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The Interface

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rookiemann edited this page Mar 15, 2026 · 1 revision

Part 3: The Interface in Detail

The Chat Area

This is the main workspace. You type messages at the bottom and Hermes responds above.

Sending messages:

  • Type your message and press Enter to send
  • Press Shift+Enter to add a new line without sending
  • Click the Send button as an alternative to Enter

Attaching images:

  • Click the paperclip button next to Send (or press Ctrl+Shift+I)
  • Select one or more image files (PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, WEBP)
  • Thumbnails appear above the input box
  • Click the X on any thumbnail to remove it
  • Type your message about the images and press Enter
  • Requires a vision-capable model (Gemini, GPT-4o, or local LLaVA/Moondream)

Message types you'll see:

  • Your messages — shown on the right side in a different color
  • Hermes responses — shown on the left
  • Tool calls — shown as collapsed cards you can expand to see details
  • Thinking — animated indicator while Hermes is working
  • System messages — gray informational messages

Stopping a response:

  • Press Escape or click the Stop button to interrupt Hermes mid-response
  • Useful if it's going down the wrong path or taking too long

The Sidebar

The sidebar shows your conversation history. Each conversation is a "session."

  • New Chat — Click the + button or press Ctrl+N
  • Resume a conversation — Click any session in the list
  • Rename a session — Right-click > Rename
  • Delete a session — Right-click > Delete (confirmation dialog will appear)

Sessions are saved automatically. You can close and reopen Hermes without losing conversations.

The Menu Bar

File menu:

  • New Chat (Ctrl+N) — Start a fresh conversation
  • API Key Setup — Open the setup wizard for API keys
  • Settings (Ctrl+,) — Model selection, API keys
  • Quit — Close Hermes

Tools menu:

  • Permissions — Control what Hermes can do on your computer
  • Extensions — Install and manage add-on modules (TTS, Music, ComfyUI)
  • LM Studio — Visual model manager for local AI models
  • Skills Browser — Browse and install skill packages

Help menu:

  • About — Version information
  • Keyboard Shortcuts — Quick reference

The Status Bar

At the bottom of the window, shows:

  • Current model — which AI model is active
  • Status — Ready, Thinking, Error
  • Token count — how many tokens the current conversation has used

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut Action
Enter Send message
Shift+Enter New line (don't send)
Escape Stop/interrupt the AI
Ctrl+N New chat
Ctrl+, Open settings
Ctrl+Shift+I Attach image

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