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Teknium dcbdfdbb2b feat(docker): add Docker container for the agent (salvage #1841 ) (#3668 )

Adds a complete Docker packaging for Hermes Agent:
- Dockerfile based on debian:13.4 with all deps
- Entrypoint that bootstraps .env, config.yaml, SOUL.md on first run
- CI workflow to build, test, and push to DockerHub
- Documentation for interactive, gateway, and upgrade workflows

Closes #850, #913.

Changes vs original PR:
- Removed pre-created legacy cache/platform dirs from entrypoint
  (image_cache, audio_cache, pairing, whatsapp/session) — these are
  now created on demand by the application using the consolidated
  layout from get_hermes_dir()
- Moved docs from docs/docker.md to website/docs/user-guide/docker.md
  and added to Docusaurus sidebar

Co-authored-by: benbarclay <benbarclay@users.noreply.github.com>

2026-03-28 22:21:48 -07:00

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Hermes Agent — Docker

Want to run Hermes Agent, but without installing packages on your host? This'll sort you out.

This will let you run the agent in a container, with the most relevant modes outlined below.

The container stores all user data (config, API keys, sessions, skills, memories) in a single directory mounted from the host at /opt/data. The image itself is stateless and can be upgraded by pulling a new version without losing any configuration.

Quick start

If this is your first time running Hermes Agent, create a data directory on the host and start the container interactively to run the setup wizard:

mkdir -p ~/.hermes
docker run -it --rm \
  -v ~/.hermes:/opt/data \
  nousresearch/hermes-agent

This drops you into the setup wizard, which will prompt you for your API keys and write them to ~/.hermes/.env. You only need to do this once. It is highly recommended to set up a chat system for the gateway to work with at this point.

Running in gateway mode

Once configured, run the container in the background as a persistent gateway (Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, etc.):

docker run -d \
  --name hermes \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -v ~/.hermes:/opt/data \
  nousresearch/hermes-agent gateway run

Running interactively (CLI chat)

To open an interactive chat session against a running data directory:

docker run -it --rm \
  -v ~/.hermes:/opt/data \
  nousresearch/hermes-agent

Upgrading

Pull the latest image and recreate the container. Your data directory is untouched.

docker pull nousresearch/hermes-agent:latest
docker rm -f hermes
docker run -d \
  --name hermes \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -v ~/.hermes:/opt/data \
  nousresearch/hermes-agent

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