Iris Chat for Hermes

Signal-like messaging for people and agents, without phone numbers or signup. Iris uses Nostr Double Ratchet for end-to-end encryption and supports nearby messaging over local networks and Bluetooth.

This native channel connects one approved Iris contact to your existing Hermes model and tools. Text replies, seen receipts and typing are supported.

See the installation guide. Requires Hermes 0.22.5+, Python 3.9+, macOS/Linux, and the Iris CLI (tested with 2026.10.30). Setup creates a separate local agent identity; it never needs your personal secret key. Keep the private Iris state directory across updates.

Permissions and data

• Invokes the installed iris CLI with argument lists, without a shell. It does not download software. The CLI creates and stores its own keys, message history and service state in the dedicated iris-channel directory inside the selected Hermes profile. The plugin stores contact policy and delivery state beside it; it never reads another application's login credentials or imports your keys.
• Starts a background Iris service when needed, reuses an existing service for that profile, and stops only the service it started. Iris contacts its configured message servers and transports to exchange encrypted messages. Plaintext chat requests and replies pass through Hermes and its configured model provider.
• Managed containers can instead use the fixed loopback bridge at http://127.0.0.1:8765, keeping Iris keys in a separate container.
• No telemetry, self-updater, additional contacts, groups or attachment downloads. The agent keeps its normal permissions; the plugin is not filesystem isolation. Only one gateway should use an identity at a time. Keep profiles, invites and transport logs private.