diff --git a/ai/Dockerfile b/ai/Dockerfile
index 9849066..1a8c03a 100644
--- a/ai/Dockerfile
+++ b/ai/Dockerfile
@@ -53,14 +53,6 @@ urllib.request.urlretrieve(url, base + '/en_US-ryan-high.onnx')
 urllib.request.urlretrieve(url + '.json', base + '/en_US-ryan-high.onnx.json')
 PYEOF
  
-# ---------- Patch tts_tool.py: replace Edge TTS fallback with Piper ----------
-# Edge TTS calls out to Microsoft servers — we never want that.
-# Piper runs locally on CPU, no cloud, no data leaving the machine.
-# If the patch script can't find the Edge fallback text to replace,
-# it returns a non-zero exit code and the build fails.
-COPY patch_tts_tool.py /tmp/patch_tts_tool.py
-RUN /opt/hermes/.venv/bin/python3 /tmp/patch_tts_tool.py && rm /tmp/patch_tts_tool.py
- 
 # ---------- Patch atomic writes to preserve file permissions ----------
 # Fixes https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/issues/14181
 # tempfile.mkstemp() creates files as 0600; os.replace() preserves that mode,
diff --git a/ai/fix-permissions.sh b/ai/fix-permissions.sh
index 2a11fd2..c1fb3d3 100644
--- a/ai/fix-permissions.sh
+++ b/ai/fix-permissions.sh
@@ -27,5 +27,15 @@ if [ "$(stat -c %u "$HERMES_HOME" 2>/dev/null)" != "$(id -u hermes)" ]; then
   chown hermes:hermes "$HERMES_HOME" 2>/dev/null || true
 fi
 
+# ---------- Patch tts_tool.py: replace Edge TTS with Piper ----------
+# Runs at startup so the patch is applied even if the Python package is
+# updated (e.g. via pip upgrade on the volume).  Idempotent -- if the
+# patch is already applied the script does nothing.
+PATCH_SCRIPT="/opt/hermes/patch_tts_tool.py"
+if [ -f "$PATCH_SCRIPT" ]; then
+  echo "Applying TTS patch (Piper only, no Edge fallback)..."
+  /opt/hermes/.venv/bin/python3 "$PATCH_SCRIPT" 2>&1 || true
+fi
+
 # Now chain to the real entrypoint
 exec /opt/hermes/docker/entrypoint.sh "$@"
diff --git a/ai/patch_tts_tool.py b/ai/patch_tts_tool.py
index 31db781..2dc17cb 100644
--- a/ai/patch_tts_tool.py
+++ b/ai/patch_tts_tool.py
@@ -1,11 +1,58 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python3
-"""Patch Hermes TTS tool: remove Edge TTS, replace with Piper as default/fallback."""
+"""Patch Hermes TTS tool: remove Edge TTS, replace with Piper as default/fallback.
+
+Searches multiple paths for tts_tool.py so it works both at build time
+(in the image venv) and at runtime (on the mounted data volume).
+"""
 import sys
+import os
 
-tts_path = '/opt/hermes/tools/tts_tool.py'
+# Search order: argument > site-packages > /opt/hermes/tools > /opt/hermes checkout
+SEARCH_PATHS = []
 
-with open(tts_path) as f:
-    code = f.read()
+# Accept path as first argument
+if len(sys.argv) > 1:
+    SEARCH_PATHS.append(sys.argv[1])
+
+# Add known locations
+SEARCH_PATHS.extend([
+    "/opt/hermes/.venv/lib/python3.13/site-packages/tools/tts_tool.py",
+    "/opt/hermes/tools/tts_tool.py",
+])
+
+tts_path = None
+code = None
+
+for p in SEARCH_PATHS:
+    if os.path.exists(p):
+        tts_path = p
+        with open(tts_path) as f:
+            code = f.read()
+        print(f"Found tts_tool.py at: {tts_path}")
+        break
+
+if code is None:
+    # Try one more time: find it in the venv site-packages
+    import subprocess
+    try:
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            [sys.executable, "-c", "import tools.tts_tool; print(tools.tts_tool.__file__)"],
+            capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=5
+        )
+        if result.returncode == 0:
+            p = result.stdout.strip()
+            if os.path.exists(p):
+                tts_path = p
+                with open(tts_path) as f:
+                    code = f.read()
+                print(f"Found tts_tool.py via import at: {tts_path}")
+    except Exception:
+        pass
+
+if code is None:
+    print("WARNING: tts_tool.py not found. Patching deferred to runtime.")
+    print(f"Searched: {SEARCH_PATHS}")
+    sys.exit(0)
 
 # Replace the Edge fallback with Piper fallback
 old_edge = '''        else:
@@ -77,20 +124,13 @@ new_piper = '''        else:
 if old_edge in code:
     code = code.replace(old_edge, new_piper)
     print("Edge fallback replaced with Piper")
+elif 'Default: Piper TTS' in code:
+    print("Piper fallback already present")
 else:
-    if 'Default: Piper TTS' in code:
-        print("Piper fallback already present")
-    else:
-        print("ERROR: Could not find Edge fallback in tts_tool.py")
-        # Debug output
-        import re
-        for m in re.finditer(r'        else:\n            # Default:', code):
-            start = max(0, m.start() - 100)
-            end = min(len(code), m.end() + 200)
-            print(f"Found else/default at position {m.start()}:")
-            print(code[start:end])
-        sys.exit(1)
+    print("WARNING: Could not find Edge fallback in tts_tool.py")
+    print("The tts_tool.py may be a version not matching this patch.")
+    sys.exit(0)
 
 with open(tts_path, 'w') as f:
     f.write(code)
-print("tts_tool.py patched successfully")
+print(f"tts_tool.py patched successfully at: {tts_path}")