Hermes Cua means running Hermes Agent with the Cua Spaces plugin, so its terminal, file and code tools work inside a Cua Space: an isolated Linux, macOS or Windows machine you can watch live, on your own hardware or your own cloud account. Hermes still runs on your machine. The work lands in the Space.
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I run Hermes every day inside my Agent OS, and I made a video on this on 22 Oct 2026. Here's what it does, how to set it up in three steps, and when you'd pick it over Hermes' built-in computer use.
What Hermes Cua actually is
The plugin is called hermes-cua-spaces. It lives at github.com/trycua/hermes-cua-spaces, it's MIT licensed, and it was created on 20 Oct 2026. It comes from the Cua team, whose main repo, trycua/cua, sits at about 30,700 GitHub stars and 2,200 forks as of 23 Oct 2026.
The picture is simple. You talk to Hermes. Hermes runs on your computer. When it needs to run a command, write a file or execute code, the plugin sends that work to a Cua Space instead of your own machine.
So your laptop stays clean. The agent gets a whole machine to play in.
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Why it matters
Four reasons this is worth your time.
- An isolated machine per run. By default each Hermes run gets its own Space, named hermes-<task>-<random>, and that Space is deleted when the run finishes.
- No risky-command prompts. Because the Space is the sandbox, Hermes skips its risky-command prompts for Spaces the plugin creates. A Space you name yourself, like your own box, keeps the prompts. That's the right call, because that machine isn't throwaway.
- Watch live and take over. Open the Cua Spaces app and click the Space to see its desktop as Hermes works. You can click in the viewer to take over while Hermes keeps working next to you.
- Parallel agents. Two Hermes runs at once get two Spaces and never touch each other's files.
The safety comes from the machine itself, not from you clicking yes forty times. If you've read my Hermes agent sandbox breakdown, this is the same idea taken one step further: a full separate computer.
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How to install Hermes Cua in 3 steps
Here's the whole setup.
- Install Cua and sign in. Run curl -fsSL https://cua.ai/install.sh | sh and then cua auth login. Sign-in is only needed for Spaces on your cua.ai account. A local Space needs none.
- Install the plugin. Run hermes plugins install https://github.com/trycua/hermes-cua-spaces. Hermes asks to install one Python package called cua. Say yes, and say yes to enabling the plugin.
- Point Hermes at it. Run hermes config set terminal.backend cua.
Then start Hermes as usual. The first command creates a Space. The first one takes a few minutes while Cua downloads the machine image, so don't panic if it sits there.
To check it worked, ask Hermes: "run hostname and cat /etc/os-release". You'll see the Space's name and Ubuntu, not your own computer.
One thing I like: the plugin never stores a token or key. It talks to Cua through the cua Python package, which uses the sign-in that cua auth login saved. Nothing about Cua goes in your config.yaml or .env.
Want help wiring this into your own setup? Book a free AI strategy session and we'll map it out.
The settings that matter
The plugin keeps its settings in Hermes' config.yaml under plugins.entries.cua-spaces.settings. You change them with hermes config set.
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| space | create | create makes a Space for you. Or give the name or id of a Space you already have, like my-box. |
| on | Your Cua default | Where a new Space goes: local, cloud, host:<machine>, or the name of one of your machines. |
| image | linux | linux is Ubuntu with a desktop. windows makes a Windows Space. |
| desktop | false | Installs what Bot Desktop, computer_use and the browser need into a Linux Space that lacks it. |
| delete_on_exit | true | Deletes a Space the plugin created when Hermes finishes. Set false to keep it. A Space you named is never deleted. |
| create_timeout | 600 | Seconds to wait for a new Space to be ready. |
The combo most people will want: keep space on create and set delete_on_exit to false. Then the plugin makes one Space called hermes-default the first time and reuses it after that, so your files are still there next session. It stays running when Hermes exits, so stop it with cua spaces stop hermes-default when you're done.
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Where your Spaces can run
This is where it gets fun. The on setting decides where new Spaces live.
- Local. On your own computer. With a local Space, nothing leaves your machine.
- A spare Mac mini. You can point it at one of your machines by name. The README's own example is hermes config set plugins.entries.cua-spaces.settings.on "spare mac mini".
- Cloud. On your cua.ai account. Commands and files then go through Cua's encrypted relay or your own network.
That old Mac mini in the drawer just became an agent box.
Running more than one agent? Give each Hermes profile its own Space. For example, HERMES_CUA_SPACE=build-a hermes --profile a in one terminal and HERMES_CUA_SPACE=build-b hermes --profile b in another. Those named Spaces must exist first, and you create them with cua spaces create linux --name build-a. Or just leave the default and every Hermes you start makes its own throwaway Space.
To see everything, cua spaces ls lists your Spaces and cua viewer serves a browser viewer for all of them.
Windows Spaces: what to know
You can run Windows too. Set the image to windows, or point the plugin at a Windows Space you already have. A few things change.
- The terminal runs PowerShell, not bash. Hermes tells the model this, so it writes Get-ChildItem instead of ls -la.
- A Windows Space needs Git for Windows. The Cua Windows image has it, and if a Space doesn't, the plugin installs it the first time Hermes connects.
- On an Apple silicon Mac, a Windows Space runs by emulation and is slow. For real work, the README says use an x86 machine or your cloud account.
- Browser tools, computer_use and Bot Desktop don't run in a Windows Space. They use your own machine.
Two ways to use Cua without the plugin
The plugin isn't the only route. Cua's README lists two more.
1. Give Hermes the Cua tools with cua mcp
Add an mcp_servers entry to ~/.hermes/config.yaml with a server named cua, command cua and the argument mcp. Hermes can then create Spaces, run commands in them, drive their desktops and delete them, as tools it calls itself. You can limit what it may do with the --permissions flag, for example spaces:readonly.
2. Run Hermes itself inside a Space
Here everything stays in the Space: the agent, its keys and its tools. The README's example is cua agent create ada --harness hermes --in local:dev --env-from-host OPENAI_API_KEY. Hermes keeps its memory in your Cua Volume, so it survives if the Space is replaced.
If you're not sure which fits your business, grab a free AI strategy session and I'll point you at the right one.
How it differs from Hermes' built-in computer use
People mix these up, so let's be clear.
Hermes already ships a computer_use tool. It runs on cua-driver and drives a desktop in the background, so it doesn't move your cursor or steal keyboard focus. The agent learns how to use it from the bundled Hermes computer use skill, and I cover the full setup in my Hermes computer use guide.
The Cua Spaces plugin does something different. It moves terminal, file and code work into a separate machine. One clicks around a screen. The other gives the agent its own computer to do its work on.
And Hermes Bot Screen is a third thing again: it gives a bot its own desktop. With the plugin's desktop setting turned on, the README says Bot Desktop, computer_use and the browser can live inside a Linux Space too.
Hermes plugins are moving fast this month. The official Hermes Meshy plugin landed the same week and turns Hermes into a 3D model maker. If you want to see how I fit all of these together, read my Agent OS guide. And if you're choosing which model to run Hermes on, check Goldie Bench.
One more thing. According to Cua's README, Hermes users can get their first month of Cua Spaces Pro or Teams free with code HERMES-3EPX2A, for the first 50 people, until 15 Nov.
FAQ
Do I need a Cua account to use Hermes Cua?
Only for Spaces on your cua.ai account. A local Space needs no sign-in.
Will Hermes still ask before risky commands?
Not for Spaces the plugin creates, because the Space is the sandbox. If you point it at a Space you named yourself, Hermes keeps asking before risky commands.
Do my Hermes skills and credentials get copied into the Space?
No. The plugin doesn't sync your Hermes skills, cache or credentials into the Space. The Space starts with what its image has.
How long does the first Space take?
A few minutes, while Cua downloads the machine image. The plugin waits up to 600 seconds by default, and you can change that with create_timeout.
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