Hermes Chrome

Needs one-time local companion (GitHub). Agent tabs, capture, light automation; less focus-steal.

Hermes Chrome is a **local agent companion** so AI agents and CLIs can operate your real Chrome on **any website**—without hijacking the tab you are using. **Important: two parts required.** The Chrome Web Store package is only the **browser half**. Chrome security does not let an extension open a control port by itself. You must also install the **machine half** (companion) once from GitHub: local bridge on 127.0.0.1 + Native Messaging host + auth token. Extension alone cannot control Chrome for agents. It is **not locked to one product or domain**. Open GitHub, docs, dashboards, news, charts—any http(s) URL. **What it does** • Dedicated Chrome Tab Group workspace (default title “Hermes”, configurable) • Open / navigate agent tabs with active:false to reduce focus stealing • Talks only to a local companion bridge on 127.0.0.1:19876 • Native Messaging host so the bridge can auto-start when you click the icon • Tab capture (PNG stays on-device) and light DOM helpers for agent workflows • Popup status + offline Guide; offline popup shows Setup required when companion is missing **Who it is for** Developers using Hermes Agent, Grok, Cursor, Claude Desktop, or any local CLI that needs authenticated browser flows while keeping personal browsing separate from agent work. **How to use (order matters)** 1. One-time companion (not npm). macOS/Linux: `curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/leaf76/hermes-chrome/main/scripts/install.sh | bash` → installs to ~/.hermes/hermes-chrome. Windows: clone repo → `scripts/install-windows.ps1`. Needs Python 3.9+ and git. 2. Install this extension (v1.8+) 3. Reload extension, click the icon once, Pair if needed (popup: Connected) 4. From your agent/CLI: open any URL, list-tabs, capture, eval/click/type. Optional MCP is registered for Grok/Cursor/Claude when present. 5. Full guide: extension popup → Guide, or docs/GUIDE.md on GitHub **Ready check** • Popup: Bridge online + Auth ready • CLI: `hermes-chrome.sh --json ping` succeeds **Privacy** No cloud account. No analytics. The extension does not send browsing data to remote servers—only to a bridge process you run locally. **Note** This extension alone does not run an AI model and does not complete setup by itself. It is the browser half of a local agent workflow.