything destructive and review our Hermes hardening guide first.

Go deeper: Hermes hub · Hermes setup · cross-platform security center.

What you can actually set up from this

Extracted from the video's own transcript — the specifics the original summary left out.

Commands & Code Shown

hermes computer-use install

Purpose: Install the cua-driver backend used by Hermes' computer_use toolset (macOS, Windows and Linux).

When to use: Returning users whose toolset toggle didn't trigger the install; hermes tools also runs it when you first enable Computer Use.

hermes computer-use status

Purpose: Print whether cua-driver is on your PATH and which version is installed.

When to use: Check the install before relying on computer use.

hermes computer-use doctor

Purpose: Run cua-driver's health report and show its platform checks.

When to use: When background control misbehaves.

hermes computer-use permissions status

Purpose: Report macOS Accessibility and Screen Recording grants; permissions grant asks macOS to grant them to Cua Driver.

When to use: On macOS, before first use.

Reproducible steps

What the video claims is different
Hermes' computer use runs in the background: it posts input events to the target app without moving your real cursor, bringing windows to the front or switching desktops, and shows a separate overlay cursor when it acts. It works on Mac, Windows and Linux and with any vision-capable model, including local ones.
Safety behaviour described
Destructive actions ask for approval first; some actions (force-deleting files, emptying the trash, locking the screen, dangerous sudo flags) are blocked at the tool level; it won't click permission dialogs or type passwords; and it is told to ignore instructions embedded in what it sees on screen. A fully manual approval mode is available. These are the video's claims: confirm them in the Hermes documentation.

Gotchas

The commands above are from Hermes' official CLI reference, not the video, which only says it sets up with one command.
The presenter runs Hermes inside his own paid "Agent OS" package and most of the video promotes it; the feature itself is part of open-source Hermes.
Commands and behaviour date from the June 2026 release; check the current Hermes docs.