From fa2601c2f5df58dc33bde47ce1c9cb2f92a75011 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Teknium <127238744+teknium1@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 2026 01:29:04 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] docs(desktop): troubleshooting entry for SSH host-key-changed
 latch

---
 website/docs/user-guide/desktop.md | 14 ++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 14 insertions(+)

diff --git a/website/docs/user-guide/desktop.md b/website/docs/user-guide/desktop.md
index a92b1036ba..bb3d561474 100644
--- a/website/docs/user-guide/desktop.md
+++ b/website/docs/user-guide/desktop.md
@@ -428,6 +428,20 @@ rm -rf "$HOME/.hermes/hermes-agent/venv"
 tccutil reset Microphone com.nousresearch.hermes
 ```
 
+### "The host key has CHANGED since you last connected" (SSH remote)
+
+If your SSH remote was reinstalled or its host key rotated, SSH fails closed
+and Desktop latches an error overlay instead of retrying (retrying can never
+succeed until the stale key is cleared). Verify the change is expected, then
+remove the old entry and retry from the overlay:
+
+```bash
+ssh-keygen -R <host>
+```
+
+Click **Retry** (or re-apply the connection in Settings → Gateway) after
+clearing the entry — the latch resets and the next boot dials fresh.
+
 ### "Build desktop app" stuck on Electron download
 
 The build downloads the Electron runtime (~114&nbsp;MB) from `github.com/electron/electron/releases`. If the installer hangs on the **Build desktop app** step with the live output repeating `retrying attempt=…`, GitHub is being blocked or throttled on your network (firewall, proxy, or region).