Hermes Agent config ignores HERMES_HOME — written to ~/.hermes instead of the active config dir

[abdulkadirozyurt]

OmniRoute Version

3.8.21

Installation Method

npm (global)

Operating System

Windows

OS Version

Windows 11 (native, PowerShell install)

Node.js Version

No response

Provider(s) Involved

No response

Model(s) Involved

Hermes Agent (nous-research/hermes-agent)

Client Tool

Hermes Agent

Description

OmniRoute always writes the Hermes Agent config to ~/.hermes/config.yaml (path.join(os.homedir(), ".hermes", "config.yaml")). But Hermes lets the install location be overridden via the HERMES_HOME environment variable, and the official native-Windows PowerShell installer sets it to %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes.

So on a native-Windows install, Hermes reads its config from %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\config.yaml while OmniRoute writes to ~/.hermes/config.yaml. The two never meet: setup reports success, but Hermes starts with providers: {} — as if OmniRoute was never configured.

The docs showing ~/.hermes/ are correct for the default case; they just don't account for HERMES_HOME, which the Windows installer sets.

Suggested fix — resolve the config dir from the env var, falling back to the current default:

const hermesHome = process.env.HERMES_HOME || path.join(os.homedir(), ".hermes");
const CONFIG_PATH = path.join(hermesHome, "config.yaml");

Same change applies to every place that hardcodes the path:

• src/shared/services/cliRuntime.ts ("hermes-agent" → paths.config)
• src/lib/cli-helper/config-generator/hermes-agent.ts (CONFIG_PATH)
• src/app/api/cli-tools/hermes-agent-settings/route.ts (CONFIG_PATH)
• src/lib/cli-helper/config-generator/index.ts (TOOL_CONFIG_PATHS["hermes-agent"])

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install Hermes on native Windows: iex (irm https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.ps1) (sets HERMES_HOME=%LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes)
2. Open OmniRoute → CLI Code / Agents → Hermes Agent → run the setup wizard
3. Check %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\config.yaml → still providers: {}
4. Check ~/.hermes/config.yaml → OmniRoute provider was written here instead

Expected Behavior

OmniRoute honors HERMES_HOME and writes to the directory Hermes actually reads — %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes\config.yaml when that env var is set.

Actual Behavior

Config is always written to ~/.hermes/config.yaml. With HERMES_HOME set (default on native-Windows installs), Hermes never sees it and stays unconfigured.

Test Impact

Needs a new unit test

Error Logs / Output

Screenshots

No response

Additional Context

No response

Validation Plan

• With HERMES_HOME set, getCliPrimaryConfigPath("hermes-agent") resolves under $HERMES_HOME
• Without it, it still falls back to ~/.hermes/config.yaml (no regression)
• Add a unit test covering both cases in tests/unit/cli-helper/config-generator.test.ts

[diegosouzapw]

Fixed in release/v3.8.22 ✅

OmniRoute now honors the HERMES_HOME environment variable when resolving the Hermes Agent config path (falling back to ~/.hermes only when it's unset). All four call-sites were routed through a single getHermesHome() helper that reads the env var at call time. Regression test added.

Ships in the next release (v3.8.22). Thanks for the detailed report!