Herald and Hermes Conduit side by side
| Feature | Herald | Hermes Conduit |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $12.99 once, no subscription | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, CarPlay and Android | iPhone, iPad (iOS 17 or later), Apple Watch and CarPlay |
| What it connects to | Hermes through hermes serve, with dashboard sign-in | The Hermes dashboard (port 9119) |
| Setup | npx herald-setup prints a QR code | Host, port and dashboard login, or a QR code or setup link |
| Plugin on your computer | Only for push: hermes-bot-push | Notifier plugin for push, live voice and Watch calls |
| Voice | On-device “Hey Herald” wake word, voice notes, read-aloud | Real-time voice with Gemini Live, GPT-Live or Grok Live, plus a classic mode |
| Apple Watch | Roster with status and Hermes Pet; reply on the iPhone | Voice conversations and calls from Hermes |
| CarPlay | Voice conversations (iOS 26.4 or later) | Voice conversations with chat selection |
| Several computers | Yes: one roster across computers | Yes: switch between dashboards |
| Group chats | Yes, including bots on different computers | Yes, hosted group chats with @mentions |
| Approvals | In the chat, with optional push | In the app or straight from a notification |
| Lock Screen and widgets | Hermes Pet Live Activity and StandBy widget | Live Activities and Home Screen widgets |
| Android | Yes, as a separate Google Play purchase | No |
| Languages | English, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese | 14 languages |
Choose Hermes Conduit if…
- You want a free, open-source app (MIT licensed) with no ads or tracking.
- Voice matters most. Conduit’s live voice holds a real back-and-forth conversation through Gemini Live, GPT-Live or Grok Live, and Hermes can ring your iPhone or Apple Watch when a task is done.
- You want to talk to Hermes from your wrist. Herald’s Watch app shows your roster, and you reply on the phone.
- You want to approve tools and answer questions straight from a notification.
- You already sign in to the Hermes dashboard and want an app that uses exactly that, including behind Cloudflare Access.
- You prefer one of its 14 languages, such as French, German, Korean or Turkish.
Choose Herald if…
- You run Hermes on several computers and want every bot in one roster, with group chats where bots from different machines talk to each other.
- You or someone at home uses Android. Herald is on Google Play too.
- You want a wake word recognised on the phone itself, and voice notes transcribed by the speech-to-text you already set up in Hermes.
- You like Hermes Pet: an animated companion that acts out each bot’s work on the Dynamic Island, Lock Screen, StandBy, Apple Watch, CarPlay and Android.
- You want pairing done for you:
npx herald-setupsets the password, starts Hermes and configures Tailscale. - You work on an iPad: Mission Control puts the roster, a chat and an inspector side by side, with split panes and ⌘K.
Setup and requirements
Hermes Conduit signs in to the dashboard that ships with Hermes Agent, on port 9119 by default, with your dashboard username and password. Its guide offers three routes: the same Wi-Fi, Tailscale (its recommended path) or an HTTPS domain, including Cloudflare Access. Chat works with the dashboard alone.
Conduit’s extras need its free notifier plugin on your host: notifications, live voice, Apple Watch calls and rich cards. You install it with hermes plugins install kaishi00/hermes-conduit-notifier --enable and restart the gateway. Live voice also needs a provider such as Gemini Live or GPT-Live.
Herald needs nothing extra for chat. npx herald-setup (Node 20 or later) writes the dashboard sign-in, starts hermes serve when nothing is answering, sets up Tailscale Serve if Tailscale is installed, and prints a QR code. Push needs the hermes-bot-push plugin. See Tailscale remote access.
Price
Hermes Conduit is free; its developer accepts tips on Ko-fi. Herald costs $12.99 once. One App Store purchase covers iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and CarPlay, Google Play is a separate purchase, and there are no subscriptions or in-app purchases.
The short version
Today, Conduit is the stronger voice app and the more capable Apple Watch app, and it costs nothing. Herald is the better fit when your bots live on more than one computer, when someone uses Android, or when you want a wake word, Hermes Pet and a combined roster on every Apple device.
Questions
Does Hermes Conduit need a plugin?
Not for chat: it works with any Hermes dashboard. The free Hermes Conduit Notifier plugin adds notifications, live voice, Apple Watch calls and rich cards.
Can Herald’s Apple Watch app reply?
Not today. It shows your roster: who is awake or working, the latest message, unread dots and Hermes Pet. You reply on the iPhone, by voice in CarPlay or with “Hey Herald”. If replying from your wrist matters most, Conduit is the better pick.
Which is better in CarPlay?
Both hold voice conversations in the car. Herald’s CarPlay screen lists your bots and group rooms, reads unread replies first and needs iOS 26.4 or later. Conduit lets you pick chats and use its live voice modes from the car.
Can I try both on the same Hermes?
Yes. Both sign in with your dashboard’s username and password, so you can test each one against the same computer.
