diff --git a/gateway/config.py b/gateway/config.py
index d325abcde..ec7d2b5cc 100644
--- a/gateway/config.py
+++ b/gateway/config.py
@@ -83,10 +83,13 @@ class SessionResetPolicy:
     
     @classmethod
     def from_dict(cls, data: Dict[str, Any]) -> "SessionResetPolicy":
+        # Handle both missing keys and explicit null values (YAML null → None)
+        at_hour = data.get("at_hour")
+        idle_minutes = data.get("idle_minutes")
         return cls(
             mode=data.get("mode", "both"),
-            at_hour=data.get("at_hour", 4),
-            idle_minutes=data.get("idle_minutes", 1440),
+            at_hour=at_hour if at_hour is not None else 4,
+            idle_minutes=idle_minutes if idle_minutes is not None else 1440,
         )
 
 
diff --git a/run_agent.py b/run_agent.py
index eafb590c1..5a69a3870 100644
--- a/run_agent.py
+++ b/run_agent.py
@@ -2729,7 +2729,7 @@ class AIAgent:
             "model": self.model,
             "messages": api_messages,
             "tools": self.tools if self.tools else None,
-            "timeout": 900.0,
+            "timeout": float(os.getenv("HERMES_API_TIMEOUT", 900.0)),
         }
 
         if self.max_tokens is not None:
diff --git a/website/docs/reference/environment-variables.md b/website/docs/reference/environment-variables.md
index 6dd8bb050..6cecf2ac6 100644
--- a/website/docs/reference/environment-variables.md
+++ b/website/docs/reference/environment-variables.md
@@ -131,6 +131,7 @@ All variables go in `~/.hermes/.env`. You can also set them with `hermes config
 | `HERMES_HUMAN_DELAY_MIN_MS` | Custom delay range minimum (ms) |
 | `HERMES_HUMAN_DELAY_MAX_MS` | Custom delay range maximum (ms) |
 | `HERMES_QUIET` | Suppress non-essential output (`true`/`false`) |
+| `HERMES_API_TIMEOUT` | LLM API call timeout in seconds (default: `900`) |
 | `HERMES_EXEC_ASK` | Enable execution approval prompts in gateway mode (`true`/`false`) |
 
 ## Session Settings