Here is how to set up the Hermes Pixel Office, the free open source dashboard that turns every Hermes agent into a pixel character you can watch working live.
Setup takes about five minutes, there is nothing to sign up for, and it runs either as a browser page or as a panel inside VS Code.
This is the full walkthrough: demo mode first, then the two install routes, then how to read every character, flag and animation once your real agents are running.
What the Hermes Pixel Office is
A free, open source live dashboard for Hermes agents, built by Teknium — one of the people behind Nous Research, the team that builds Hermes Agent.
Every agent session shows up as a pixel character in a shared cartoon office.
They walk in through the door, sit down, get to work, then stand up and walk out when they are finished.
Why you would want it
Hermes agents normally work in the background.
They run tools, spin up helper agents and get real work done, and all of it happens out of sight.
You hit go and then you stare at scrolling text, hoping it is going fine and not quietly stuck.
The Pixel Office turns that into a room you read at a glance.
Step 1 — Start in demo mode
Do this before wiring anything up.
It ships with a demo mode that fills the office with pretend agents, so you can see how the whole thing looks and moves before connecting your real setup.
It is the fastest way to get comfortable with what every character means, and it costs a couple of minutes.
Step 2 — Pick where it runs
In your browser. Open it as its own page. Simplest option, and it fits how most people work.
In VS Code. Drop it in and the office sits in a panel next to your code, plus a “+ agent” button that starts a fresh Hermes run without leaving the editor.
Same office either way.
Step 3 — Connect your Hermes setup
Every Hermes agent running on your machine shares the same office.
Once it is connected, anything you launch — from the command line, a chat app, or a scheduled job — appears in the same room automatically. There is no per-agent configuration.
Running Hermes on a server? It works over a remote connection out of the box, so you still get the office on your own screen with no extra wrestling.
Step 4 — Learn to read the room
Every agent session is one character, regardless of where it was launched from.
Helper agents get a gold collar and a name tag showing their job — those are the sub-agents a bigger agent spins up for a side task, so you instantly know who is a main worker and who was pulled in.
What you see
What it means
Typing
Writing a file
Little book open
Reading something
Browsing
Using the web
Green monitor flicker
Running a terminal command
Red exclamation mark
Waiting on your approval
Standing up and leaving
Task finished
You do not have to read a single log line. You just look at the room.
Step 5 — Turn on the approval alerts
Sometimes an agent hits a command that could be risky and needs a yes or no before it proceeds.
That character throws up a bright red exclamation mark over its head, and a counter at the top of the screen shows something like “2 waiting”.
There is also an optional chime, off by default, that dings when an agent needs your okay or when a helper finishes its job.
Switch it on and you do not even need to be looking at the screen.
This is the single most useful thing to enable, because a silently blocked agent is the most expensive failure in any agent workflow.
Old way vs new way
Old way
New way
Poll the logs to see whether anything is blocked.
A red flag appears over the agent that needs you.
Notice a stall whenever you happen to look.
The character simply stops moving.
Sub-agents buried inside the parent’s output.
Gold collars and name tags identify every helper.
A separate view per job.
Every agent on the machine shares one office.
🔥 Want the Agent OS this plugs straight into?
Inside the AI Profit Boardroom you get the full Agent OS zip ready to install with Hermes as the brain, a 30-day roadmap, Pixel Office and Hermes walkthroughs, and four live coaching calls every week with 4,000+ members.
No, and this is the assumption almost everyone makes.
The Pixel Office is a window and nothing more.
It watches what your agents are already doing and draws it out for you.
It never blocks them, never changes their work, and never adds any weight to how they run.
Your agents do not even know it is there.
The one rule to remember
It is a window, not a controller.
Keep your agents’ own safety rules turned on. The red flag only tells you when to look — you are still the one who says yes or no to anything risky.
What it looks like on a real job
I kicked off a batch of Hermes agents to draft hooks, scripts and captions for a content series.
Each helper appeared as a gold-collared character — one typing away, one reading through notes, several working at once.
When one hit a step that needed my approval, the red flag went up and I knew the exact second to step in.
I have also watched a member onboarding flow complete — welcome messages, first-call prep, resource walkthroughs — with each character finishing and walking out, confirming at a glance that nothing was silently stuck.
Setup checklist
One. Open demo mode and watch until the animations make sense.
Two. Choose the browser page or the VS Code panel.
Three. Connect your Hermes setup — every agent joins the same office automatically.
Four. Run a batch job with helper agents so you see gold collars in action.
Five. Turn the chime on for approvals so the sound means something.
Six. Leave it open for a day and count the stalls you would otherwise have missed.
Frequently asked questions
How do I set up the Hermes Pixel Office?
Demo mode first, then a browser page or VS Code panel, then connect your Hermes setup.
Is it free?
Yes — free and open source from Teknium at Nous Research.
Can I use it in VS Code?
Yes, as a panel beside your code with a “+ agent” button for new Hermes runs.
Does it work remotely?
Yes, over a remote connection out of the box.
How do I know an agent needs approval?
Red exclamation mark, waiting counter at the top, and an optional chime.
About Julian
I’m Julian Goldie, founder of a 7-figure SEO and link building agency (Goldie Agency, 70+ team) and the AI Profit Boardroom.
400K+ YouTube subscribers, 163K X followers, 29K+ Udemy students, and author of Link Building Mastery.
I run my agent OS on Hermes over a remote connection, which is why the remote note above is from experience rather than the docs.
