Hermes Agent v0.22.3 rolls up about 620 PRs and puts session auto-prune back to opt-in, but the real notes wait for v0.23.0
Nous Research's stable patch spans 2,911 commits and 4,206 files since v0.22.2, adds MCP progress streaming and plugin OAuth, and ships without a changelog. Verdict: try it on a spare profile, wait for v0.23.0 notes before production.
Patch release. This tag rolls up the ~620 PRs merged since v0.22.2 into a stable release for the CLI and installer, the Microsoft Store app, Docker and Hermes Cloud. Full curated notes for this window ship with v0.23.0.
Comprehensive take
A 620-PR stable tag with no itemised notes is a trust-the-maintainers upgrade. The listed features (MCP progress streaming, plugin OAuth, a post_compaction hook, subagent model picker) are useful, but until the v0.23.0 notes land, pin your production version and test the update on a non-critical profile, especially if you depended on session auto-prune behaviour.
Use cases
Interactive CLI users
The refreshed layout, live /loop countdown row and MCP progress notifications streamed as tool progress are the visible changes, per the release note.
Plugin authors
Plugins can now declare OAuth clients that Hermes signs in and refreshes, and a post_compaction hook is available; hermes plugins update surfaces available plugin updates.
Self-hosters and Docker users
Pull nousresearch/hermes-agent:stable; re-check your session auto-prune setting because the default is back to opt-in with a low-disk prompt.
Specs
| Window since v0.22.2 | 2,911 non-merge commits, 4,206 files changed (+360,278 / -64,308), ~620 merged PRs, 326 closed issues source |
|---|---|
| Measured at commit | 5b147ab036d source |
| Full curated notes | Ship with v0.23.0, covering everything from v0.22.0 onward source |
| Update paths | Microsoft Store; hermes update; Docker nousresearch/hermes-agent:stable; desktop installers unchanged source |
Insights
- Axion reading: the feature list is the maintainers' own and unverified by us; the compare view v0.22.2...v0.22.3 is the primary source until v0.23.0 notes appear.
- Axion note: this is a reversal of the 90-day auto-prune default our v0.22.0 teardown reported, now opt-in with a low-disk prompt.
What shipped
Nous Research tagged Hermes Agent v0.22.3 on October 21 as a patch release that consolidates everything merged since v0.22.2. The release note puts the window at 2,911 non-merge commits across 4,206 changed files (+360,278 / -64,308 lines), about 620 merged PRs and 326 closed issues, measured at commit 5b147ab036d. It is a stable roll-up for the CLI and installer, the Microsoft Store app, Docker and Hermes Cloud.
The important detail is what the note does not contain. Nous says the full curated notes for the window will ship with v0.23.0, which will document everything from v0.22.0 onward. This tag instead carries a single paragraph listing changes that are, in its words, undocumented here on purpose. So this is a list of claims from the maintainers, not a changelog we have been able to check line by line.
What the maintainers say is in it
The listed items cluster around three themes. Agent plumbing: MCP progress notifications streamed as live tool progress, OAuth clients that plugins declare and Hermes signs in and refreshes, a post_compaction plugin hook, and a capabilities catalog. Day-to-day interface work: a refreshed classic CLI layout with a glyph transcript, a status line under the composer and a two-line header; a live /loop countdown row in the CLI and TUI; steering and editing a queued prompt from the Desktop app; and a guided model-and-provider picker for subagents. Distribution and local runtime: hermes plugins update offering every available plugin update, an Update button for git-installed plugins in Desktop, opt-in Telegram DM topic transfer, the Microsoft Store build going live automatically when a release publishes, Nemotron 3.5 Bolt and one-slot DFlash drafts in the local runtime, and dozens of new plugin catalog entries.
One change reverses an earlier default. The note says session auto-prune returns to opt-in, with a one-time prompt when disk space runs low. Axion's earlier teardown of v0.22.0 reported auto_prune defaulting to 90 days, so anyone who relied on that behaviour or on its absence should check their config after updating.
Updating
Per the release note: the Microsoft Store app updates through the Store; the desktop app installed from the .exe or .dmg installer has no change in this release and updates with the next bundled release; the CLI updates with hermes update or by re-running the installer one-liner; Docker and Hermes Cloud users pull nousresearch/hermes-agent:stable (or :latest). Earlier release candidates for this version, including several tagged abandoned, were published over the past day; this is the one the maintainers designate as stable.
Should you update?
If you run Hermes in production with plugins, wait for the v0.23.0 notes or read the compare view (v0.22.2...v0.22.3) for the plugin OAuth and compaction-hook changes before upgrading, because 620 PRs is a lot to take unannounced. If you use the CLI interactively and want the new layout and MCP progress streaming, the update is low risk to try on a non-critical profile.