### System details

Omarchy 4.0.0 (Wayland/Hyprland), AMD Ryzen 9, NVIDIA GPU, `hermes-desktop` 2026.9.7-3, Hermes runtime on current `main` (2026-09-24+)

### What's wrong?

The `hermes-desktop` package's launcher (`/usr/bin/hermes-desktop`) decides between the user's runtime-built app and the packaged `/opt/hermes-desktop` fallback with:

```bash
if [[ ! -x $native || ! -x $runtime/venv/bin/hermes ]]; then
  native=/opt/hermes-desktop/Hermes
  export HERMES_DESKTOP_IGNORE_EXISTING=1
fi
```

Current Hermes runtimes no longer create `~/.hermes/hermes-agent/venv` — dependency environments live under `~/.hermes/installs/<sha>/environments/<hash>/venv`, and the CLI launcher is `~/.hermes/hermes-agent/.hermes/bin/hermes`. So on an up-to-date runtime the condition is always true, and every launch:

1. Runs the **stale packaged app** (built from the pinned release commit) instead of the runtime's own `apps/desktop/release/linux-unpacked/Hermes`
2. Exports `HERMES_DESKTOP_IGNORE_EXISTING=1`, which makes the packaged app skip its "usable active runtime" resolution rung
3. The packaged app then probes `runtime/venv/bin/python` (also gone in the new layout), finds nothing usable, and enters first-launch bootstrap → bootstrap completes → re-resolve → probe fails again → **infinite bootstrap loop**. `~/.hermes/logs/desktop.log` fills with repeated cycles of:

```
[bootstrap] no Hermes install found; starting first-launch bootstrap
... 9 bootstrap stages run (git fetch + full build) ...
[bootstrap] bootstrap complete; marker written. Re-resolving backend.
[bootstrap] no Hermes install found; starting first-launch bootstrap   <-- loops forever
```

The window never reaches chat; CPU stays busy with repeated fetches/builds.

**Steps to reproduce:**

1. Install Hermes Desktop via Omarchy (Install > AI > Hermes Desktop) and complete the first-run bootstrap
2. `hermes update` to current `main` — the runtime now uses the `installs/` layout and `.hermes/bin/hermes`, with no `runtime/venv`
3. Launch Hermes from the app launcher; watch `~/.hermes/logs/desktop.log` loop bootstrap forever

Related but distinct from #13453 (IGNORE_EXISTING used to be unconditional; it is now gated on this venv probe — but the probe itself no longer matches reality) and #12206 (bootstrap marker never written).

**Workaround** (verified working on my machine): bridge the old path to the new layout and relaunch:

```bash
ln -sfn ~/.hermes/installs/<sha>/environments/<hash>/venv ~/.hermes/hermes-agent/venv
```

With the symlink in place the shim picks the runtime-built app and startup is clean (~2s to backend ready, no bootstrap).

**Suggested fix:** probe the layout current runtimes actually ship — e.g. treat the runtime as usable when `$runtime/.hermes/bin/hermes` is executable (keeping `$runtime/venv/bin/hermes` as a fallback for older runtimes) — in both the launcher's fallback decision and the python selection below it.