MangoTart is the computer. Hermes is the agent runtime inside it.
That split matters. We do not want to sell a closed AI appliance, a token proxy, or a thin wrapper around one chat app. MangoTart should be a private AI agent computer that keeps working because the core agent is open, portable, and already built for real tools.
Hermes is an agent, not a chat box
A chat box waits for a prompt and replies. Hermes is built around a longer-lived agent loop: it can plan, call tools, use a browser, keep memory, run scheduled work, and learn reusable skills from experience.
That is the shape MangoTart is designed for. A device on your desk should not only answer questions. It should keep context, use your configured tools, and handle recurring work without turning your laptop into the runtime.
It lets you bring your own model
MangoTart does not sell tokens and does not route your prompts through a MangoTart model account. Hermes already supports the model-provider layer we need:
- a ChatGPT subscription through OAuth, which is the easiest path for many users
- API keys for supported providers
- OAuth providers where Hermes supports them
- custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints
Your provider credentials live on the box. MangoTart account binding is for warranty, support, and remote help; it is not a model billing layer.
The data model matches ownership
Hermes stores its working state under ~/.hermes/: configuration, memory, skills, chat state, and other agent data. That maps cleanly to MangoTart's promise: the agent lives on hardware you own, not on our servers.
It also gives us a clean backup and migration boundary. MangoTart can wrap Hermes' own backup and import path instead of inventing a fragile file picker that might miss part of the agent.
What MangoTart adds
Hermes is the agent. MangoTart adds the private computer around it: Agent OS, a ready browser runtime, a local dashboard, guided setup, provider and messaging configuration, logs, update handling, backup controls, and recovery flows.
The browser is part of the runtime
Personal agents need a real browser. They need to sign in to sites you use, inspect pages, and act in web apps when an API is not the right interface.
Hermes already expects a browser toolchain. MangoTart ships the browser stack with the device, keeps it isolated from your laptop, and monitors it alongside the agent. That is a better fit than telling users to run a desktop browser session manually.
Messaging comes from Hermes, not a one-off bridge
People do not want another inbox just for their agent. Hermes supports real chat channels, so MangoTart can let you talk to the agent from apps you already use.
MangoTart keeps the setup productized: the dashboard asks only for the few credentials each channel needs, writes them locally for Hermes, and restarts the gateway when needed. We do not copy those tokens into MangoTart's backend.
Open source keeps the product honest
Hermes is open-source software from Nous Research. That gives MangoTart a better foundation than a proprietary agent we alone control.
It means the agent layer can be inspected, improved, and moved. If you export your agent state, you are not taking data out of one closed system just to be trapped in another. The strongest path for a private agent computer is to make the hardware and operating experience polished while keeping the core agent portable.
Why not build our own agent framework?
Because that would make the product worse.
The hard parts of an agent are not a landing page, a dashboard, or a nice case. The hard parts are provider support, tools, browser integration, memory, skills, scheduling, logs, recovery, and the long tail of edge cases that appear when a real person uses an agent every day.
Hermes is already focused on that agent layer. MangoTart focuses on the parts that make it usable as a product:
- getting it running on dedicated hardware
- keeping it updated without breaking the user's state
- making setup understandable
- exposing only the settings people should actually touch
- backing up and restoring the agent cleanly
- keeping the browser, dashboard, and logs available locally
That is the right separation of work.
The short version
We use Hermes because MangoTart is not trying to be another chatbot. It is a computer built for AI agents.
Hermes gives that computer an open, capable agent runtime. MangoTart gives Hermes a home: hardware, setup, dashboard, browser, logs, backups, updates, and recovery.
Next: set up your MangoTart, or read why MangoTart is different.