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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/techjarves/Hermes-USB-Portable/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Hermes Portable grows its storage footprint in two distinct phases. The first phase is fixed runtime setup: on first launch the scripts download portable Python, Node.js, and other binaries into .cache/runtimes/, and clone the Hermes Agent source into src/. This one-time cost is roughly 1.5 GB on Windows x64. The second phase is growing user data: your API keys, conversation sessions, persistent memories, skills, and backups accumulate in data/ over time and can eventually dwarf the runtime footprint. Planning your drive size around both phases is important for long-term use.

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Component Breakdown

ComponentMeasured / Expected SizeNotes
Launchers & Scripts<1 MBMetadata and setup automation scripts
Windows x64 Runtime~800 MBPython, Node.js, uv, Git, ripgrep, venv, and downloaded archives
Playwright / Local App Cache~400–500 MBChromium browser cache used by Hermes web tools
Hermes Source Code~100 MBDownloaded Hermes Agent source tree
User Data~10 MB → 2 GB+Grows as memory, logs, sessions, skills, and backups accumulate

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Drive Sizing Guide

Use CaseFree Space to Reserve
One platform only2 GB minimum, 4 GB recommended
Windows + one Unix platform4–6 GB recommended
Windows + macOS + Linux runtimes8 GB+ recommended
Heavy long-term use with many sessions/backups16–32 GB recommended

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Multi-Platform Note

Each operating system and CPU architecture combination gets its own isolated folder inside .cache/runtimes/: 
.cache/runtimes/
├── windows-x64/
├── macos-arm64/
├── macos-x64/
├── linux-x64/
└── linux-arm64/
Using the same USB drive on both Windows and macOS will cause two independent runtimes (~800 MB each) to be downloaded and stored side by side. Add all the platforms you intend to use to your free-space estimate before choosing a drive.

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Freeing Space

Delete the specific platform folder inside .cache/runtimes/ to reclaim that platform’s ~800 MB without affecting other platforms or your data:
# Example: remove the Windows x64 runtime from a Unix shell
rm -rf .cache/runtimes/windows-x64/
The runtime will be re-downloaded automatically the next time you launch on that platform.
data/sessions/ and data/memories/ grow continuously over time. Old sessions can be archived to another location or deleted manually:
# List sessions sorted by size
du -sh data/sessions/* | sort -h

# Delete a specific session folder
rm -rf data/sessions/my-old-session/
Always back up anything you want to keep before deleting.
Run the soft reset script to delete all platform runtimes and the Hermes source tree in one step without touching your data/ folder:
cd scripts
.\reset-windows.ps1 -Mode soft
Your API keys, config, sessions, memories, and skills in data/ are preserved. Re-run the launcher afterwards to re-download a fresh set of runtimes.

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Performance Note

USB 2.0 drives have slow read/write speeds that can bottleneck Python module imports and cause Hermes to start noticeably slower. Use a USB 3.0 / 3.1 drive or an external SSD for best performance.

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