# NousResearch/hermes-agent · Desktop installer conflicts with existing CLI installations

## Open now

- 4 issues, 1 PR open on GitHub.
- #37674: Desktop setup should adopt existing Hermes Agent/profile installs before running mutating install stages
- #37874: include-desktop should be incremental, not re-run full bootstrap
- #40178: Desktop installer ignores existing CLI ~/.hermes/ with sessions, creates fresh DB in LOCALAPPDATA
- #42923: \[Bug\]: Hermes Desktop ignores existing installation
- PR #50704: Fix update paths for project .venv installs

These issues and fixes concern the Hermes desktop app installer failing to detect, adopt, or reuse existing CLI environments, leading to duplicate installs, lost sessions, and broken entry points across Linux, macOS, and Windows.

## TL;DR

- 12 member(s): 4 open issue(s), 3 closed issue(s), 1 open PR(s), 1 merged PR(s), 3 PR(s) closed without merging.
- A fix was merged to main in PR #69696. Verify it addresses your case.
- **Recommended:** read PR #69696 (and any competing PRs below) before filing. Confirm the merged change covers your symptom.

## Maintainer resolution verdict

- Internal-tracker verdict over this cluster's issue members: `unresolved`. This is distinct from the fix status above. Weigh it yourself.

## How this cluster was grouped

- Link evidence (`STRUCTURAL_PARTIAL`): some members are connected by structural evidence (shared changed files, or a closing/superseded reference); the rest are joined by an automated relevance judgement over their text.
- Members outside that structural core may belong to a different underlying problem.
- Pairwise link density `0.11`: the share of member pairs that carry a link, counting a structural link in full and a relevance-only link at 0.36. `1.00` means every pair is linked.

## Open related issues

- #37674: Desktop setup should adopt existing Hermes Agent/profile installs before running mutating install stages
- #37874: include-desktop should be incremental, not re-run full bootstrap
- #40178: Desktop installer ignores existing CLI ~/.hermes/ with sessions, creates fresh DB in LOCALAPPDATA
- #42923: \[Bug\]: Hermes Desktop ignores existing installation

## Closed / duplicate issues

- #40140: Hermes Desktop creates separate HERMES_HOME instead of connecting to existing WSL installation
- #42755: Desktop installer should detect existing CLI installation and skip redundant steps
- #49655: Desktop App installation corrupts existing CLI environment (venv conflict / entry point loss)

## Prior & competing PRs

- **#69696: feat(desktop): resolve login-shell PATH for GUI launches (port of cline/cline#12429)**. merged to main · fix tier `verified`
  - maintainer direction: category `merged`; implication `superseded`
  - files: `apps/desktop/electron/main.ts`, `apps/desktop/electron/shell-path.test.ts`, `apps/desktop/electron/shell-path.ts`
- **#40233: fix(desktop/windows): honour legacy ~/.hermes when LOCALAPPDATA was pre-created (#40178)**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `volume_quota`; implication `active`; refs `#40178`, `#40178`
- **#43834: fix(desktop): resolve hermes CLI via login shell on Linux**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `superseded_by_pr`; implication `superseded`; refs `25851e6e5800401be885c79bbc8510ccf9bc248e`, `#69696`
- **#50704: Fix update paths for project .venv installs**. open
  - maintainer direction: category `uncategorized`; implication `needs_llm`
  - files: `hermes_cli/main.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_cmd_update.py`, `tests/hermes_cli/test_update_concurrent_quarantine.py`
- **#80655: fix(desktop): detect CLI data by state.db, not bare directory — fixes #40178**. closed without merge
  - maintainer direction: category `duplicate_of`; implication `duplicate`; refs `#40233`, `#40178`, `#40233`

## Fix status

- Merged to main in PR #69696 (cited above). No release data is tracked. Verify downstream.
- Fix last verified (merged) `2026-08-17`.
- Subsystem: `apps/bootstrap-installer`