hermes-desktop/docs/chat-chain-changes/2026-10-16-phase004-remove-desktop.md

date, pr, feature, impact

date	pr	feature	impact
2026-10-16	pending	Phase 004 - remove the desktop shell and bundled hermes CLI	No chat-chain behavior change; the bridge manager only loses an unused HERMES_DESKTOP helper, and gateway autostart no longer branches on desktop mode.

Phase 004 — Remove the desktop shell

Phase: docs/phases/phase_004.md

What Changed

Phase 004 removes Electron packaging, the version-management UI, and the bundled hermes CLI. Two chat-chain-adjacent files were touched:

• packages/server/src/services/hermes/agent-bridge/manager.ts — deleted the unused isDesktopRuntime() helper (it read HERMES_DESKTOP; no call site remained after earlier cleanup). Gateway IPC readiness, spawn, and kill paths are unchanged.
• packages/server/src/services/hermes/gateway-autostart.ts — removed the Windows desktop orphan-recovery branch (shouldRecoverWindowsDesktopGatewayOrphans / recoverWindowsDesktopGatewayOrphans) and its HERMES_DESKTOP gating. Managed gateway recovery on other platforms keeps its existing behavior.

Contract Check

/chat-run event names, field names, field types, and emission timing are unchanged. No run dispatch, session, or usage-recording behavior changed.

Verification

npm run harness:check
npm run build
npm run test