diff --git a/src/lib/agent-runtime.test.ts b/src/lib/agent-runtime.test.ts
index ade44ac92c..51635c0245 100644
--- a/src/lib/agent-runtime.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/agent-runtime.test.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,11 @@
 
 import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
 // Import from compiled dist/ so coverage is attributed correctly.
-import { buildOpenClawRecoveryScript, buildRecoveryScript } from "../../dist/lib/agent-runtime";
+import {
+  buildManualRecoveryCommand,
+  buildOpenClawRecoveryScript,
+  buildRecoveryScript,
+} from "../../dist/lib/agent-runtime";
 import type { AgentDefinition } from "./agent-defs";
 
 function makeAgent(overrides: Partial<AgentDefinition> = {}): AgentDefinition {
@@ -42,6 +46,20 @@ function makeAgent(overrides: Partial<AgentDefinition> = {}): AgentDefinition {
 }
 
 const minimalAgent = makeAgent();
+const hermesAgent = makeAgent({
+  name: "hermes",
+  displayName: "Hermes Agent",
+  binary_path: "/usr/local/bin/hermes",
+  gateway_command: "hermes gateway run",
+  healthProbe: { url: "http://localhost:8642/health", port: 8642, timeout_seconds: 90 },
+  forwardPort: 8642,
+  configPaths: {
+    dir: "/sandbox/.hermes",
+    configFile: "/sandbox/.hermes/config.yaml",
+    envFile: "/sandbox/.hermes/.env",
+    format: "yaml",
+  },
+});
 
 function extractGatewayProcessPattern(script: string | null): string {
   const match = script?.match(/_GATEWAY_PROC_PATTERN='([^']+)'/);
@@ -74,6 +92,17 @@ describe("buildRecoveryScript", () => {
     expect(script).toContain('"$AGENT_BIN" gateway run --port 19000');
   });
 
+  it("omits --port for Hermes so config.yaml controls the internal listen port (#2426)", () => {
+    const script = buildRecoveryScript(hermesAgent, 8642);
+    expect(script).toContain("export HERMES_HOME=/sandbox/.hermes");
+    expect(script).toContain("HERMES_HOME=/sandbox/.hermes");
+    expect(script).toContain("HTTPS_PROXY=http://127.0.0.1:3129");
+    expect(script).toContain("nemoclaw-decode-proxy");
+    expect(script).toContain('"$AGENT_BIN" gateway run');
+    expect(script).not.toContain('"$AGENT_BIN" gateway run --port 8642');
+    expect(script).not.toContain("hermes gateway run --port 8642");
+  });
+
   it("falls back to openclaw gateway run when gateway_command is absent", () => {
     const agent = makeAgent({ gateway_command: undefined });
     const script = buildRecoveryScript(agent, 19000);
@@ -94,6 +123,17 @@ describe("buildRecoveryScript", () => {
     expect(script).toContain("nohup custom-launch --mode recovery --port 19000");
   });
 
+  it("does not append the external forward port to custom Hermes launch commands (#2426)", () => {
+    const agent = makeAgent({
+      ...hermesAgent,
+      gateway_command: "hermes gateway run --profile recovery",
+    });
+    const script = buildRecoveryScript(agent, 8642);
+    expect(script).toContain("nohup env HERMES_HOME=/sandbox/.hermes");
+    expect(script).toContain("hermes gateway run --profile recovery");
+    expect(script).not.toContain("hermes gateway run --profile recovery --port 8642");
+  });
+
   // Regression coverage for #2478. The recovery script must explicitly source
   // /tmp/nemoclaw-proxy-env.sh (single source of truth for NODE_OPTIONS
   // library guards) and warn — not silently continue — when the file is
@@ -258,3 +298,39 @@ describe("buildRecoveryScript", () => {
     });
   });
 });
+
+describe("buildManualRecoveryCommand (#2426)", () => {
+  it("backgrounds non-Hermes gateways with nohup and the requested port", () => {
+    const cmd = buildManualRecoveryCommand(minimalAgent, 19000);
+    expect(cmd).toContain("nohup test-agent gateway run --port 19000");
+    expect(cmd).toContain('>> "$_GATEWAY_LOG" 2>&1 &');
+  });
+
+  it("selects a writable gateway log before launching", () => {
+    const cmd = buildManualRecoveryCommand(minimalAgent, 19000);
+    expect(cmd).toContain("_GATEWAY_LOG=/tmp/gateway.log");
+    expect(cmd).toContain("_GATEWAY_LOG=/tmp/gateway-recovery.log");
+    expect(cmd).not.toContain(">/tmp/gateway.log 2>&1");
+  });
+
+  it("omits --port for Hermes and uses the current Hermes home", () => {
+    const cmd = buildManualRecoveryCommand(hermesAgent, 8642);
+    expect(cmd).toContain("HERMES_HOME=/sandbox/.hermes");
+    expect(cmd).toContain("HTTPS_PROXY=http://127.0.0.1:3129");
+    expect(cmd).toContain("nemoclaw-decode-proxy");
+    expect(cmd).toContain("nohup hermes gateway run");
+    expect(cmd).not.toContain("--port 8642");
+    expect(cmd).not.toContain("/sandbox/.hermes-data");
+  });
+
+  it("derives the default gateway command from binary_path when gateway_command is blank", () => {
+    const agent = makeAgent({ gateway_command: "   " });
+    const cmd = buildManualRecoveryCommand(agent, 19000);
+    expect(cmd).toContain("nohup '/usr/local/bin/test-agent' gateway run --port 19000");
+  });
+
+  it("falls back to openclaw gateway run for a null agent", () => {
+    const cmd = buildManualRecoveryCommand(null, 18789);
+    expect(cmd).toContain("nohup '/usr/local/bin/openclaw' gateway run --port 18789");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/lib/agent-runtime.ts b/src/lib/agent-runtime.ts
index 7f2f50d4c0..270002a653 100644
--- a/src/lib/agent-runtime.ts
+++ b/src/lib/agent-runtime.ts
@@ -138,6 +138,21 @@ function gatewayLaunchCommand(command: string, runAsUser?: string): string {
   return `${logSelection} if [ "$(id -u)" = "0" ] && command -v gosu >/dev/null 2>&1 && id ${shellQuote(runAsUser)} >/dev/null 2>&1; then nohup gosu ${shellQuote(runAsUser)} ${command} >> "$_GATEWAY_LOG" 2>&1 & else ${userLaunch} fi;`;
 }
 
+function hermesGatewayEnvPrefix(): string {
+  const decodeProxy = "http://127.0.0.1:3129";
+  return [
+    "HERMES_HOME=/sandbox/.hermes",
+    `HTTPS_PROXY=${decodeProxy}`,
+    `HTTP_PROXY=${decodeProxy}`,
+    `https_proxy=${decodeProxy}`,
+    `http_proxy=${decodeProxy}`,
+  ].join(" ");
+}
+
+function hermesDecodeProxyRecoveryCommand(): string {
+  return 'if ! command -v ss >/dev/null 2>&1 || ! ss -tln 2>/dev/null | grep -q "127.0.0.1:3129"; then nohup python3 /usr/local/bin/nemoclaw-decode-proxy >/dev/null 2>&1 & for _i in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10; do ! command -v ss >/dev/null 2>&1 || ss -tln 2>/dev/null | grep -q "127.0.0.1:3129" && break; sleep 0.5; done; fi;';
+}
+
 /**
  * Build the OpenClaw recovery shell script used by the default sandbox.
  */
@@ -193,11 +208,14 @@ export function buildRecoveryScript(agent: AgentDefinition | null, port: number)
   // survive past the gateway launch — otherwise the warning explaining
   // *why* the gateway is about to crash gets wiped by the same launch
   // that's about to crash on a missing guard. (#2478)
-  const launchCommand = usesValidatedBinary
-    ? gatewayLaunchCommand(`"$AGENT_BIN" gateway run --port ${port}`)
-    : gatewayLaunchCommand(`${configuredGatewayCommand} --port ${port}`);
   const isHermes = agent.name === "hermes";
   const hermesHome = isHermes ? "export HERMES_HOME=/sandbox/.hermes; " : "";
+  const hermesLaunchEnv = isHermes ? `env ${hermesGatewayEnvPrefix()} ` : "";
+  const launchCommand = usesValidatedBinary
+    ? gatewayLaunchCommand(`${hermesLaunchEnv}"$AGENT_BIN" gateway run${isHermes ? "" : ` --port ${port}`}`)
+    : gatewayLaunchCommand(
+        `${hermesLaunchEnv}${configuredGatewayCommand}${isHermes ? "" : ` --port ${port}`}`,
+      );
 
   // Source /tmp/nemoclaw-proxy-env.sh immediately before launching. That file
   // is the single source of truth for NODE_OPTIONS preload guards (safety-net,
@@ -219,6 +237,7 @@ export function buildRecoveryScript(agent: AgentDefinition | null, port: number)
     'if [ "$_PE_MISSING" = "0" ]; then case "${NODE_OPTIONS:-}" in *nemoclaw-sandbox-safety-net*) _SN_MISSING=0 ;; *) _SN_MISSING=1 ;; esac; case "${NODE_OPTIONS:-}" in *nemoclaw-ciao-network-guard*) _CIAO_MISSING=0 ;; *) _CIAO_MISSING=1 ;; esac; if [ "$_SN_MISSING" = "0" ] && [ "$_CIAO_MISSING" = "0" ]; then _GUARDS_MISSING=0; else _GUARDS_MISSING=1; fi; else _GUARDS_MISSING=0; fi;',
     '[ "$_PE_MISSING" = "1" ] && { _W="[gateway-recovery] WARNING: /tmp/nemoclaw-proxy-env.sh missing - gateway launching without library guards (#2478)"; echo "$_W" >&2; echo "$_W" >> "$_GATEWAY_LOG"; };',
     '[ "$_PE_MISSING" = "0" ] && [ "$_GUARDS_MISSING" = "1" ] && { _E="[gateway-recovery] ERROR: /tmp/nemoclaw-proxy-env.sh present but NODE_OPTIONS missing safety-net preload or ciao preload - refusing unguarded gateway relaunch (#2478)"; echo "$_E" >&2; echo "$_E" >> "$_GATEWAY_LOG"; exit 1; };',
+    isHermes ? hermesDecodeProxyRecoveryCommand() : "",
     launchCommand,
     "GPID=$!; sleep 2;",
     'if kill -0 "$GPID" 2>/dev/null; then echo "GATEWAY_PID=$GPID"; else echo GATEWAY_FAILED; tail -5 "$_GATEWAY_LOG" 2>/dev/null; fi',
@@ -238,3 +257,19 @@ export function getAgentDisplayName(agent: AgentDefinition | null): string {
 export function getGatewayCommand(agent: AgentDefinition | null): string {
   return agent?.gateway_command || "openclaw gateway run";
 }
+
+/**
+ * Build a single copy-pasteable command for the user to run when automatic
+ * gateway recovery fails. Unlike the raw gateway command, this keeps the
+ * process alive after disconnect and preserves the agent-specific launch shape.
+ */
+export function buildManualRecoveryCommand(agent: AgentDefinition | null, port: number): string {
+  const binaryPath = agent?.binary_path || "/usr/local/bin/openclaw";
+  const defaultGatewayCommand = `${shellQuote(binaryPath)} gateway run`;
+  const gatewayCmd = agent?.gateway_command?.trim() || defaultGatewayCommand;
+  const isHermes = agent?.name === "hermes";
+  const envPrefix = isHermes ? `${hermesGatewayEnvPrefix()} ` : "";
+  const portFlag = isHermes ? "" : ` --port ${port}`;
+  const decodeProxySetup = isHermes ? `${hermesDecodeProxyRecoveryCommand()} ` : "";
+  return `${buildGatewayLogSelection()} ${decodeProxySetup}${envPrefix}nohup ${gatewayCmd}${portFlag} >> "$_GATEWAY_LOG" 2>&1 &`;
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/sandbox-process-recovery-action.ts b/src/lib/sandbox-process-recovery-action.ts
index 4bb01a9091..4a5eb4e836 100644
--- a/src/lib/sandbox-process-recovery-action.ts
+++ b/src/lib/sandbox-process-recovery-action.ts
@@ -296,6 +296,7 @@ export function checkAndRecoverSandboxProcesses(
     return { checked: false, wasRunning: null, recovered: false, forwardRecovered: false };
   }
   const recoveryAgent = agentRuntime.getSessionAgent(sandboxName);
+  const recoveryPort = recoveryAgent?.forwardPort ?? DASHBOARD_PORT;
   if (running) {
     // Gateway is alive but the host-side forward can still be dead or
     // owned by another sandbox. Probe and re-establish only when
@@ -340,6 +341,10 @@ export function checkAndRecoverSandboxProcesses(
       if (!quiet) {
         console.error("  Gateway process started but is not responding.");
         console.error("  Check /tmp/gateway.log inside the sandbox for details.");
+        console.error("  Connect to the sandbox and run manually:");
+        console.error(
+          `    ${agentRuntime.buildManualRecoveryCommand(recoveryAgent, recoveryPort)}`,
+        );
       }
       return { checked: true, wasRunning: false, recovered: false, forwardRecovered: false };
     }
@@ -364,7 +369,7 @@ export function checkAndRecoverSandboxProcesses(
       `  Could not restart ${agentRuntime.getAgentDisplayName(recoveryAgent)} gateway automatically.`,
     );
     console.error("  Connect to the sandbox and run manually:");
-    console.error(`    ${agentRuntime.getGatewayCommand(recoveryAgent)}`);
+    console.error(`    ${agentRuntime.buildManualRecoveryCommand(recoveryAgent, recoveryPort)}`);
   }
 
   return { checked: true, wasRunning: false, recovered, forwardRecovered: false };