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Hermes Gadget desktop simulator with a round device screen and conversation panel
Hermes Gadget desktop simulator with a round device screen and conversation panelCredit: Adolanium/hermes-gadget-sdk
Hermes Gadget desktop simulator with a round device screen and conversation panel (image 2)
Hermes Gadget desktop simulator with a round device screen and conversation panel (image 3)

Hermes Gadget: an ESP32 or Raspberry Pi voice body for your Hermes Agent

Desk, EasyInstall kitWorks with Hermes Agent

Hermes Gadget is MIT-licensed firmware and an SDK that turns an ESP32-S3 board or Raspberry Pi 4/5 into a hold-to-talk voice body for your own Hermes Agent. Try the desktop simulator first; there is no single kit price.

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Hold TALK to speak, release to send, and hear the reply. The screen shows replies, confirmation questions and cards from the agent. You can expose the gadget's LEDs, sensors and other controls to Hermes as tools. A browser installer flashes a board over USB from Chrome or Edge with no firmware toolchain. The desktop simulator runs the same C++17 core on your computer.

Does it work: the simulator and shared core are what CI exercises. The README says hardware ports stay experimental until a physical verification report exists for the exact board revision, and there is no wake word yet. It is a community project and says it is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nous Research.

Hardware & cost: ESP32-S3 boards and Raspberry Pi 4/5 are supported; pick a board from the project's supported-hardware docs. No single BOM total is published, so we do not list a price.

Difficulty: Easy for the simulator; board bring-up depends on the revision you flash.

Next step: run the desktop simulator from the repo, then flash a board with the browser installer when you are ready.

Source: Adolanium/hermes-gadget-sdk on GitHub — https://github.com/Adolanium/hermes-gadget-sdk (facts checked against the project README, Nov 3, 2026).

Quick answers

What is Hermes Gadget?
MIT-licensed firmware and an SDK that turns an ESP32-S3 board or a Raspberry Pi 4/5 into a hold-to-talk voice and screen terminal for your own Hermes Agent. A desktop simulator runs the same C++17 core without a board.
How much does Hermes Gadget cost?
The project does not publish a single BOM total. Cost depends on which ESP32-S3 board or Raspberry Pi you buy. The desktop simulator is free to try.
Does Hermes Gadget actually work on hardware?
CI tests the shared core, tools and plugin. The README says hardware ports stay experimental until a physical verification report exists for the exact board revision, and there is no wake word yet.

How your agent drives it

Copied from the Adolanium/hermes-gadget-sdk README

  1. Shell
    $ python -m pip install -e ".[dev]"
  2. Shell
    $ hermes-gadget devserver --pairing
  3. Shell
    $ hermes-gadget sim --url ws://127.0.0.1:8765/gadget --board sim-466x466-round

Any coding agent that can run a shell can run these. Read the README before you run anything on a robot that moves.

Ideas to try with it

Our ideas, not the builder's claims.

  1. Try it in the desktop simulator tonight, then flash a board this weekend
  2. Expose a desk lamp as a tool and ask Hermes to turn it off
  3. Put the gadget on a robot as its voice and screen
1 more idea
  1. Approve agent actions from the device instead of your laptop
Source
Adolanium/hermes-gadget-sdk on GitHub
Last commit
2026-11-02
Builder
Adolanium
Repo
Adolanium/hermes-gadget-sdk, 464 stars
Built with
ESP32-S3, Raspberry Pi 4/5, Hermes Agent

Guides: How to set up Anki Vector with wire-pod (2026) · Give your AI agent a robot body · Cheap ESP32 robot projects you can build · Robots you can build with AI · AI hardware for robot and agent builds · Install kit

Parts notes for this device are in the Hermes Workshop catalog.

What to build next

Builds that share a board, robot or agent with this one.