> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL. > For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.nvidia.com/nemoclaw/llms.txt. > For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.nvidia.com/nemoclaw/_mcp/server. # Understand Runtime Changes > Determine which NemoClaw sandbox changes apply at runtime and which require a rebuild or re-onboard. Use this matrix to choose the operation that makes a sandbox change take effect. Some changes apply at runtime, while image and filesystem changes require a rebuild or re-onboard. ## Hermes Runtime Changes | Item | When the change takes effect | How to change it | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Inference provider | Runtime route changes apply immediately; rebuild if you need to rebake model metadata into the image | `nemohermes inference set` for route changes, or `nemohermes rebuild` after changing build-time settings | | Inference model on the current provider | Hot-reloadable through the Hermes config sync path | `nemohermes inference set` | | Agent runtime | Re-onboard required because the agent and state layout are baked at onboard | `nemohermes onboard --recreate-sandbox` or `nemoclaw onboard --agent openclaw --recreate-sandbox` | | Network policy preset | Runtime on the next request; rebuild only if the preset adds bind-mounted secrets | `nemohermes policy add ` or `policy remove ` | | Network allowlist | Runtime on the next request | `openshell policy set` or the interactive approval prompt at the gateway | | Channel tokens | Rebuild required because the channel configuration and credential attachment are created during onboarding or rebuild | `nemohermes channels add `, then accept the rebuild prompt | | Channel enable or disable | Rebuild required because `/sandbox/.hermes/.env` and Hermes config are baked at image build time | `nemohermes channels stop `, then rebuild | | API or dashboard forward port | Runtime; the host-side forward is re-resolved on the next `connect` | `nemohermes connect` or `nemohermes recover` | | Hermes plugin code, Langfuse settings, or other startup-only runtime config | Runtime after a supported host-side update and gateway restart | Bake plugin code into the image or use a supported host config command, then run `nemohermes gateway restart` | | Web search provider | Rebuild required because onboarding bakes `web.backend`, the environment placeholder, and the credential attachment into the image | Set `NEMOCLAW_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDER=tavily` or `none`, then rerun onboarding and recreate the sandbox | | Filesystem layout | Locked at creation | Re-onboard with `nemohermes onboard --recreate-sandbox` | | Sandbox name | Locked at creation | Re-onboard with a different `--name` | | GPU passthrough or device selector | Locked at creation | Re-onboard with `--gpu` or `--sandbox-gpu-device` | | Hermes `config.yaml` keys | Mixed; inference and supported config keys can be patched by host commands, while image, policy, and channel changes still require rebuild | Use `nemohermes inference set` or `nemohermes config set` so the config and root-owned trust anchor change together | The runtime source of truth is `/sandbox/.hermes/config.yaml` plus `/sandbox/.hermes/.env`. The host registry caches metadata, but the image and Hermes runtime read from the in-sandbox files. Do not edit those files or their hash files directly and then expect `gateway restart` to establish the bytes as trusted. Use supported host config and inference commands so NemoClaw updates the managed config metadata together. Hermes host-side config writes run as a sealed transaction. NemoClaw binds the write to the SHA-256 digest of the matching read, temporarily seals the mutable config paths, atomically installs fresh config inodes, refreshes the strict and compatibility hashes, and then restores the mutable paths. The root-only mutation lock stays held through every host-side Hermes config write. If another host mutation is active, the command reports `Hermes config mutation is already in progress`. If another lifecycle request owns the supervisor, it reports `SUPERVISOR_BUSY`. Both errors are retryable. Let the active command finish, then retry instead of editing lock or seal files manually. ## Mutable Agent State NemoClaw does not provide post-provisioning immutability for agent configuration or persistent state. OpenShell remains authoritative for sandbox filesystem and network policy enforcement. An agent process can change files that its sandbox identity can write. Use supported host commands for intended configuration changes so NemoClaw updates validation hashes and managed metadata with the config. Direct in-sandbox edits can cause a later gateway restart to reject the changed config when its integrity metadata no longer matches. NemoClaw serializes host-side gateway recovery, config and inference writes, snapshots, policy updates, channel updates, and sandbox destruction for each sandbox. This mutation lock prevents concurrent host operations from racing on the same registered sandbox. ## Related Topics * [Understand Gateway Lifecycle Control](understand-gateway-lifecycle-control) for `recover` and `gateway restart` trust boundaries. * [Recover and Rebuild Sandboxes](../operate-sandboxes/recover-and-rebuild-sandboxes) for the operational recovery workflow. * [Switch Inference Providers](../../inference/manage-inference/switch-providers) for model and provider changes. * [Customize Network Policy](../../network-policy/customize-network-policy) for runtime policy editing. * [Security Best Practices](../../security/best-practices) for the broader security posture. * [CLI Commands Reference](../../reference/commands) for command flags and environment variables.