Hera — A GUI for SDL Hercules (Hyperion)

Hera is a modern graphical front end for the SDL Hercules (Hyperion) IBM mainframe emulator. It provides a PySide6-based workspace that makes common operator tasks faster and more visual: managing CPUs, DASD, tape volumes, card readers and punches, printers, 3270 terminals and the operator console — all from a single application.

Platform note: Hera is developed and exercised on Linux. The code is platform-agnostic where possible and may run on macOS or Windows, but those platforms are not tested.

---

Features

• Interactive device panels: View and control CPUs, DASD, tape drives, card readers/punches, printers and consoles.
• Printer export: Printer output can be saved/exported as PDF files for easy archival and sharing.
• Punched-card file support: Save and load card decks as punched-card file images so card-based input/output can be preserved and re-used.
• Tape image support: Create, read and write tape image files for storing datasets; compatible with Hercules tape handling so datasets can be transferred between Hera and the emulator.
• 3270 terminal integration: Full 3270 sessions with convenient screens and input handling.

---

Requirements

• Python 3.8 or newer
• A running SDL Hyperion Hercules instance with its REST API enabled (port 8081 by default)

---

Installation

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/MockbaTheBorg/Hera
cd Hera

# 2. Create and activate a virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

# 3. Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

---

Running Hera

# Connect to the local Hercules instance (default: 127.0.0.1:8081)
python hera.py

# Connect to a remote host or non-default port
python hera.py --host 192.168.1.10 --port 8081

Option	Default	Description
--host	127.0.0.1	Hostname or IP of the Hercules REST API
--port	8081	Port of the Hercules REST API

---

Notes

• Hera stores user preferences in ~/.config/hera/hera.conf.
• Use File -> Preferences in the UI to edit saved connections, appearance and window settings.
• Command-line options override values stored in the config file.
• The Hercules REST API should be reachable before starting Hera; device panels will indicate if the connection is not available.

---

Credits

• Jason (original inspiration) — by Oleh Yuschuk
• SDL Hercules — by Roger Bowler, Jay Maynard, Jan Jaeger, and the SDL Hercules community