Install and Diagnose Petdex Mascots in Hermes

Hermes pets are animated display sprites across the CLI, TUI, and desktop app. They are cosmetic: installing one does not change prompts, token use, memory, tools, or model behavior.

Operating checklist

Browse the gallery and select a known slug.
Install through hermes pets.
Preview every activity state.
Set a non-obstructive scale.
Use automatic render detection by default.
Run hermes pets doctor.
Disable pets for minimal operational terminals when appropriate.

How the workflow works

Use hermes pets install <slug> --select, hermes pets show --cycle, and hermes pets doctor. Supported terminals can use native graphics protocols; otherwise Hermes falls back to Unicode half-blocks. Pipes intentionally render no pet. /hatch is a separate cost-bearing generation workflow that needs a reference-capable image provider; installing a gallery pet does not.

Common pitfalls

Installing without selecting and enabling.
Looking in another profile directory.
Expecting graphics in redirected output.
Forcing an unsupported protocol.
Confusing mascot state with agent authority.

Verification steps

List installed pets.
Run the doctor and inspect active slug and mode.
Preview idle, review, run, failed, and jump.
Trigger a harmless tool and watch state recovery.
Resize the UI and check obstruction.
Run hermes pets off and confirm behavior is unchanged.

Use the official Hermes documentation for the current source of truth.