serverAppConfigs/serverAppConfigs-docs/Dankclaw/Hermes-WebUI.md

---
type: configuration
title: Hermes-WebUI (Hermex server)
description: The hermes-webui container on Dankclaw — the API server that the Hermex iPhone app talks to, reachable over an SSH tunnel, from the whole LAN (it binds all interfaces), and from https://hermes.franksdank.cloud (internal-only vhost).
tags:
  - hermes
  - hermes-webui
  - hermex
  - dankclaw
  - ssh-tunnel
timestamp: 2026-09-14
---

# Hermes-WebUI (Hermex server)

`hermes-webui` is the [hermes-webui](https://github.com/nesquena/hermes-webui)
server (MIT, third-party) that the **Hermex** iPhone app connects to. It runs
the Hermes agent in-process from the shared `HERMES_HOME`, so it is the *same*
agent — same memory, skills, and sessions — as the [[Hermes]] gateway and the
[[Hermes-Dashboard]].

**Host:** Dankclaw — **Port:** `0.0.0.0:8787` (all interfaces) — **Ingress:** SSH tunnel for the phone app; direct LAN access also works

## Facts

| Item | Value |
|------|-------|
| Image | `docker.io/nousresearch/hermes-agent:latest` (same as the gateway) |
| Command | `python3 /webui/bootstrap.py --foreground` |
| Source checkout | `/home/dank/Containers/hermes/webui` on Dankclaw, bind-mounted at `/webui` |
| Port | `8787`, bound to `0.0.0.0` in the **host** network namespace (`Network=host`) — LAN-reachable, not loopback-only |
| Auth | `HERMES_WEBUI_PASSWORD` (host `.env`; Hermex signs in with it) |
| Data | bind mount `/home/dank/Containers/hermes/data` → `/data`, shared with the gateway and dashboard; anonymous volume at `/opt/data` |
| Health | `HealthCmd=` in the Quadlet unit probes `http://127.0.0.1:8787/health` from inside the unit (works because the webui runs in the host netns); the deployer probes the same path from the host |

## Why a container, not a host process

The gateway's state files are owned by the container-mapped uid (`109999`,
from rootless Podman's `1 → 100000/65536` subuid range). A fresh rootless
namespace on Dankclaw maps identically (verified with `podman unshare
cat /proc/self/uid_map`), so a second container using the same image reads
and writes the shared volume with exactly the ownership the gateway already
uses. A host-side process running as `dank` (uid 1000) could not read the
gateway's `0600` state files.

## How it works

- `bootstrap.py` creates `/webui/.venv` on first boot, pip-installs the WebUI
  and agent requirements, then **execs** `server.py` as one foreground process
  (`--foreground`). systemd-free: Podman supervises it via
  `restart: unless-stopped`.
- `HERMES_WEBUI_SKIP_ONBOARDING=1` keeps the first-run wizard off; a profile
  already exists in `/data` from the gateway.
- The healthcheck `start_period` is 600 s because the very first boot spends
  minutes pip-installing into a fresh venv.

## Remote access (Hermex on iOS — persistent SSH tunnel)

Only port `22` is forwarded to Dankclaw at the router, so the phone reaches the
webui through an SSH **local forward** — no extra router ports, no third-party
relay (no Tailscale, no Cloudflare). Implemented 2026-08-31. The tunnel is an
*access path* for the phone, **not** a containment boundary: the server binds
`0.0.0.0:8787`, so any host that can route to `192.168.0.143` can reach the API
directly and needs only `HERMES_WEBUI_PASSWORD` to get in (verified 2026-09-02:
an unauthenticated `GET /health` from another LAN machine returned HTTP 200).
See [[Container Network Namespaces]] for why the webui is reachable this way and
the sibling dashboard on `9119` is not.

- Dedicated `tunnel` account on Dankclaw (`/usr/sbin/nologin` shell, password
  locked). Authentication is key-only; the account can do nothing except
  authenticate — `ForceCommand /usr/sbin/nologin` kills any session channel
  while the transport stays up for port forwarding.
- sshd drop-in `/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/99-tunnel.conf` scopes
  `AllowTcpForwarding yes` to that user only (plus `PermitTTY no`,
  `X11Forwarding no`).
- Key options on the authorized key pin the blast radius:
  `command="/usr/sbin/nologin",no-pty,restrict,port-forwarding,permitopen="localhost:8787"`
  — a leaked tunnel key can only forward to `localhost:8787`, never act as a
  general SOCKS/SSH proxy.
- On the phone (client side): create a key on-device (private key never
  leaves the device), hand the **public** key to the admin who appends it to
  `/home/tunnel/.ssh/authorized_keys`, then connect from the SSH client:
  - In-network target `192.168.0.143:22`, off-network target the public
    hostname (router forwards only port 22 → Dankclaw) — same forward config
    otherwise.
  - Local forward `127.0.0.1:8787 → localhost:8787`; Hermex server URL is then
    `http://localhost:8787` in both locations.
  - For a *persistent* tunnel on iOS, Secure ShellFish's personal-VPN mode
    (Network Extension keeps the tunnel up and routes `127.0.0.0/8` through
    it); Termius works but only while its session is connected — iOS allows no
    background SSH daemon.

```mermaid
graph LR
    A[Hermex app] -->|http://localhost:8787| B[SSH local forward on iPhone<br/>persistent via personal VPN]
    B ==>|encrypted SSH to port 22| C[Dankclaw sshd<br/>tunnel user, forced nologin]
    C --> D["hermes-webui 0.0.0.0:8787 (host netns)"]
    D --> E["/home/dank/Containers/hermes/data (shared agent state)"]
```

## Deployment

```
./scripts/deploy.sh dankclaw --service hermes-webui
```

`deploy.sh` copies `dankclaw/hermes/quadlet/*.container` into the quadlet unit
directory and restarts `hermes.service`, `hermes-dashboard.service` and
`hermes-webui.service` in the **user** manager of `dank` (linger must be on for
them to come up at boot), so gateway/dashboard/webui restarts stay isolated from
inference deploys.
Before first deploy, set a strong `HERMES_WEBUI_PASSWORD` in the live
`dankclaw/.env`.

## Gotchas

- The `/webui` mount is **rw on purpose**: `bootstrap.py` creates `.venv` in
  the repo root. Do not flip it to `:ro`.
- The webui binds `0.0.0.0:8787`, and **two consumers depend on that**: the SSH
  tunnel (which dials the host's `localhost`) *and* Caddy, which fronts
  `hermes.franksdank.cloud` with `reverse_proxy 192.168.0.143:8787` — a host
  address rather than a container name, because this unit is host-networked and
  there is no port forwarder to bridge the gap (`dankclaw/Caddyfile` records the
  same constraint). So the SSH tunnel is an access path for the phone, not a
  security boundary: any LAN host that can route to `192.168.0.143` reaches the
  API and needs only `HERMES_WEBUI_PASSWORD`. The webui can run agent commands,
  so treat that password as a credential with command-execution blast radius.
  To make loopback-only binding true again you must set
  `HERMES_WEBUI_HOST=127.0.0.1` **and** give Caddy another way in (a
  host-gateway route or a bridge-network unit) — that is an exposure change to
  decide deliberately, not a silent fix. It was tried on 2026-09-16 as a silent
  fix and broke the vhost with a 502 while the whole e2e suite stayed green;
  `tests/e2e/specs/17-hermes-vhost.spec.ts` now asserts that vhost reaches its
  app through the guard chain, so a dead upstream fails a gate instead of
  hiding.
- The webui and the gateway share one data root (`/data` is a bind mount of
  `/home/dank/Containers/hermes/data`). A config change made on one side takes
  effect when the other restarts (same caveat as the dashboard).
- `bootstrap.py` auto-installs a Hermes Agent if it cannot find one; in this
  image the agent is already present, so that path should never fire. If the
  log shows an install attempt, the image changed — re-verify the entrypoint.

# Citations

- hermes-webui README (env vars, `--foreground`, `/health`): https://github.com/nesquena/hermes-webui
- Hermex setup model (server URL + password; Cloudflare/Tailscale are optional, not required): https://hermexapp.com/

## See Also

- [[Hermes]] — the agent and its Signal gateway
- [[Hermes-Dashboard]] — the LAN browser management UI
- [[Dankclaw Stack]]
- [[Container Network Namespaces]] — why this host-netns service is LAN-reachable