feat: add managed tool gateway and Nous subscription support

- add managed modal and gateway-backed tool integrations\n- improve CLI setup, auth, and configuration for subscriber flows\n- expand tests and docs for managed tool support

website/docs/reference/environment-variables.md

@@ -78,6 +78,9 @@ For native Anthropic auth, Hermes prefers Claude Code's own credential files whe
 | `FIRECRAWL_API_KEY` | Web scraping ([firecrawl.dev](https://firecrawl.dev/)) |
 | `FIRECRAWL_API_URL` | Custom Firecrawl API endpoint for self-hosted instances (optional) |
 | `TAVILY_API_KEY` | Tavily API key for AI-native web search, extract, and crawl ([app.tavily.com](https://app.tavily.com/home)) |
+| `TOOL_GATEWAY_DOMAIN` | Shared tool-gateway domain suffix for Nous Subscribers only, used to derive vendor hosts, for example `nousresearch.com` -> `firecrawl-gateway.nousresearch.com` |
+| `TOOL_GATEWAY_SCHEME` | Shared tool-gateway URL scheme for Nous Subscribers only, used to derive vendor hosts, `https` by default and `http` for local gateway testing |
+| `TOOL_GATEWAY_USER_TOKEN` | Explicit Nous Subscriber access token for tool-gateway calls (optional; otherwise Hermes reads `~/.hermes/auth.json`) |
 | `BROWSERBASE_API_KEY` | Browser automation ([browserbase.com](https://browserbase.com/)) |
 | `BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID` | Browserbase project ID |
 | `BROWSER_USE_API_KEY` | Browser Use cloud browser API key ([browser-use.com](https://browser-use.com/)) |
@@ -114,6 +117,8 @@ For native Anthropic auth, Hermes prefers Claude Code's own credential files whe
 | `TERMINAL_CWD` | Working directory for all terminal sessions |
 | `SUDO_PASSWORD` | Enable sudo without interactive prompt |
 
+For cloud sandbox backends, persistence is filesystem-oriented. `TERMINAL_LIFETIME_SECONDS` controls when Hermes cleans up an idle terminal session, and later resumes may recreate the sandbox rather than keep the same live processes running.
+
 ## SSH Backend
 
 | Variable | Description |

website/docs/user-guide/configuration.md

@@ -695,6 +695,8 @@ terminal:
   persistent_shell: true             # Enabled by default for SSH backend
 ```
 
+For cloud sandboxes such as Modal and Daytona, `container_persistent: true` means Hermes will try to preserve filesystem state across sandbox recreation. It does not promise that the same live sandbox, PID space, or background processes will still be running later.
+
 ### Common Terminal Backend Issues
 
 If terminal commands fail immediately or the terminal tool is reported as disabled, check the following:
@@ -723,8 +725,9 @@ If terminal commands fail immediately or the terminal tool is reported as disabl
   - If either value is missing, Hermes will log a clear error and refuse to use the SSH backend.
 
 - **Modal backend**
-  - You need either a `MODAL_TOKEN_ID` environment variable or a `~/.modal.toml` config file.
-  - If neither is present, the backend check fails and Hermes will report that the Modal backend is not available.
+  - Hermes can use either direct Modal credentials (`MODAL_TOKEN_ID` plus `MODAL_TOKEN_SECRET`, or `~/.modal.toml`) or a configured managed tool gateway with a Nous user token.
+  - Modal persistence is resumable filesystem state, not durable process continuity. If you need something to stay continuously up, use a deployment-oriented tool instead of the terminal sandbox.
+  - If neither direct credentials nor a managed gateway is present, Hermes will report that the Modal backend is not available.
 
 When in doubt, set `terminal.backend` back to `local` and verify that commands run there first.
 

website/docs/user-guide/features/tools.md

@@ -109,6 +109,13 @@ modal setup
 hermes config set terminal.backend modal
 ```
 
+Hermes can use Modal in two modes:
+
+- **Direct Modal**: Hermes talks to your Modal account directly.
+- **Managed Modal**: Hermes talks to a gateway that owns the vendor credentials.
+
+In both cases, Modal is best treated as a task sandbox, not a deployment target. Persistent mode preserves filesystem state so later turns can resume your work, but Hermes may still clean up or recreate the live sandbox. Long-running servers and background processes are not guaranteed to survive idle cleanup, session teardown, or Hermes exit.
+
 ### Container Resources
 
 Configure CPU, memory, disk, and persistence for all container backends: