Tool Progress
When the Hermes agent executes tools during a conversation, Hermes-Relay displays tool call information to keep you informed about what the agent is doing.
Display Modes
Configure how tool calls appear in Settings > Chat > Tool call display:
| Mode | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Off | Tool calls are hidden entirely |
| Compact | Inline one-line display showing tool name and status icon |
| Detailed | Full progress cards with icons, arguments, duration, and results |
Detailed Mode
In Detailed mode, each tool call appears as an interactive card with:
- Tool name and a type-specific icon (terminal, web, file, etc.)
- Arguments — expandable section showing what was passed to the tool
- Status — in-progress spinner or completion checkmark
- Duration — how long the tool took to execute
- Result — expandable section showing the tool's output (after completion)
Cards auto-expand while the tool is running and auto-collapse when the tool completes. Tap to expand/collapse manually.
Compact Mode
In Compact mode, each tool call appears as an inline element showing the tool name and a status indicator (spinner while running, checkmark on completion). This is less intrusive for conversations with many tool calls.
Tool Types
Common tools you might see:
- Terminal — shell command execution
- Web search — internet queries
- File operations — reading, writing, listing files
- Code execution — running scripts or code snippets
- Browser — navigating and interacting with web pages
How It Works
The Hermes API Server sends tool.pending/tool.started events when a tool begins, tool.completed when it succeeds, and tool.failed when it errors. The app renders these as interactive cards (or compact elements) that update in real-time as the response streams.