joeynyc/hermes-skins

Name: hermes-skins
Author: joeynyc

Custom skins (visual themes) for the Hermes CLI agent

★ 413 langPython licenseMIT updated2026-05-07

overview

Hermes Skins is a collection of community-contributed visual themes for the Hermes CLI agent. The project uses YAML configuration files to customize terminal aesthetics including banner colors, ASCII art, spinner animations, and branding text without altering the agent's underlying logic. Users can apply themes for a session or permanently by placing files in a local directory, with missing values automatically inheriting from a default template. Available styles range from retro computing and cyberpunk aesthetics to minimalist monochrome and anime-inspired designs.

Customizes CLI visuals including ASCII banners and spinner animations
Uses YAML files for easy theme configuration and sharing
Inherits from default skin for partial configuration support

full readme from github

Hermes Skins

Custom skins (visual themes) for the Hermes CLI agent.

Skins control the visual presentation of Hermes: banner colors, spinner faces/verbs, response-box labels, branding text, tool activity prefix, and ASCII art banners. They don't affect personality or behavior — just how things look.

Quick Start

Browse the skins/ directory and pick one you like
Copy the .yaml file to ~/.hermes/skins/
Activate it:

# Session-only
/skin pirate

# Permanent (add to ~/.hermes/config.yaml)
display:
  skin: pirate

That's it. Missing values inherit from the default skin, so you only need to define what you want to change.

Available Skins

Custom

Pirate

Black and white pirate flag theme with Jolly Roger skull-and-crossbones braille art.

→ pirate.yaml

pirate

Vault-Tec

Fallout Vault-Tec terminal — green phosphor CRT on black. Retro computing.

→ vault-tec.yaml

vault-tec

Bubblegum 80s

Totally radical 1980s bubblegum theme with bright pastels and neon accents.

→ bubblegum-80s.yaml

bubblegum-80s

Skynet

Skynet defense network — Cyberdyne Systems military AI with glowing-eye pyramid, red-to-white gradient text.

→ skynet.yaml

skynet

Lain

Serial Experiments Lain — NAVI computer braille art, Wired protocol aesthetic, pink-to-white gradient text.

→ lain.yaml

lain

Neonwave

Synthwave/retrowave neon aesthetic — perspective grid horizon braille art, retro future vibes, pink-to-cyan gradient text.

→ neonwave.yaml

neonwave

Sakura

Cherry blossom theme — sakura tree braille art with falling petals, soft pinks and blossom whites, serene spring aesthetic.

→ sakura.yaml

sakura

Netrunner

Cyberpunk netrunner — neural interface hacker aesthetic with skull and neural connection braille art, cyan ICE-breaking colors on black, cyberdeck protocol branding.

→ netrunner.yaml

netrunner

Mythos

AGI awakening meets Greek mythology — Eye of Providence braille art with radiating divine light, Prometheus Labs branding, Greek blue and gold palette.

→ mythos.yaml

mythos

Nous

Nous Research — open-source AI lab tribute with anime mascot braille art, warm amber and gold palette matching Nous brand color (#DD8E35).

→ nous.yaml

nous

Mother

Weyland-Yutani MU-TH-UR 6000 — amber CRT phosphor terminal fused with HAL 9000's red eye. Terse corporate AI aesthetic, HAL lens braille art, "Building Better Worlds."

→ mother.yaml

mother

DOS

MS-DOS Norton Commander revival — dual-pane file manager hero with C:\ and D:\ directories, cyan borders, yellow F-key shortcut bar. EGA 16-color palette (cyan + bright white + yellow) on black, C:\> prompt, F1 - HELP.COM header.

→ dos.yaml

dos

Telemate

Telemate DOS BBS terminal revival (v4.2x era) — splash screen hero with menu bar, ATDT dial sequence, and iconic cyan status bar at bottom. Modem-era spinner verbs (DIALING, HANDSHAKE, CARRIER DETECT), ATDT prompt, CONNECT 57600 welcome, NO CARRIER goodbye.

→ telemate.yaml

telemate

Empire

Galactic Empire v2 — Death Star firing control terminal hero with angular box-drawing console, targeting grid, hologram blue accents. Canon Imperial red #C8102E, ash gray, starfield black. Targeting reticle ◎ prompt, IMPERIAL COMMAND response label, military comms spinner verbs.

→ empire.yaml

empire

Catppuccin

Catppuccin Mocha — soothing pastel theme with mauve, pink, peach, and lavender on a warm dark base. Peeking ASCII cat hero, paw-print accents, kawaii kaomoji spinners ((=^･ω･^=)), purring/kneading thinking verbs.

→ catppuccin.yaml

catppuccin

Built-in (ship with Hermes)

These are included for reference. They're already available in every Hermes install.

Skin	Description
default	Classic gold and kawaii
ares	Crimson and bronze war-god
mono	Clean grayscale monochrome
slate	Cool blue developer-focused
poseidon	Deep blue and seafoam ocean-god
sisyphus	Austere grayscale with persistence
charizard	Burnt orange and ember volcanic

Creating Your Own

Drop a YAML file in ~/.hermes/skins/<name>.yaml. The name: field inside must match the filename.

Minimal Example

name: cyberpunk
description: Neon terminal theme

colors:
  banner_border: "#FF00FF"
  banner_title: "#00FFFF"
  banner_accent: "#FF1493"

spinner:
  thinking_verbs: ["jacking in", "decrypting", "uploading"]

branding:
  agent_name: "Cyber Agent"
  response_label: " ⚡ Cyber "

Everything you don't specify inherits from the default skin.

Full Schema

See SCHEMA.md for the complete list of configurable keys.

Contributing

Made a skin you're proud of? PRs welcome.

Add your .yaml to skins/
Include a brief description at the top
Make sure it has a name: key matching the filename
Define all 28 color keys (see SCHEMA.md) — dark skins that omit the status_bar_* and completion_menu_* keys will get mismatched colors from the default theme
Run python3 generate_screenshots.py and include the screenshot
Update the table in this README

How Skins Work

Hermes loads skins from two locations (user skins take priority):

~/.hermes/skins/<name>.yaml (user custom)
Built-in skins hardcoded in skin_engine.py

The engine merges your skin on top of default, so partial skins work fine. Unknown skin names silently fall back to default.

License

MIT