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basionwang-bot/hermespet

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

★ 91SwiftAudience · generalComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · easy

TLDR

A native macOS menu bar app that puts an AI chat assistant in the Dynamic Island, letting you chat with multiple AI providers at once with no command line setup.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Menu bar AI chat
      Dynamic Island status
      Multiple providers
    Four modes
      Online AI
      Hermes gateway
      Claude Code
      Codex
    Extra features
      Voice input
      Screenshot capture
      Morning briefing
    Platform
      macOS 14 plus
      Native Swift SwiftUI

Code map

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Chat with an AI assistant instantly from the macOS menu bar without installing any command line tools.

USE CASE 2

Run up to eight independent AI conversations at once, each locked to a different provider.

USE CASE 3

Use push-to-talk voice input to talk to the AI hands-free.

What is it built with?

SwiftSwiftUI

How does it compare?

basionwang-bot/hermespetapple/truetype-hinting-interpreter-exampleoomol-lab/lockime
Stars919389
LanguageSwiftSwiftSwift
Setup difficultyeasymoderateeasy
Complexity2/54/51/5
Audiencegeneraldevelopergeneral

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Just needs an API key from a supported AI provider, advanced features optionally require the claude or codex CLI installed.

Apache 2.0 License: free to use, modify, and distribute, including commercially, with attribution and a patent grant.

In plain English

HermesPet is a macOS desktop app that places an AI chat assistant in your MacBook's menu bar and Dynamic Island, the decorative capsule at the top of the screen. The goal is to make AI conversation instantly available while you work, without requiring any command-line tools to get started. You paste in an API key from a supported AI provider and you can immediately start chatting. The app supports four distinct AI modes that can run in parallel: a general online chat mode connecting to providers like DeepSeek, Kimi, or OpenAI, a Hermes mode for self-hosted AI compatible APIs, a Claude Code mode that can read and edit files on your machine, and a Codex mode from OpenAI that can generate images and run code. You can have up to eight conversations open at once, each independently locked to a specific AI provider, and switch between them instantly with keyboard shortcuts. Conversation history can even be shared across different AI providers. Extra features include push-to-talk voice input using the native macOS speech recognizer, screenshot capture to attach images to a conversation, drag-and-drop file support, pinnable AI responses shown on your desktop, and a daily morning briefing where the AI summarizes your recent activity. A local blocklist prevents sensitive filenames like passwords or contracts from being sent to any AI service. This is for macOS 14 or newer and is built with Swift 6 and SwiftUI, meaning it is a fully native app with no web view or Electron wrapper. It runs purely on your own machine and sends data only through your own AI provider accounts.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Set up HermesPet on my Mac and connect it to a DeepSeek or OpenAI API key.
Prompt 2
Explain how HermesPet's four AI modes differ from each other.
Prompt 3
Show me how to use push-to-talk voice input in HermesPet.

Frequently asked questions

What is hermespet?

A native macOS menu bar app that puts an AI chat assistant in the Dynamic Island, letting you chat with multiple AI providers at once with no command line setup.

What language is hermespet written in?

Mainly Swift. The stack also includes Swift, SwiftUI.

What license does hermespet use?

Apache 2.0 License: free to use, modify, and distribute, including commercially, with attribution and a patent grant.

How hard is hermespet to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is hermespet for?

Mainly general.

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