How to Deploy Hermes AI Agent with Docker and HTTPS
Back to Blog<br>June 11, 2026<br>15 min readDevopness Team<br>How to Deploy Hermes AI Agent with Docker and HTTPS<br>Deploy Hermes AI Agent with Docker, HTTPS, and authentication. Complete guide with automatic SSL certificates and persistent storage.
Deploy Hermes AI Agent with Docker, automatic HTTPS, and authentication. This guide works for both AI assistants (e.g., via Devopness MCP Server, Devopness API) and manual setup through the web interface.
What is Hermes?
Hermes is an autonomous AI agent that can write code, deploy applications, browse the web, integrate with Slack and GitHub, and automate repetitive tasks. It works like having a developer on your team.
Deploying AI agents typically requires complex server configuration, Docker expertise, and manual SSL certificate management. This guide shows you how to deploy Hermes using Devopness, which handles all the infrastructure automatically.
What You'll Build
By the end of this guide, you'll have Hermes AI Agent deployed and running:
Running 24/7 on your cloud infrastructure
Accessible via secure HTTPS dashboard (https://hermes.example.com)
Protected by username/password authentication for trusted/private access, with OAuth/OIDC recommended for public internet deployments
With persistent storage that survives deployments
Auto-renewing SSL certificates (every 90 days)
Ready to integrate with Slack, GitHub, and other services
This guide is for: Anyone who wants to deploy Hermes to a cloud server, without manual configuration. Works with any AI assistant or via Devopness web UI.
Don't have a Devopness account yet? Create your free account to get started.
Pro Tip: Let AI Do the Work
You can have an AI assistant (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor, Cline, Windsurf) execute this entire deployment for you using the Devopness MCP Server.
Copy this prompt to your AI assistant:
Read the Hermes deployment guide at https://www.devopness.com/blog/deploy-hermes-ai-agent-devopness and execute it step by step using Devopness MCP tools.
Your AI assistant will handle the deployment while keeping you informed at key decision points.
Prerequisites
An Environment with Credentials Ready
In Devopness, you work inside "Environments" (Development, Staging, or Production). You'll need an environment with:
A Cloud Provider Credential - So Devopness can create servers for you (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean, Hetzner, or any cloud provider)
A GitHub Credential - So Devopness can download Hermes' code (GitHub Personal Access Token)
An LLM Provider Account - So Hermes can use AI (OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, Groq, or Ollama Cloud)
Need help setting up? Follow this guide first: How to Create an Environment
Step 1: Create the Server
Create a server with these specifications:
Name : hermes-server
Cloud Provider : AWS, Azure, GCP, DigitalOcean, Hetzner, or others
Region : Choose the closest to your users
Instance Size : 4GB RAM minimum, 20GB disk
Operating System : Latest Ubuntu LTS
Why these specs: Hermes requires 4GB RAM for browser automation and AI tasks. Ubuntu LTS provides long-term security updates.
Step 2: Create the Application
Create an application with these settings:
Name : hermes-agent (lowercase, no spaces)
Source Provider : GitHub
Repository : NousResearch/hermes-agent
Branch : main
Programming Language : Docker
Root Directory : /
Build Command :
docker compose -p ${APPLICATION_NAME} pull && docker compose -p ${APPLICATION_NAME} up -d && docker compose -p ${APPLICATION_NAME} logs || { docker compose -p ${APPLICATION_NAME} logs; exit 1; }
Step 3: Add the Storage Path Variable
Create an environment variable for persistent storage:
Key : APPLICATION_PATH
Value : /home/devopness/hermes-agent (replace hermes-agent with your app name)
Target : OS Environment Variable
Visibility : Visible
Why: Defines where Hermes stores chat history, API keys, browser sessions, and uploaded files. Without this, every deployment resets to factory defaults.
Step 4: Add Configuration Files
Create three configuration files.
File 1: .env
Prepare the following values and replace them in the file content below:
HERMES_DASHBOARD_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD - use a strong password (20+ characters)
HERMES_DASHBOARD_BASIC_AUTH_SECRET - use a random 32+ character string (generate at https://generate-random.org/api-token-generator or run openssl rand -base64 32)
Description: Dashboard settings and authentication
Path: .env
Content:
# Hermes AI Agent Configuration
# Container Name<br>CONTAINER_NAME=${APPLICATION_NAME}-hermes
# File Permissions (auto-detected during deployment)<br>HERMES_UID=__DEVOPNESS_UID__<br>HERMES_GID=__DEVOPNESS_GID__
# Dashboard Settings<br>HERMES_DASHBOARD=true<br>HERMES_DASHBOARD_HOST=0.0.0.0<br>HERMES_DASHBOARD_PORT=9119
# Security - Login...