diff --git a/manifest.json b/manifest.json
index a2770d747..441a6d5cb 100644
--- a/manifest.json
+++ b/manifest.json
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@
         "OPENAI_BASE_URL": "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
         "OPENAI_API_KEY": "${OPENROUTER_API_KEY}"
       },
-      "notes": "Natively supports OpenRouter via OPENROUTER_API_KEY. Also works via OPENAI_BASE_URL + OPENAI_API_KEY for OpenAI-compatible mode. Installs Python 3.11 via uv.",
+      "notes": "Natively supports OpenRouter via OPENROUTER_API_KEY. Also works via OPENAI_BASE_URL + OPENAI_API_KEY for OpenAI-compatible mode. Installs Python 3.11 via uv. Ships a local web dashboard (port 9119) for configuration, session monitoring, skill browsing, and gateway management — auto-exposed via SSH tunnel when run through spawn.",
       "icon": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/OpenRouterTeam/spawn/main/assets/agents/hermes.png",
       "featured_cloud": [
         "digitalocean",
diff --git a/packages/cli/package.json b/packages/cli/package.json
index 7d7c32810..7a86f8c04 100644
--- a/packages/cli/package.json
+++ b/packages/cli/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@openrouter/spawn",
-  "version": "1.0.6",
+  "version": "1.0.8",
   "type": "module",
   "bin": {
     "spawn": "cli.js"
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/README.md b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/README.md
index 8de897e32..e70ec9efd 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/README.md
+++ b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/README.md
@@ -118,6 +118,7 @@ bun test src/__tests__/manifest.test.ts
 - `check-entity.test.ts` / `check-entity-messages.test.ts` — Entity validation
 - `agent-tarball.test.ts` — `tryTarballInstall`: GitHub Release tarball install, fallback, URL validation
 - `gateway-resilience.test.ts` — `startGateway` systemd unit with auto-restart and cron heartbeat
+- `hermes-dashboard.test.ts` — `startHermesDashboard` session-scoped `hermes dashboard` launch on :9119 with setsid/nohup
 - `digitalocean-token.test.ts` — DigitalOcean token storage, retrieval, and API client helpers
 - `do-min-size.test.ts` — DigitalOcean minimum droplet size enforcement: `slugRamGb` RAM comparison, `AGENT_MIN_SIZE` map
 - `do-payment-warning.test.ts` — `ensureDoToken` proactive payment method reminder for first-time DigitalOcean users
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/hermes-dashboard.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/hermes-dashboard.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..aee3f755f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/hermes-dashboard.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+/**
+ * hermes-dashboard.test.ts — Verifies that startHermesDashboard() produces a
+ * deploy script that starts `hermes dashboard` as a session-scoped background
+ * process bound to 127.0.0.1:9119, with a port-ready wait loop and graceful
+ * handling of an already-running dashboard.
+ */
+
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, mock, spyOn } from "bun:test";
+import { mockClackPrompts } from "./test-helpers";
+
+// ── Mock @clack/prompts (must be before importing agent-setup) ──────────
+mockClackPrompts();
+
+// ── Import the function under test ──────────────────────────────────────
+const { startHermesDashboard } = await import("../shared/agent-setup");
+
+import type { CloudRunner } from "../shared/agent-setup";
+
+// ── Helpers ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+function createMockRunner(): {
+  runner: CloudRunner;
+  capturedScript: () => string;
+} {
+  let script = "";
+  const runner: CloudRunner = {
+    runServer: mock(async (cmd: string) => {
+      script = cmd;
+    }),
+    uploadFile: mock(async () => {}),
+    downloadFile: mock(async () => {}),
+  };
+  return {
+    runner,
+    capturedScript: () => script,
+  };
+}
+
+// ── Tests ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+describe("startHermesDashboard", () => {
+  let stderrSpy: ReturnType<typeof spyOn>;
+  let capturedScript: string;
+
+  beforeEach(async () => {
+    stderrSpy = spyOn(process.stderr, "write").mockImplementation(() => true);
+    const { runner, capturedScript: getScript } = createMockRunner();
+    await startHermesDashboard(runner);
+    capturedScript = getScript();
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    stderrSpy.mockRestore();
+  });
+
+  it("launches `hermes dashboard` bound to 127.0.0.1:9119 with --no-open", () => {
+    // Subcommand matches hermes_cli/main.py (cmd_dashboard).
+    expect(capturedScript).toContain("dashboard --port 9119 --host 127.0.0.1 --no-open");
+    // Should NOT try to open a browser on the remote VM.
+    expect(capturedScript).toContain("--no-open");
+  });
+
+  it("checks all three port-probe fallbacks (ss, /dev/tcp, nc) for Debian/Ubuntu compatibility", () => {
+    expect(capturedScript).toContain("ss -tln");
+    expect(capturedScript).toContain("/dev/tcp/127.0.0.1/9119");
+    expect(capturedScript).toContain("nc -z 127.0.0.1 9119");
+  });
+
+  it("uses setsid/nohup to detach the dashboard from the session's TTY", () => {
+    expect(capturedScript).toContain("setsid");
+    expect(capturedScript).toContain("nohup");
+    // Output and stdin plumbed so the bg process survives SSH disconnect.
+    expect(capturedScript).toContain("/tmp/hermes-dashboard.log");
+    expect(capturedScript).toContain("< /dev/null");
+  });
+
+  it("no-ops if the dashboard is already running on :9119", () => {
+    // Skip re-launch if portCheck already succeeds.
+    expect(capturedScript).toContain("Hermes dashboard already running");
+  });
+
+  it("sources ~/.spawnrc and exports the hermes venv PATH before launching", () => {
+    expect(capturedScript).toContain("source ~/.spawnrc");
+    expect(capturedScript).toContain("$HOME/.hermes/hermes-agent/venv/bin");
+    expect(capturedScript).toContain("$HOME/.local/bin");
+  });
+
+  it("waits for the port to come up with a bounded timeout", () => {
+    expect(capturedScript).toContain("elapsed -lt 60");
+    expect(capturedScript).toContain("Hermes dashboard ready");
+  });
+
+  it("is NOT a systemd service — dashboard is session-scoped, not persistent", () => {
+    // Opposite of startGateway: we deliberately do not install a systemd unit.
+    expect(capturedScript).not.toContain("systemctl daemon-reload");
+    expect(capturedScript).not.toContain("systemctl enable");
+    expect(capturedScript).not.toContain("/etc/systemd/system/");
+    expect(capturedScript).not.toContain("crontab");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/shared/agent-setup.ts b/packages/cli/src/shared/agent-setup.ts
index 01c01251e..9412dd0cd 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/shared/agent-setup.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/shared/agent-setup.ts
@@ -684,6 +684,64 @@ export async function startGateway(runner: CloudRunner): Promise<void> {
   logInfo("OpenClaw gateway started");
 }
 
+// ─── Hermes Web Dashboard ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+/**
+ * Start the Hermes Agent web dashboard as a session-scoped background process.
+ *
+ * Unlike OpenClaw's gateway (long-running, supervised by systemd), the Hermes
+ * dashboard only needs to live for the duration of the spawn session — the
+ * user's TUI in the foreground, dashboard reachable via SSH tunnel in the
+ * background. A simple setsid/nohup launch is sufficient; no systemd unit.
+ *
+ * The dashboard binds to 127.0.0.1:9119 by default (see `hermes dashboard` in
+ * hermes-agent/hermes_cli/main.py) and self-authenticates via a session token
+ * injected into the SPA HTML, so no token needs to be appended to the tunnel
+ * URL.
+ */
+export async function startHermesDashboard(runner: CloudRunner): Promise<void> {
+  logStep("Starting Hermes web dashboard...");
+
+  // Port check — same pattern as startGateway. Debian/Ubuntu bash is compiled
+  // without /dev/tcp, so we chain ss → /dev/tcp → nc.
+  const portCheck =
+    'ss -tln 2>/dev/null | grep -q ":9119 " || ' +
+    "(echo >/dev/tcp/127.0.0.1/9119) 2>/dev/null || " +
+    "nc -z 127.0.0.1 9119 2>/dev/null";
+
+  // `hermes` lives inside the install venv; mirror launchCmd's PATH exactly.
+  const hermesPath = 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$HOME/.hermes/hermes-agent/venv/bin:$PATH"';
+
+  const script = [
+    "source ~/.spawnrc 2>/dev/null",
+    hermesPath,
+    `if ${portCheck}; then echo "Hermes dashboard already running on :9119"; exit 0; fi`,
+    "_hermes_bin=$(command -v hermes) || { echo 'hermes not found in PATH' >&2; exit 1; }",
+    // --no-open: we're on a remote VM, don't try to spawn a browser there.
+    // --host 127.0.0.1: loopback-only; the SSH tunnel is how the user reaches it.
+    "if command -v setsid >/dev/null 2>&1; then",
+    '  setsid "$_hermes_bin" dashboard --port 9119 --host 127.0.0.1 --no-open > /tmp/hermes-dashboard.log 2>&1 < /dev/null &',
+    "else",
+    '  nohup "$_hermes_bin" dashboard --port 9119 --host 127.0.0.1 --no-open > /tmp/hermes-dashboard.log 2>&1 < /dev/null &',
+    "fi",
+    "elapsed=0; while [ $elapsed -lt 60 ]; do",
+    `  if ${portCheck}; then echo "Hermes dashboard ready after \${elapsed}s"; exit 0; fi`,
+    "  printf '.'; sleep 1; elapsed=$((elapsed + 1))",
+    "done",
+    'echo "Hermes dashboard failed to start within 60s" >&2',
+    "tail -20 /tmp/hermes-dashboard.log 2>/dev/null || true",
+    "exit 1",
+  ].join("\n");
+
+  const result = await asyncTryCatch(() => runner.runServer(script));
+  if (result.ok) {
+    logInfo("Hermes web dashboard started on :9119");
+  } else {
+    // Non-fatal: the TUI still works even if the dashboard didn't come up.
+    logWarn("Hermes web dashboard failed to start — TUI still available");
+  }
+}
+
 // ─── OpenCode Install Command ────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 function openCodeInstallCmd(): string {
@@ -1273,10 +1331,17 @@ function createAgents(runner: CloudRunner): Record<string, AgentConfig> {
           logInfo("YOLO mode disabled — Hermes will prompt before installing tools");
         }
       },
+      preLaunch: () => startHermesDashboard(runner),
+      preLaunchMsg:
+        "Your Hermes web dashboard will open automatically — use it to configure settings, monitor sessions, and manage gateways.",
       launchCmd: () =>
         "source ~/.spawnrc 2>/dev/null; export PATH=$HOME/.local/bin:$HOME/.hermes/hermes-agent/venv/bin:$PATH; hermes",
       promptCmd: (prompt) =>
         `source ~/.spawnrc 2>/dev/null; export PATH=$HOME/.local/bin:$HOME/.hermes/hermes-agent/venv/bin:$PATH; hermes ${shellQuote(prompt)}`,
+      tunnel: {
+        remotePort: 9119,
+        browserUrl: (localPort: number) => `http://localhost:${localPort}/`,
+      },
       updateCmd:
         // Same SSH→HTTPS rewrite for auto-update runs
         'git config --global url."https://github.com/".insteadOf "ssh://git@github.com/" && ' +