Turn a spare phone into an AI worker.

Pick the route that fits your goal. All three are official; the Termux project currently describes its Play Store build as experimental. Do not mix installation sources.

If you choose Google Play, continue through connection testing and start the connector manually when needed. Step 8 requires the F-Droid or GitHub Termux:Boot path.

pkg update && pkg upgrade -y
pkg install -y curl nano nodejs

The official installer detects Termux and uses Android-compatible dependencies. Voice extras are not part of the tested Termux path.

curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash
source ~/.bashrc
hermes doctor

Run the interactive model wizard and select a provider you already trust. Provider charges and data handling are separate from Agent Media Tools. Then make one direct Hermes request.

hermes model
hermes

At the Hermes prompt, ask: Reply with exactly: Hermes is ready, then use /quit.

Edit ~/.hermes/.env and add the values below. Replace the placeholder with a new local secret; do not paste a provider key. Keep the default loopback host—never bind this API to 0.0.0.0.

mkdir -p ~/.hermes
chmod 700 ~/.hermes
nano ~/.hermes/.env
# Add these two lines in the editor:
API_SERVER_ENABLED=true
API_SERVER_KEY=replace-with-a-new-long-random-secret

Start it with hermes gateway. Leave it running and open a second Termux session for the next step.

Generate a single-use code. It expires in ten minutes and becomes a device-only credential stored with mode 0600.

Scan with the Android camera. The short-lived code stays in the link fragment and is not sent to third-party QR services.

Single-use pairing token

Copy pairing commandsPair browser simulator

The simulator is optional and returns a clearly labeled demo result; it is not Hermes.

Export the same local API secret from step 4, then run the connector check. This sends a heartbeat to Agent Media Tools and one short model request to the loopback Hermes API.

export API_SERVER_KEY='your-local-hermes-secret'
AMT_SITE_URL='SITE_ORIGIN' node ~/amt-node.js --check

The check may use a small amount of your configured model provider quota.

1. Android Settings → Apps → Termux → Battery → choose Unrestricted or Don’t optimize.
2. Allow background data for Termux.
3. In Termux, run termux-wake-lock.

Names differ by phone vendor. Android 12+ can still stop Termux under system pressure, so the dashboard heartbeat—not a green setup check—is the source of truth.

Install Termux:Boot from the same source as Termux, then open its launcher once. Save the API secret in a private environment file and create the boot script:

nano ~/.amt-node.env
# Add: API_SERVER_KEY='your-local-hermes-secret'
chmod 600 ~/.amt-node.env
mkdir -p ~/.termux/boot
nano ~/.termux/boot/10-amt-node
# Paste the boot script shown below, save, then:
chmod 700 ~/.termux/boot/10-amt-node

#!/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/sh
termux-wake-lock
. "$HOME/.amt-node.env"
hermes gateway >> "$HOME/hermes-gateway.log" 2>&1 &
sleep 8
AMT_SITE_URL='SITE_ORIGIN' node "$HOME/amt-node.js" >> "$HOME/amt-node.log" 2>&1 &

Reboot once, unlock the phone, wait about a minute, and confirm the node heartbeat below.

Use the node card below to send: Reply with the current date and one sentence confirming this ran through Hermes on Android. Wait for a completed result.

If it fails: run hermes doctor; verify hermes gateway is listening on 127.0.0.1:8642; rerun node ~/amt-node.js --check; inspect tail -n 80 ~/hermes-gateway.log ~/amt-node.log; and confirm the node was not revoked. For signature errors, reinstall Termux and Termux:Boot from the same source. For stale/offline status, reopen Termux and rerun the connector.