Hermes stores durable agent state under /sandbox/.hermes/ instead of the OpenClaw workspace directory.
The main Hermes configuration lives in /sandbox/.hermes/config.yaml, environment settings live in /sandbox/.hermes/.env, and runtime state such as logs, memory, platform sessions, and the SQLite state database lives under the same .hermes tree.
Hermes state lives in the sandbox’s persistent state volume, not only in the container image.
Normal restarts preserve that state.
Rebuilds and upgrades use NemoClaw’s snapshot flow to preserve manifest-defined Hermes state, including SOUL.md and the SQLite database behind .hermes/state.db.
Running nemohermes <name> destroy deletes the sandbox and its persistent state volume.
Back up important state before destroying a Hermes sandbox.
Prefer NemoClaw host commands for generated configuration such as model, provider, messaging, and policy settings.
Direct edits to /sandbox/.hermes/config.yaml or /sandbox/.hermes/.env can be overwritten by rebuilds.
Use nemohermes <name> connect when you need to inspect runtime files interactively, or use openshell sandbox download and openshell sandbox upload for manual file transfer.