Overview

v0.21.7 — the patch release where the update channel got a name. Released October 11, 2026. Since v0.21.6: 740 non-merge commits · 4,156 changed files (+86,775 / −26,980) · 204 merged PRs · 69 closed issues, measured at commit 1fd18277267152893a8a24792b79213e7ca3f899.

This tag rolls the window up into a stable release for the desktop app (macOS Apple silicon, Windows), the Microsoft Store and MSIX, the installer, Docker and Hermes Cloud. As with the previous patch, the full curated notes ship with v0.22.0, which will document everything from v0.21.0 onward — highlights, feature areas and complete contributor credits — with nothing in this window skipped.

Because the curated write-up is deferred, what the tag itself changed is worth reading on its own terms: it settled a question that had been vague for a long time — what your install actually follows.

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Highlights

1. Source installs update to tagged releases only

A git install used to mean hermes update pulls the tip of main. The default meaning has changed: updates move to the latest published vX.Y.Z release. Three boundaries matter just as much — an install already newer than the latest tag stays where it is (nothing moves backwards), following every commit now takes an explicit hermes update --set-channel main, and forks and mirrors keep following main. Store, MSIX and bundled installs are unaffected.

2. The channel switch reaches the desktop, and the dialog tells you which one you are on

The desktop app gains Settings ▸ About ▸ Updates with an Update channel switch (Stable releases / Every commit) that applies to source installs, and the update dialog now states which channel you are on.

3. Reasoning survives resume

Signed thinking now replays after hermes chat --resume and on the next gateway turn, and Bedrock Converse reasoning models are no longer rejected on resumed sessions. The mechanism behind it is a per-route replay system, written up separately.

4. Updates stop failing behind regional firewalls

Installs on main used to fetch a release record that some regional firewalls answered with a 403, failing the update outright. The check now uses your GitHub token (GITHUB_TOKEN, or gh auth login) and reports a GitHub rate limit as a rate limit.

5. A batch of changes the release body lists on purpose without detailing

Explicitly named but undocumented in this release: plugins running built-in desktop app actions (ctx.runAction) and the plugin SDK pet bubble (ctx.pet.say); skills installed mid-session reaching the model without a prompt rebuild; Krea 2 Medium Turbo as the default image lane for new paid subscribers, with a FAL fallback when managed Krea refuses a request; faster desktop updates (the React Compiler pass cached by content, the compiled renderer reused when only the install stamp changed, unchanged native inputs left in place); pinned installs that check out only the pin; compaction marks emitted to Relay; and new community plugins including memory-shield, command-ledger, Memoria, Model Router, wyoming-voice-bridge, codex-account-switch and redline.

Upgrading

• Desktop app: updates itself. Microsoft Store installs update through the Store.
• CLI: hermes update, or re-run the installer one-liner.
• Docker / Hermes Cloud: nousresearch/hermes-agent:stable (or :latest).

Full Changelog: v0.21.6…v0.21.7

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