hermes - 💡(How to fix) Fix Desktop app crashes on NVIDIA 580+ drivers (Ubuntu 24.04)

Bug Report: Desktop App Crashes on NVIDIA 580+ Drivers

Environment

• OS: Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (12GB)
• Driver: NVIDIA 580.159.03
• Electron: 40.9.3 (bundled in hermes-agent v0.15.1)
• X11: X.Org 21.1.11, GNOME desktop

Problem

The Hermes desktop app fails to launch on systems with NVIDIA 580.x proprietary drivers. The GPU process crashes within ~19 seconds, causing the entire app to abort.

Root Cause

Two compounded bugs:

1. NVIDIA 580 driver EGL bug: eglInitialize() fails with EGL_BAD_PARAMETER ("Invalid visual ID requested", error 12289). This is a regression in the 580.x driver series.

2. Electron 40 GL backend restriction: gl_factory.cc hardcodes only [(gl=egl-angle,angle=default)] as allowed GL implementations. Commands like --use-gl=swiftshader or --use-gl=desktop are rejected as "not found in allowed implementations".

3. SwiftShader timeout: Even with --use-angle=swiftshader, ANGLE still probes the host EGL driver during display init, hitting the NVIDIA bug. SwiftShader's pure-CPU initialization exceeds Chromium's GPU process health check timeout, causing SIGTERM (exit_code=15) to the GPU process.

Error Output

[ERROR:ui/gl/init/gl_factory.cc:111] Requested GL implementation (gl=none,angle=none) not found in allowed implementations: [(gl=egl-angle,angle=default)]
[ERROR:ui/gl/angle_platform_impl.cc:42] Display.cpp:1097 (initialize): ANGLE Display::initialize error 12289: Invalid visual ID requested.
[ERROR:content/browser/gpu/gpu_process_host.cc:1004] GPU process exited unexpectedly: exit_code=15
[FATAL:content/browser/gpu/gpu_data_manager_impl_private.cc:415] GPU process isn't usable. Goodbye.

Working Workaround

Created a small LD_PRELOAD shim (hermes-egl-shim.so) that intercepts EGL calls from ANGLE, returning success without touching the broken NVIDIA driver. Combined with the existing HERMES_DESKTOP_DISABLE_GPU patch and --use-gl=angle --use-angle=swiftshader flags, the app launches and renders correctly via SwiftShader.

Files created:

• ~/.local/bin/hermes-egl-shim.c — C source (~250 lines, no EGL headers needed)
• ~/.local/bin/hermes-egl-shim.so — Compiled shared library (17KB)
• ~/.local/bin/hermes-desktop-app — Wrapper with LD_PRELOAD + flags

Patched apps/desktop/electron/main.cjs to auto-detect NVIDIA 580+ via nvidia-smi and route ANGLE through SwiftShader.

Recommended Fix

1. Add a --use-gl=swiftshader option in the GL allowlist (or a --use-gl=swiftshader-webgl option for WebGL-only)
2. Increase GPU process health check timeout when SwiftShader is detected (initialization is CPU-bound and can take >15s)
3. Consider providing a pre-built desktop .deb/AppImage that bundles the fix

Tested

• App launches and runs stably for 2+ minutes
• All 7 processes alive: main, 2 zygote, GPU (SwiftShader @ 448% CPU), network, audio, renderer
• Windows visible: 1920x1048 main window, WebSocket to ws://127.0.0.1:9120/api/ws connected
• Backend connection successful, fonts loaded, audio rendering started
• Only error in logs: dbus/systemd1.UnitExists (harmless, scope unit already loaded)