What it does
Terminal Commands execute shell commands on your Mac. Run scripts, manage files, control system settings, or automate development tasks—all with your voice.
Terminal commands run with your user permissions. Be careful with destructive commands like rm -rf.
Configuration
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|
| Commands | Required | List of shell commands to run |
| Execution Mode | Background | Background (silent) or Visual (shows terminal) |
| Terminal App | System Default | Which terminal to use |
| Working Directory | None | Directory to run commands in |
| Close Tab When Complete | Off | Auto-close terminal tab after running |
| Close Tab Delay | 2000ms | Wait before closing |
Execution modes
Background (silent)
Commands run without opening a terminal window. Output is captured but not displayed.
Use cases:
- Quick file operations
- System commands
- Scripts that don’t need interaction
- Automation that should be invisible
Visual
Commands run in a terminal window you can see.
Use cases:
- Interactive commands
- Long-running processes
- Debugging scripts
- Commands where you want to see output
Supported terminals
| Terminal | Notes |
|---|
| Terminal.app | macOS built-in, full support |
| iTerm | Full support |
| Warp | Keystroke fallback |
| Hyper | Keystroke fallback |
| Alacritty | Keystroke fallback |
| kitty | Keystroke fallback |
Environment variables
Your commands have access to special variables:
| Variable | Description |
|---|
$HERMES_INPUT | Your transcription (the remainder after trigger) |
$HERMES_SCREENSHOT | Path to screenshot (if captured) |
Example: Use transcription in command
Trigger: “create file”
Command: touch ~/Desktop/"$HERMES_INPUT".txt
Say: “create file meeting notes”
Result: Creates ~/Desktop/meeting notes.txt
Examples
Open project in VS Code
Trigger: “open project”
Command: cd ~/projects/myapp && code .
Git status
Trigger: “git status”
Command: git status
Mode: Visual
Create and open file
Trigger: “new note”
Command:
touch ~/Desktop/note-$(date +%Y%m%d).txt && open ~/Desktop/note-$(date +%Y%m%d).txt
Kill process by name
Trigger: “kill”
Command: pkill -f "$HERMES_INPUT"
Say: “kill chrome”
Result: Kills Chrome processes
Copy text to clipboard
Trigger: “clip”
Command: echo "$HERMES_INPUT" | pbcopy
Say: “clip hello world”
Result: “hello world” copied to clipboard
Command sequences
You can run multiple commands in sequence:
| Command | Delay After |
|---|
cd ~/projects | 0ms |
git pull | 0ms |
npm install | 0ms |
npm run dev | 0ms |
Security warnings
Hermes warns about potentially dangerous commands:
| Pattern | Risk |
|---|
rm -rf | Recursive deletion |
sudo | Elevated privileges |
mkfs | Filesystem formatting |
dd if= | Disk operations |
curl | sh | Remote script execution |
wget | bash | Remote script execution |
shutdown | System shutdown |
reboot | System restart |
Creating a terminal trigger
Open Triggers
Go to Settings → Triggers.
Create new trigger
Click + or New Trigger.
Set the phrase
Enter your trigger phrase (e.g., “git status”).
Choose matching mode
Exact for simple commands, Prefix if you need input.
Select Terminal
Choose Terminal Commands as the action type.
Add commands
Enter your shell commands. Add delays if needed.
Set execution mode
Choose Background (silent) or Visual.
Tips
- Use background mode for quick, non-interactive commands
- Use visual mode for long-running or interactive commands
- Set working directory to avoid
cd commands
- Use
$HERMES_INPUT to pass voice input to scripts
- Test commands manually first before creating triggers
