How to uninstall Hermes on Mac

The recorded Hermes app was the setup shell, not proof that its agent runtime was removed. The current installation guide distinguishes a bundled Hermes app from a setup bootstrap and source installation. Save wanted state before removing anything: the observed ~/.hermes includes configuration, SOUL.md, logs and cron data and can be used by an independent CLI.

Match removal to the installation

Quit the setup app and move only that actual app from Applications to the Trash. Keep ~/.hermes while the CLI, gateway or another installation still uses it. For a source installation, the official uninstall guide provides a preview:

hermes uninstall --dry-run

Use this only with the confirmed Hermes source installation. A preview is not removal; a command-not-found error means this shell cannot resolve the launcher. The vendor's default source uninstall can preserve user data, while --full also removes it. Stop and disable an installed gateway through its documented flow before runtime removal. A signed bundled app is removed as an app; package-owned installations need their own package manager. This setup-shell test does not validate those flows.

ls -ld "$HOME/.hermes"

A printed path remains. A missing-path error applies only to the default home; a custom HERMES_HOME can be elsewhere. Permission errors leave it unknown. Do not delete this folder merely to remove the setup shell or assume its absence proves every gateway is stopped.

What Mole lists

The selected app is checked by default. The exact ~/.hermes user-data rule is reviewed and unchecked by default. Remove data and settings with apps is off by default; eligible reviewed data can be included when enabled, so uncheck a store still used by the CLI or gateway. Shared tools and other agents' archives are separate.

What this test covered

The official setup shell and selected cache, WebKit and temporary data were removed with source-built Mole on September 23, 2026. The Hermes home was not collected then; a later review rule was added without another official-app run. Full runtime removal, gateway shutdown and populated state recovery were not tested.