Overview
When a supported Hermes release is ready, you can start its upgrade from the Parlant Agents dashboard. Parlant does not replace the server until you choose to upgrade.
An upgrade creates and verifies a fresh encrypted backup, removes the old server, creates a replacement from the latest managed image, and restores the agent state. The hostname, secure tunnel, service credentials, storage, and subscription remain attached.
Before upgrading
- Wait for active agent work to finish.
- Review the release and any configuration changes you made.
- If the dashboard marks the VPS as customized, review its warning and choose whether registered scripts in
$HERMES_HOME/vps-customizations/should run again. - Remember that one-off administrator changes are not replayed automatically.
Hermes is unavailable while the server is replaced. Follow the live upgrade steps and wait until the dashboard reports that the agent is ready before resuming work.
Upgrade, recreate, or restart?
Use Upgrade to move to the latest supported managed image. Use Recreate to replace the server with its current managed image version, still protected by a fresh backup. Use Restart for a simple power cycle when the server is unhealthy and replacement is unnecessary.
For backup coverage and recovery controls, see Backup and restore.