diff --git a/hermes_cli/config.py b/hermes_cli/config.py
index 4794e74c75..ee66d51a7e 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/config.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/config.py
@@ -241,13 +241,41 @@ def _secure_dir(path):
         pass
 
 
+def _is_container() -> bool:
+    """Detect if we're running inside a Docker/Podman/LXC container.
+
+    When Hermes runs in a container with volume-mounted config files, forcing
+    0o600 permissions breaks multi-process setups where the gateway and
+    dashboard run as different UIDs or the volume mount requires broader
+    permissions.
+    """
+    # Explicit opt-out
+    if os.environ.get("HERMES_CONTAINER") or os.environ.get("HERMES_SKIP_CHMOD"):
+        return True
+    # Docker / Podman marker file
+    if os.path.exists("/.dockerenv"):
+        return True
+    # LXC / cgroup-based detection
+    try:
+        with open("/proc/1/cgroup", "r") as f:
+            cgroup_content = f.read()
+        if "docker" in cgroup_content or "lxc" in cgroup_content or "kubepods" in cgroup_content:
+            return True
+    except (OSError, IOError):
+        pass
+    return False
+
+
 def _secure_file(path):
     """Set file to owner-only read/write (0600). No-op on Windows.
 
     Skipped in managed mode — the NixOS activation script sets
     group-readable permissions (0640) on config files.
+
+    Skipped in containers — Docker/Podman volume mounts often need broader
+    permissions.  Set HERMES_SKIP_CHMOD=1 to force-skip on other systems.
     """
-    if is_managed():
+    if is_managed() or _is_container():
         return
     try:
         if os.path.exists(str(path)):
@@ -2900,12 +2928,25 @@ def save_env_value(key: str, value: str):
         lines.append(f"{key}={value}\n")
     
     fd, tmp_path = tempfile.mkstemp(dir=str(env_path.parent), suffix='.tmp', prefix='.env_')
+    # Preserve original permissions so Docker volume mounts aren't clobbered.
+    original_mode = None
+    if env_path.exists():
+        try:
+            original_mode = stat.S_IMODE(env_path.stat().st_mode)
+        except OSError:
+            pass
     try:
         with os.fdopen(fd, 'w', **write_kw) as f:
             f.writelines(lines)
             f.flush()
             os.fsync(f.fileno())
         os.replace(tmp_path, env_path)
+        # Restore original permissions before _secure_file may tighten them.
+        if original_mode is not None:
+            try:
+                os.chmod(env_path, original_mode)
+            except OSError:
+                pass
     except BaseException:
         try:
             os.unlink(tmp_path)
@@ -2916,13 +2957,6 @@ def save_env_value(key: str, value: str):
 
     os.environ[key] = value
 
-    # Restrict .env permissions to owner-only (contains API keys)
-    if not _IS_WINDOWS:
-        try:
-            os.chmod(env_path, stat.S_IRUSR | stat.S_IWUSR)
-        except OSError:
-            pass
-
 
 def remove_env_value(key: str) -> bool:
     """Remove a key from ~/.hermes/.env and os.environ.
@@ -2951,12 +2985,23 @@ def remove_env_value(key: str) -> bool:
 
     if found:
         fd, tmp_path = tempfile.mkstemp(dir=str(env_path.parent), suffix='.tmp', prefix='.env_')
+        # Preserve original permissions so Docker volume mounts aren't clobbered.
+        original_mode = None
+        try:
+            original_mode = stat.S_IMODE(env_path.stat().st_mode)
+        except OSError:
+            pass
         try:
             with os.fdopen(fd, 'w', **write_kw) as f:
                 f.writelines(new_lines)
                 f.flush()
                 os.fsync(f.fileno())
             os.replace(tmp_path, env_path)
+            if original_mode is not None:
+                try:
+                    os.chmod(env_path, original_mode)
+                except OSError:
+                    pass
         except BaseException:
             try:
                 os.unlink(tmp_path)
diff --git a/utils.py b/utils.py
index f967c08aed..cf2582853f 100644
--- a/utils.py
+++ b/utils.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 import json
 import logging
 import os
+import stat
 import tempfile
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any, Union
@@ -31,6 +32,31 @@ def env_var_enabled(name: str, default: str = "") -> bool:
     return is_truthy_value(os.getenv(name, default), default=False)
 
 
+def _preserve_file_mode(path: Path) -> "int | None":
+    """Capture the permission bits of *path* if it exists, else ``None``."""
+    try:
+        return stat.S_IMODE(path.stat().st_mode) if path.exists() else None
+    except OSError:
+        return None
+
+
+def _restore_file_mode(path: Path, mode: "int | None") -> None:
+    """Re-apply *mode* to *path* after an atomic replace.
+
+    ``tempfile.mkstemp`` creates files with 0o600 (owner-only).  After
+    ``os.replace`` swaps the temp file into place the target inherits
+    those restrictive permissions, breaking Docker / NAS volume mounts
+    that rely on broader permissions set by the user.  Calling this
+    right after ``os.replace`` restores the original permissions.
+    """
+    if mode is None:
+        return
+    try:
+        os.chmod(path, mode)
+    except OSError:
+        pass
+
+
 def atomic_json_write(
     path: Union[str, Path],
     data: Any,
@@ -54,6 +80,8 @@ def atomic_json_write(
     path = Path(path)
     path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
 
+    original_mode = _preserve_file_mode(path)
+
     fd, tmp_path = tempfile.mkstemp(
         dir=str(path.parent),
         prefix=f".{path.stem}_",
@@ -71,6 +99,7 @@ def atomic_json_write(
             f.flush()
             os.fsync(f.fileno())
         os.replace(tmp_path, path)
+        _restore_file_mode(path, original_mode)
     except BaseException:
         # Intentionally catch BaseException so temp-file cleanup still runs for
         # KeyboardInterrupt/SystemExit before re-raising the original signal.
@@ -106,6 +135,8 @@ def atomic_yaml_write(
     path = Path(path)
     path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
 
+    original_mode = _preserve_file_mode(path)
+
     fd, tmp_path = tempfile.mkstemp(
         dir=str(path.parent),
         prefix=f".{path.stem}_",
@@ -119,6 +150,7 @@ def atomic_yaml_write(
             f.flush()
             os.fsync(f.fileno())
         os.replace(tmp_path, path)
+        _restore_file_mode(path, original_mode)
     except BaseException:
         # Match atomic_json_write: cleanup must also happen for process-level
         # interruptions before we re-raise them.