Ping Island: app and UI for Hermes Agent

macOS menu bar app that watches coding agent sessions, including Hermes Agent, and surfaces approvals

What Ping Island does

Ping Island sits in the macOS menu bar and, on notch-screen Macs, expands from the notch when an agent needs attention. It lets you watch active coding sessions, answer follow-up questions and jump back to the right terminal or IDE window. A pet can be detached from the notch to keep session status nearby.

It listens to hooks and integrations from each client: Claude-style hooks, Codex hooks, Gemini CLI hooks, Hermes Agent plugin hooks, Pi Agent extension hooks, OpenClaw internal hooks plus session transcripts, the Codex app-server, OpenCode plugins and compatible IDE integrations. The supported list also includes Qwen Code, Kimi CLI, Cursor and GitHub Copilot. A Linux PingIslandBridge asset is published for bootstrapping Linux SSH hosts. The app is written in Swift and released under Apache-2.0.

Key features

Menu bar and notch interface that expands when an agent needs attention
Approvals, input requests, completions and session summaries in one place
Jump back to the right terminal or IDE window
Reads Hermes Agent plugin hooks along with hooks from many other clients
Homebrew Cask install and DMG downloads
Linux PingIslandBridge asset for Linux SSH hosts

When to use it

Answering a Hermes Agent approval request without switching back to its terminal
Monitoring several agents at once, such as Hermes Agent and Claude Code
Watching agent sessions that run on a Linux host over SSH

Who it is for: macOS developers who run one or more coding agents and want session alerts without watching terminal tabs.

How it fits with Hermes Agent

Supports Hermes Agent among 17 listed clients, through Hermes Agent plugin hooks. It is a general session monitor and is not built only for Hermes Agent.

How to install Ping Island

These commands are copied from the project's README. Check the repository for the latest steps before you run them.

brew install --cask ping-island

Requirements: macOS; building from source needs macOS 14+ and an Xcode toolchain, and first launch may ask for Accessibility or Apple Events permissions

FAQ

What is Ping Island?

Ping Island is a macOS menu bar app that monitors AI coding agent sessions. It expands when an agent needs approval, input or has finished, and lets you jump back to the right window.

Does Ping Island work with Hermes Agent?

Yes, Hermes Agent is on its list of supported clients, and Ping Island listens to Hermes Agent plugin hooks. It supports many other agents too, including Claude Code, Codex CLI and OpenCode.

How do I install Ping Island?

Run brew install --cask ping-island, or download the latest DMG from the Releases page and move Ping Island.app into Applications. On first launch macOS may ask you to confirm the app or grant permissions.