Hermes Agent adds /simplify-code and previews hermes --tui in v0.16.0

• Hermes v0.16.0, branded the Surface Release, shipped a native desktop app, a broader browser admin panel, a leaner built-in skill set, and new security work for remote dashboard and GUI access, according to NousResearch's Surface Release post and the release notes.
• Right after that release, Teknium added a bundled /simplify-code skill inspired by Claude Code's simplify command, as Teknium's simplify-code post put it.
• Teknium also told users that hermes --tui is "the future replacement for the main CLI," in Teknium's TUI reply, which lines up with the CLI reference and CLI guide.
• The dashboard is becoming the control plane for more of Hermes, because Teknium's dashboard reply said the expanded skills hub lives there, while Teknium's search update thread added security scan info, source details, and install-time inspection.
• Some remote workflows are still catching up: the desktop app is in public preview per Teknium's desktop preview reply, and remote-connect support had to be retrofitted after the team "didn't build it with remote connect in mind," as Teknium's remote-connect reply said.

You can read the full release notes, the new Simplify Code skill docs, and the CLI reference. There is also a live desktop page that pitches Hermes as one agent across desktop, browser, and messaging surfaces, plus a user stories hub that aggregates community workflows from X, GitHub, Reddit, YouTube, blogs, and Discord.

The new skill is more opinionated than the tweet made it sound. The official Simplify Code docs describe a parallel three-reviewer flow: one agent looks for reuse, one for code quality, one for efficiency, then Hermes aggregates the findings and applies the fixes worth keeping.

The docs also say the skill triggers on plain-language prompts like "simplify my changes," "review my code," or even Claude-style /simplify. That makes this look less like a one-off slash command and more like a bundled review pattern Hermes now wants available by default.

The interesting part of the hermes --tui reply is not the flag itself, it is the direction of travel. The CLI commands reference says --tui launches the TUI instead of the classic CLI, --cli forces the old prompt_toolkit REPL, and --dev runs the TUI directly from TypeScript sources for contributors.

The CLI guide makes the split explicit. Hermes calls the classic terminal surface a full CLI with multiline editing, slash-command autocomplete, interrupt-and-redirect, and streaming tool output, then separately describes a newer TUI with modal overlays, mouse selection, and non-blocking input.

This release week kept moving features out of the terminal and into browser surfaces. Teknium's search update thread said the skills hub search now exposes security scan info, source details, and the actual skill contents before install.

The release notes push the same pattern further. The browser admin panel now covers the MCP catalog, messaging channels, credentials, webhooks, memory, and system-level update checks, while Teknium's dashboard reply said the expanded skills hub experience lives there.

Hermes still has some rough edges exactly where the new surfaces matter most. Teknium said remote connect was not part of the original design and the team was "catching up on everything right now with what users wanted," in Teknium's remote-connect reply, even as v0.16.0 advertised remote gateway support in the release notes.

That helps explain the mixed status around the desktop app. The official desktop page sells a cross-platform client with persistent memory, scheduled automation, subagents, and multiple isolation backends, but Teknium's desktop preview reply still called the app a public preview where "many things" may change or fail.