Platform differences — Scarf (Mac) vs ScarfGo (iOS)

Both clients talk to the same Hermes host with the same paths and the same data. They differ where iOS's constraints make a Mac feature impractical or unnecessary. This page is the canonical "what's missing on iOS, and why" reference.

Feature matrix

Feature	Mac (Scarf)	iOS (ScarfGo)	Why the gap
Dashboard	Full (stats + recent sessions + Surfaces + Connected info)	Stripped (stats + recent + Sessions sub-tab with project filter)	iOS density. Surfaces (gateway state / pgrep / config.yaml health) read Mac-only filesystems.
Chat (ACP)	Yes	Yes	—
Project-scoped chat	Yes	Yes	Shared `ProjectContextBlock` / `SessionAttributionService` in ScarfCore.
Session resume	Yes	Yes	—
Sessions list — global	Yes, with project filter + badges (v2.5)	Yes, with project filter + badges	—
Sessions list — per-project	Yes (Projects sidebar)	No (global Sessions tab covers it)	Different navigation: Mac has a Projects sidebar, iOS has tabs + per-tab filter. Same data.
Memory editor	Yes	Yes	—
Cron list (read)	Yes	Yes	—
Cron editor (write)	Yes	No	Mac builds a richer editor sheet; iOS read-only in v1. Coming.
Skills tree	Yes	Yes (read-only)	iOS won't grow a skill editor — too cramped.
Settings (read)	Yes (full YAML)	Yes (full YAML)	—
Settings (write)	Yes (full YAML editor)	Quick Edits (7 keys)	iOS exposes a curated `hermes config set <key> <value>` shell-out for `model.default`, `model.provider`, `agent.approval_mode`, `agent.max_turns`, `display.show_cost`, `display.show_reasoning`, `display.streaming`. Other keys stay read-only — Mac is the canonical full-YAML editor.
Slash commands — author (v2.5)	Yes (per-project tab + live preview)	No	Multi-line markdown editing on a phone keyboard is its own UX problem; iOS gets a read-only browser instead.
Slash commands — invoke / browse (v2.5)	Yes (slash menu)	Yes (read-only browser sheet)	—
Templates — install	Yes	No	Templates are a content-creation surface; iOS won't get a UI for it in v1. Use Mac.
Templates — uninstall	Yes	No	Same.
Templates — author / export	Yes	No	Same.
Messaging Gateway (Discord, etc.)	Yes (status + config)	No	Mac-only filesystem checks (`gateway_state.json`, pgrep). Could be lifted into ScarfCore with effort.
Health view	Yes (full)	No	Mac reads `~/.hermes/logs/`, gateway state, config sanity, the `hermes dashboard` web link. Could be ported in chunks.
Logs viewer	Yes (errors + gateway tails)	No	Could ride on `HermesLogService.streamLines` (already remote-capable). Pending UX design for iOS.
Tool Gateway (Nous Portal)	Yes (provider picker + Auxiliary tab + Health surface)	Provider exists in catalog	iOS Settings is read-only, so tool-gateway routing toggles aren't editable. Use Mac.
Insights / activity charts	Yes	No	Charts are richer on bigger screens; deferred.
Terminal (SwiftTerm)	Mac doesn't have it either	No	Hermes shell mode is CLI-only; neither client wraps it.
Localization	7 languages (en, de, es, fr, ja, pt-BR, zh-Hans — verified in `Localizable.xcstrings`)	English only	iOS strings are extracted but no translations contributed in v1.
Multi-server	Yes (one window per server)	Yes (sidebar-adaptable Tab root)	—
Push notifications	n/a (Mac uses local notifications + the menu bar)	Skeleton present, gated `apnsEnabled = false`	Push sender doesn't exist on Hermes side yet. Capability disabled in target. Flips on simultaneously when both lights are green.
Sparkle auto-update	Yes	n/a	iOS uses TestFlight / App Store.
iPad support	n/a	Wired (`.tabViewStyle(.sidebarAdaptable)`) but not smoke-tested	iPad target flag is off; layout probably free, but verify before flipping.

Why the iOS surface is intentionally smaller

ScarfGo is a monitor + steer client. It's optimised for:

Running a chat with the agent.
Looking at sessions, memory, scheduled jobs.
Resuming work you started somewhere else.
Approving or denying pending permissions (when push lands).

It's intentionally NOT optimised for:

Authoring templates or skills.
Editing settings to deeply tune behaviour.
Operations work — log triage, gateway debugging, deployment.

Those belong on Mac, where you have a keyboard, real screen, and the full Hermes filesystem layout. Trying to cram them into an iPhone produces a worse Mac and a worse iPhone.

Things that won't ever come to iOS

hermes daemon — Hermes is Python; iOS doesn't sandbox Python well.
Local Hermes filesystem — ~/.hermes/ is on a server, always.
Process management — pgrep, kill, launchctl flows stay Mac-only.

Things that should come to iOS but haven't yet

These are gaps without a fundamental reason; they just need engineering time:

Cron editor. Add / remove jobs from the phone. The data model is shared; only the editor sheet is missing.
~~Scoped Settings editor.~~ ✅ Shipped in v2.5 — the Quick Edits sheet covers the 7 keys most users actually change (model.default, model.provider, agent.approval_mode, agent.max_turns, display.show_cost, display.show_reasoning, display.streaming). Listed here for history; arbitrary-key editing remains future work.
Health summary card. A reduced version of the Mac Health view — just enough to answer "is the gateway running, is the DB reachable, is the agent crashy?"
Localization. Translate the strings the Mac app already has; reuse the .strings files.
iPad layout pass. Probably one afternoon's verification.

Things that are intentionally not mirrored

Mac feature	Why not on iOS
Project sidebar	Replaced by Sessions filter — same outcome, different navigation idiom.
Window-per-server	Tabs replace it. iPhone has one focus at a time anyway.
Sparkle	TestFlight / App Store does the same job.
Menu bar / Dock	iOS has neither.
AppleScript / URL scheme `scarf://`	iOS apps don't get the same routing surface; can be added if needed.

Last updated: 2026-04-25 — v2.5 (audit pass: Settings Quick Edits ship; locale list corrected).

Getting Started

ScarfGo (iOS)

User Guide

Architecture

Developer Guide

Reference

Troubleshooting

Slow Chat Startup

Contributing

Release History

Legal & Support

Wiki edited via the local .wiki-worktree/ clone. See Wiki Maintenance for the workflow. Last sync: 2026-04-20.