Describe the bug
When Hermes Desktop is connected to a remote gateway (e.g. SSH backend on a VPS), dragging and dropping a file from the local Mac into the chat window sends the local macOS filesystem path to the agent context. The remote session on the VPS has no access to this path, so the file is effectively unreachable and the agent cannot process it.
To Reproduce
- Connect Hermes Desktop to a remote gateway (SSH to Linux VPS)
- Drag a file from Finder into the Desktop chat window (or use the file attachment button)
- Send a message referencing the file, e.g. "convert this to epub"
- Agent receives the local path in context warnings:
@file:/Users/<user>/Downloads/...
- Agent attempts to read the path → fails with "path is outside the allowed workspace" (or silent I/O error)
Expected behavior
The file should be transparently uploaded from the local Mac to the remote gateway's workspace (~/.hermes/workspace/ or equivalent) so the agent can actually read and process it.
Actual behavior
The agent receives a local filesystem path it has no access to. No file transfer occurs.
Environment
- Hermes Desktop (macOS)
- Remote gateway via SSH backend
- File is on local Mac; agent runs on remote Linux box
Workarounds tried
Additional context
This makes remote gateway feel second-class compared to local mode. The desktop client already handles drag-drop detection beautifully for local sessions, but remote users hit a wall. Related to #466 (sandboxed file transfer) and #532 (ephemeral upload tunnel), but this is specifically about the Desktop → Remote Gateway sync gap.
Describe the bug
When Hermes Desktop is connected to a remote gateway (e.g. SSH backend on a VPS), dragging and dropping a file from the local Mac into the chat window sends the local macOS filesystem path to the agent context. The remote session on the VPS has no access to this path, so the file is effectively unreachable and the agent cannot process it.
To Reproduce
@file:/Users/<user>/Downloads/...Expected behavior
The file should be transparently uploaded from the local Mac to the remote gateway's workspace (
~/.hermes/workspace/or equivalent) so the agent can actually read and process it.Actual behavior
The agent receives a local filesystem path it has no access to. No file transfer occurs.
Environment
Workarounds tried
scpthe file to the VPS — works, but defeats the purpose of a desktop client/uploadcommand — doesn't exist yet (Feature: /upload Command — Ephemeral Tunnel-Based File Upload for Remote Users #532)Additional context
This makes remote gateway feel second-class compared to local mode. The desktop client already handles drag-drop detection beautifully for local sessions, but remote users hit a wall. Related to #466 (sandboxed file transfer) and #532 (ephemeral upload tunnel), but this is specifically about the Desktop → Remote Gateway sync gap.