On 2026-09-23 Nous Research announced Bot Screen for Hermes Desktop: each bot gets an Xfce desktop on a headless Linux gateway (TigerVNC), streamed live while computer_use and headed browsers run there. Take over for login/2FA/CAPTCHA/payment, then Hand back; work continues on the gateway after the laptop sleeps. Docs cite ~300MB idle gateway, ~+220MB Xvnc+Xfce, ~0.5-1GB headed Chromium.
Key Takeaways
- ✓Each bot owns a gateway screen/browser profile/cookies (docs)
- ✓Start via Desktop pane, hermes computer-use screen start, or bot_desktop.auto_start: true
- ✓Footprint: ~300 MB idle, ~+220 MB desktop, 0.5-1 GB Chromium; plan ~1.1-1.5 GB/browser screen
- ✓Threat model: not a multi-tenant boundary-isolate sensitive bots on separate hosts
- ✓Needs Linux + TigerVNC + Xfce; Desktop/CLI can install host packages
Project Links & Resources
Direct AccessIn-Depth Technical Analysis
Core Background & Industry Pain Points
Headless computer_use agents are hard to watch/take over; laptop desktops die when the lid closes. Hermes Bot Screen keeps an observable desktop on the gateway for Hermes Agent.
Architecture Highlights & Internals
Each bot gets Xfce via TigerVNC on Linux. Stream to Desktop; Take over then Hand back. Screens are work surfaces, not security boundaries.
Authoritative Benchmarks & Measured Scores
No throughput suite. Footprint: ~300 MB idle, ~+220 MB desktop, 0.5-1 GB Chromium; plan ~1.1-1.5 GB/browser screen. Default min_free_memory_mb 1536.
Developer Hands-on Guide
Install TigerVNC+Xfce, enable Computer Use, Start screen in Desktop/CLI. Isolate sensitive bots on separate hosts.
Discussion & Comments
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