diff --git a/ai/Dockerfile b/ai/Dockerfile
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+++ b/ai/Dockerfile
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+FROM ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:0.11.6-python3.13-trixie@sha256:b3c543b6c4f23a5f2df22866bd7857e5d304b67a564f4feab6ac22044dde719b AS uv_source
+FROM tianon/gosu:1.19-trixie@sha256:3b176695959c71e123eb390d427efc665eeb561b1540e82679c15e992006b8b9 AS gosu_source
+FROM debian:13.4
+
+# Disable Python stdout buffering to ensure logs are printed immediately
+ENV PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
+
+# Store Playwright browsers outside the volume mount so the build-time
+# install survives the /opt/data volume overlay at runtime.
+ENV PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH=/opt/hermes/.playwright
+
+# Install system dependencies in one layer, clear APT cache
+# tini reaps orphaned zombie processes (MCP stdio subprocesses, git, bun, etc.)
+# that would otherwise accumulate when hermes runs as PID 1. See #15012.
+RUN apt-get update && \
+    apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+        build-essential nodejs npm python3 ripgrep ffmpeg gcc python3-dev libffi-dev procps git openssh-client docker-cli tini \
+        curl poppler-utils imagemagick emacs-nox qemu-user-static binfmt-support qemu-user-binfmt && \
+        texlive-latex-base texlive-latex-extra texlive-fonts-recommended texlive-xetex texlive-science \
+        chromium xvfb \
+        fonts-noto-color-emoji fonts-unifont fonts-liberation fonts-ipafont-gothic fonts-wqy-zenhei fonts-tlwg-loma-otf fonts-freefont-ttf \
+        libasound2t64 libatk-bridge2.0-0t64 libatk1.0-0t64 libatspi2.0-0t64 libcairo2 libcups2t64 libdbus-1-3 libdrm2 libgbm1 libglib2.0-0t64 libnspr4 libnss3 libpango-1.0-0 libx11-6 libxcb1 libxcomposite1 libxdamage1 libxext6 libxfixes3 libxkbcommon0 libxrandr2 && \
+    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+# Non-root user for runtime; UID can be overridden via HERMES_UID at runtime
+RUN useradd -u 10000 -m -d /opt/data hermes
+
+COPY --chmod=0755 --from=gosu_source /gosu /usr/local/bin/
+COPY --chmod=0755 --from=uv_source /usr/local/bin/uv /usr/local/bin/uvx /usr/local/bin/
+
+WORKDIR /opt/hermes
+
+# ---------- Layer-cached dependency install ----------
+# Copy only package manifests first so npm install + Playwright are cached
+# unless the lockfiles themselves change.
+COPY package.json package-lock.json ./
+COPY web/package.json web/package-lock.json web/
+
+RUN npm install --prefer-offline --no-audit && \
+    npx playwright install --with-deps chromium --only-shell && \
+    (cd web && npm install --prefer-offline --no-audit) && \
+    npm cache clean --force
+
+# ---------- Source code ----------
+# .dockerignore excludes node_modules, so the installs above survive.
+COPY --chown=hermes:hermes . .
+
+# Build web dashboard (Vite outputs to hermes_cli/web_dist/)
+RUN cd web && npm run build
+
+# ---------- Permissions ----------
+# Make install dir world-readable so any HERMES_UID can read it at runtime.
+# The venv needs to be traversable too.
+USER root
+RUN chmod -R a+rX /opt/hermes
+# Start as root so the entrypoint can usermod/groupmod + gosu.
+# If HERMES_UID is unset, the entrypoint drops to the default hermes user (10000).
+
+# ---------- Python virtualenv ----------
+RUN uv venv && \
+    uv pip install --no-cache-dir -e ".[all]"
+
+# ---------- Runtime ----------
+ENV HERMES_WEB_DIST=/opt/hermes/hermes_cli/web_dist
+ENV HERMES_HOME=/opt/data
+ENV PATH="/opt/data/.local/bin:${PATH}"
+VOLUME [ "/opt/data" ]
+ENTRYPOINT [ "/usr/bin/tini", "-g", "--", "/opt/hermes/docker/entrypoint.sh" ]
diff --git a/ai/hermes/entrypoint.sh b/ai/hermes/entrypoint.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5b2f0c3
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+++ b/ai/hermes/entrypoint.sh
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+#!/bin/bash
+set -e
+
+# Hermes Agent entrypoint script
+# Installs custom tools and runtime dependencies,
+# then delegates to the passed command (usually "gateway run").
+
+# Install custom tools from persistent volume if available
+if [ -f /opt/data/hermes-tools/install.sh ]; then
+    bash /opt/data/hermes-tools/install.sh
+fi
+
+# Install additional runtime deps (idempotent)
+if command -v uv &>/dev/null; then
+    uv pip install --system --no-cache-dir --quiet \
+        openai mautrix[encryption] 2>/dev/null || true
+fi
+
+# Execute the passed command with tini for proper signal handling
+exec tini -g -- "$@"