PixelHQ vs Hermex
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PixelHQ
Visualize your AI coding agent's activity in a retro pixel art office. See files read, terminal commands executed, and searches performed as animated characters on your device. Connects securely to a local bridge server for real-time insights into your coding sessions.
- Real-time pixel art visualization
- AI coding agent activity
- Retro office environment
- Local network connection
- Secure pairing
- Demo mode
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Watch your coding agents come to life. PixelHQ transforms your Claude Code sessions into a real-time pixel art office. Every file read, every terminal command, every search — animated as tiny characters working away at their desks in a retro startup office. It's the most fun way to see what your AI coding agent is actually doing. Connect PixelHQ to the lightweight bridge server running on your laptop, and your coding sessions instantly appear as live office activity. Characters read files at their desks, run to the terminal, huddle up for planning sessions, and head to the whiteboard when exploring your codebase. The busier your agent, the busier your office. How it works 1. Run the bridge server on your laptop (`npx pixelhq`). 2. Pair your iPhone with a one-time 6-digit code. 3. Start a Claude Code session and watch your office come alive. The bridge watches your Claude Code session files, extracts only the metadata needed for animations (like event type and tool category), and streams it to the app over your local Wi-Fi. Auto-discovery via Bonjour means no IP addresses to type in — just pair and go. Your code stays on your machine. Period. We take privacy seriously. Here's exactly what happens to your data: - The bridge strips everything sensitive before it ever reaches the app. No source code, no prompts, no AI responses, no file contents, no full file paths — none of it is transmitted. - File paths are reduced to just the filename (e.g. "auth.ts", never the full path). - All communication happens entirely over your local network. Nothing is sent to the cloud or to us. - Pairing is protected with a one-time passcode, and reconnection uses a secure token stored in your device's Keychain. - The only data that leaves your device is anonymous, aggregate usage analytics (app opened, session duration) through TelemetryDeck, a GDPR-compliant, privacy-first analytics provider that collects no personal identifiers. We built PixelHQ local-first by design, not as an afterthought. Your code is your business. Features - Real-time pixel art visualization of Claude Code activity - Automatic bridge discovery on your local network — no manual setup - Secure pairing with passcode protection - Multiple animation states driven by live coding events: file reads, writes, terminal commands, searches, planning, and more - Demo mode to preview the office without connecting to a live session Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://paper-swallow-130.notion.site/Privacy-Policy-2f7b6873ae248098b7ead558245be0bf
Hermex
This app provides a native mobile interface for interacting with your self-hosted Hermes Agent server. It allows you to manage conversations, control agent settings, and access workspace files directly from your iPhone.
- Connect to your own Hermes server
- Manage existing and start new conversations
- Control models, profiles, and reasoning
- Attach files and photos
- Browse workspace files
- Offline read-only viewing of recent sessions
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Hermex is a native iPhone and iPad client for your self-hosted Hermes agent. Connect to a reachable Hermes Web UI server, or enable the optional Bot Mode beta to connect directly to a Hermes agent host. Open existing sessions, start conversations, and follow streamed responses, tools, and reasoning as they arrive. Queue, steer, or stop an active run. Review file edits as diffs, browse workspace files, send photos and files, and dictate messages. Manage Kanban boards and cards, browse Tasks, Skills, Memory, and Usage, and choose models, profiles, and reasoning settings. Bot Mode adds a Bots inbox, Desktop sections, reactions, quick replies, approvals, questions, and group rooms. Live Activities keep working runs visible on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. Optional notifications let you know when work finishes or needs your attention. The share extension stages content from other apps for you to review and send. Agent execution happens on your configured server, not on the iPhone. Your server owns your conversations, tools, and workspace. Recent sessions and messages may be cached locally for read-only offline viewing; clear that cache from Settings. There is no Hermex-hosted agent backend, tracking, or analytics service. Optional push notifications use an open-source, self-hostable relay. Message previews are encrypted on your Hermes host and decrypted on your iPhone; the relay handles device tokens, notification metadata, and ciphertext, never message text, server URLs, or Hermes server credentials. Push is off until enabled. Hermex has no in-app account creation or in-app purchases. You need your own reachable Hermes server. Not affiliated with Nous Research.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Hermex at 4.7 against PixelHQ's 4.0. Hermex also leads on ratings volume (135 vs 2) and chart position (#34 vs unranked). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Hermex holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hermex has 135 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
| Parameter | PixelHQ | Hermex |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (2 ratings) | 4.7 (135 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 85.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 135 — better |
| Update frequency | — | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | — | #34 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 72 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Chun-Wei Hsu | Uzair Ansar |
Customer experience
PixelHQ
Hermex
In-app purchases
PixelHQ
No in-app purchases
Hermex
No in-app purchases








