---
title: "Deploy Hermes Agent Template"
description: "Deploy Hermes Agent as a secure web dashboard with persistent storage."
category: "AI/ML"
url: https://railway.com/deploy/hermes-agent-template
---

# Deploy Hermes Agent Template

Deploy Hermes Agent as a secure web dashboard with persistent storage.

**[Deploy Hermes Agent Template on Railway](https://railway.com/template/hermes-agent-template)**

- **Creator:** David Lee
- **Category:** AI/ML
- **Total deploys:** 7

## Template content

### Hermes Agent

- **Image:** nousresearch/hermes-agent:v2026.7.20
- **Start command:** `/bin/sh -c "exec /init /opt/hermes/docker/main-wrapper.sh dashboard --host 0.0.0.0 --port $PORT --no-open"`
- **Public domain:** Yes

## Documentation

# Deploy and Host Hermes Agent

Deploy [Hermes Agent](https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent), the self-improving AI agent by Nous Research, as a secure web dashboard on Railway.

This template uses the official `nousresearch/hermes-agent:v2026.7.20` image and a persistent volume so Hermes keeps its sessions, memory, skills, configuration, and workspace across deploys. It starts the equivalent of `hermes dashboard --host 0.0.0.0 --port $PORT --no-open`.

## About Hosting

Railway runs Hermes's browser-based management dashboard on a public HTTPS domain. Railway provides durable storage for agent state and a managed restart policy.

## Why Deploy

- Manage Hermes from a browser when your computer is offline.
- Preserve its learned state, sessions, skills, and workspace across restarts.
- Use Railway Variables for model-provider and messaging credentials.

## Common Use Cases

- A remote browser dashboard for configuring models, API keys, skills, sessions, and cron jobs.
- A persistent personal Hermes instance with durable memory and workspace data.
- A web chat interface backed by the Hermes TUI.

## Dependencies for Hermes Agent

### Deployment Dependencies

- The official `nousresearch/hermes-agent:v2026.7.20` Docker image.
- A Railway volume mounted at `/opt/data` for Hermes state.
- Credentials for a supported model provider and messaging platform.

## Deploy

Create a Railway project from this template, then open its generated public domain and sign in. The required dashboard credentials are:

| Variable | Required | Purpose |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `HERMES_DASHBOARD_USER` | Yes | Dashboard username. |
| `HERMES_DASHBOARD_PASSWORD` | Yes | Strong dashboard password. |

The template maps these variables to Hermes's documented password-auth provider and creates a stable signing secret. Configure a model provider, messaging platform, and other integrations through the dashboard after signing in.

See the [Hermes web dashboard guide](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/web-dashboard) for dashboard capabilities and authentication details.

## Persistence

The template attaches a Railway volume at `/opt/data`, which is the official Hermes Docker image's `HERMES_HOME`. Do not remove this volume unless you intentionally want to discard the agent's state.

Railway supports one volume per service and a volume-backed service must have a single replica. This template is configured accordingly.

## Security

Hermes can run tools and terminal commands on the Railway service. Treat the dashboard as a sensitive administrative surface:

- Keep all provider and bot tokens in Railway Variables, never in the repository.
- Set a unique, high-entropy `HERMES_DASHBOARD_PASSWORD` before first use.
- The upstream project recommends OAuth or OIDC, rather than shared password authentication, for public-internet deployments.
- Review Hermes's [security guidance](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/security) before enabling additional tools or messaging platforms.

## Updating Hermes

The image is pinned to `v2026.7.20` for repeatable deployments. To upgrade, change the service source image to a newer official release tag such as `nousresearch/hermes-agent:vYYYY.M.D`, then redeploy. The persistent volume preserves agent state across the upgrade.

## Project Files

- `railway.json` records the runtime settings used by the template. The start command preserves Hermes's official `s6-overlay` bootstrap while binding the dashboard to Railway's injected port.
- `template-overview.md` is a short shareable template summary.

Hermes Agent is maintained by [Nous Research](https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent) and distributed under the MIT License. This is an independent Railway deployment template.


## Similar templates

- [Chat Chat](https://railway.com/deploy/-WWW5r) — Chat Chat, your own unified chat and search to AI platform.
- [stella](https://railway.com/deploy/stella) — Self-host stella with web, API, Postgres, Redis, and object storage.
- [Hermes Agent | OpenClaw Alternative with Dashboard](https://railway.com/deploy/hermes-agent-or-openclaw-alternative-wit) — Self-Hosted Hermes AI Agent for Telegram, Discord & Slack

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