Android / Termux

Hermes on Android with Termux

This is the tested path for running Hermes Agent directly on an Android phone through Termux.

It gives you a working local CLI on the phone, plus the core extras that are currently known to install cleanly on Android.

What is supported in the tested path?

The tested Termux bundle installs:

the Hermes CLI
cron support
PTY/background terminal support
Telegram gateway support (manual / best-effort background runs)
MCP support
Honcho memory support
ACP support

Concretely, it maps to:

python -m pip install -e '.[termux]' -c constraints-termux.txt

What is not part of the tested path yet?

A few features still need desktop/server-style dependencies that are not published for Android, or have not been validated on phones yet:

.[all] is not supported on Android today
the voice extra is blocked by faster-whisper -> ctranslate2, and ctranslate2 does not publish Android wheels
automatic browser / Playwright bootstrap is skipped in the Termux installer
Docker-based terminal isolation is not available inside Termux
Android may still suspend Termux background jobs, so gateway persistence is best-effort rather than a normal managed service

That does not stop Hermes from working well as a phone-native CLI agent — it just means the recommended mobile install is intentionally narrower than the desktop/server install.

Option 1: One-line installer

Hermes now ships a Termux-aware installer path:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

On Termux, the installer automatically:

uses pkg for system packages
creates the venv with python -m venv
installs .[termux] with pip
links hermes into $PREFIX/bin so it stays on your Termux PATH
skips the untested browser / WhatsApp bootstrap

If you want the explicit commands or need to debug a failed install, use the manual path below.

Option 2: Manual install (fully explicit)

1. Update Termux and install system packages

pkg update
pkg install -y git python clang rust make pkg-config libffi openssl nodejs ripgrep ffmpeg

Why these packages?

python — runtime + venv support
git — clone/update the repo
clang, rust, make, pkg-config, libffi, openssl — needed to build a few Python dependencies on Android
nodejs — optional Node runtime for experiments beyond the tested core path
ripgrep — fast file search
ffmpeg — media / TTS conversions

2. Clone Hermes

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent.git
cd hermes-agent

If you already cloned without submodules:

git submodule update --init --recursive

3. Create a virtual environment

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
export ANDROID_API_LEVEL="$(getprop ro.build.version.sdk)"
python -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel

ANDROID_API_LEVEL is important for Rust / maturin-based packages such as jiter.

4. Install the tested Termux bundle

python -m pip install -e '.[termux]' -c constraints-termux.txt

If you only want the minimal core agent, this also works:

python -m pip install -e '.' -c constraints-termux.txt

5. Put `hermes` on your Termux PATH

ln -sf "$PWD/venv/bin/hermes" "$PREFIX/bin/hermes"

$PREFIX/bin is already on PATH in Termux, so this makes the hermes command persist across new shells without re-activating the venv every time.

6. Verify the install

hermes version
hermes doctor

7. Start Hermes

hermes

Recommended follow-up setup

Configure a model

hermes model

Or set keys directly in ~/.hermes/.env.

Re-run the full interactive setup wizard later

hermes setup

Install optional Node dependencies manually

The tested Termux path skips Node/browser bootstrap on purpose. If you want to experiment with browser tooling later:

pkg install nodejs-lts
npm install

The browser tool automatically includes Termux directories (/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin) in its PATH search, so agent-browser and npx are discovered without any extra PATH configuration.

Treat browser / WhatsApp tooling on Android as experimental until documented otherwise.

Troubleshooting

`No solution found` when installing `.[all]`

Use the tested Termux bundle instead:

python -m pip install -e '.[termux]' -c constraints-termux.txt

The blocker is currently the voice extra:

voice pulls faster-whisper
faster-whisper depends on ctranslate2
ctranslate2 does not publish Android wheels

`uv pip install` fails on Android

Use the Termux path with the stdlib venv + pip instead:

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
export ANDROID_API_LEVEL="$(getprop ro.build.version.sdk)"
python -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel
python -m pip install -e '.[termux]' -c constraints-termux.txt

`jiter` / `maturin` complains about `ANDROID_API_LEVEL`

Set the API level explicitly before installing:

export ANDROID_API_LEVEL="$(getprop ro.build.version.sdk)"
python -m pip install -e '.[termux]' -c constraints-termux.txt

`hermes doctor` says ripgrep or Node is missing

Install them with Termux packages:

pkg install ripgrep nodejs

Build failures while installing Python packages

Make sure the build toolchain is installed:

pkg install clang rust make pkg-config libffi openssl

Then retry:

python -m pip install -e '.[termux]' -c constraints-termux.txt

Known limitations on phones

Docker backend is unavailable
local voice transcription via faster-whisper is unavailable in the tested path
browser automation setup is intentionally skipped by the installer
some optional extras may work, but only .[termux] is currently documented as the tested Android bundle

If you hit a new Android-specific issue, please open a GitHub issue with:

your Android version
termux-info
python --version
hermes doctor
the exact install command and full error output