Your options compared
| Option | What you need | Good at | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discord, Slack, Matrix or WhatsApp | The Hermes gateway and a bot on that platform | Familiar apps, with files, threads or voice on several of them | Features differ by platform, and messages travel through that service |
| Signal | The gateway and the signal-cli daemon | An encrypted messenger, with images and files | No voice replies or transcription through the gateway |
| iMessage through BlueBubbles | An always-on Mac running BlueBubbles Server with your Apple ID | Messages on your iPhone, with photos and files | Needs a Mac; reactions and typing need its Private API helper |
| Email or SMS | An IMAP and SMTP mailbox, or Twilio for SMS | Nothing new to install on the phone | Slow back and forth, and SMS carries text only |
| Web dashboard over Tailscale | The dashboard, Tailscale on both devices and a dashboard sign-in | The full control panel, with the terminal interface in a Chat tab | Built for big screens; no push or voice on the phone |
| A community app such as Herald | Hermes plus the app’s pairing step | Native chat, approvals, push, voice and group chats | Unofficial; price and features vary by app |
Messengers other than Telegram
The Hermes messaging gateway is one background process that connects to every platform you configure, handles their sessions, runs cron jobs and delivers voice messages. Set a platform up with hermes gateway setup on the computer, then keep the gateway running. The docs list more than 20 platforms, from Discord and Slack to Matrix, WhatsApp, Signal, email and SMS.
What each platform supports varies: Discord, Slack and Matrix handle voice, images, files, threads and streaming replies, while SMS is text only. The Hermes docs keep a comparison table. When a bot wants to run a risky command, you approve by replying yes or no, or with /approve.
iMessage on an iPhone
Hermes can reach iMessage through BlueBubbles, a free, open-source server for macOS. You need a Mac that stays on, signed in to Messages with your Apple ID and running BlueBubbles Server. Hermes registers its own webhook with the server, so messages arrive instantly. Text, photos, voice messages, videos and documents work; tapback reactions, typing indicators and read receipts need BlueBubbles’ Private API helper. The docs also list Photon as another iMessage bridge.
The web dashboard in your phone’s browser
hermes dashboard serves a browser control panel on port 9119, and its Chat tab embeds the full Hermes terminal interface. It listens only on the computer itself by default, so reaching it from a phone means Tailscale or a proxy, and any access from another device requires a sign-in. On narrow screens its session list folds into a slide-over panel, but the chat is still a terminal in a mobile browser.
Community apps
Several independent apps connect straight to your own Hermes and add phone features messengers lack, such as approval cards, push banners, voice and group chats. Herald is one of them: $12.99 once for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and CarPlay, with Android as a separate purchase. None of these apps is official. Compare them in the best Hermes Agent iPhone apps and Android apps.
The quickest no-Telegram setup with Herald
- Run Hermes on a computer that stays on
A Mac, Linux machine, Windows PC with WSL2 or a VPS. See the setup guides.
- Add Tailscale if you want access away from home
Install it on the computer and on your phone.
- Run the helper on the computer
Run
npx herald-setup. It secures the dashboard, startshermes serveand prints a QR code. - Scan the QR code in Herald
Tap Scan the QR code. Every bot on that Hermes appears as a chat.
Questions
Which options are free?
Hermes itself is free and open source, and so are its gateway and dashboard. BlueBubbles is free but needs a Mac. Community apps vary; Herald costs $12.99 once.
Do any of these work without a computer?
No. Hermes has to run somewhere, and phones are clients. See can Hermes Agent run on an iPhone.
Is WhatsApp supported?
Yes, through Hermes’s built-in WhatsApp bridge or through Meta’s WhatsApp Business Cloud API.
Can I use more than one option at once?
Yes. One gateway connects every platform you configure, and an app such as Herald can run alongside it on the same Hermes.
