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How to Connect Bluehost AI Credits to Open WebUI + Hermes Agent

Bluehost AI Credits power Hermes Agent, and Open WebUI connects to Hermes's API server. Here are the commands, URLs, Docker fixes and fixes for common errors.
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This setup is two separate connections, not one. Hermes Agent talks to the Bluehost AI Gateway for model inference. Open WebUI then talks to Hermes’s own OpenAI-compatible API server. Open WebUI never connects to the Bluehost Gateway directly in this workflow. Bluehost’s integration guide (by Jay C., updated Sep 17, 2026) describes it the same way, and Open WebUI’s own Hermes guide gives the same endpoint pattern.

What you need first

  • Open WebUI and Hermes Agent already installed. Bluehost’s guide targets a Self-Managed VPS or Virtual Dedicated Server. Windows users may need a Unix-like environment such as WSL2.
  • Command-line access to Hermes and administrator access to Open WebUI.
  • A Bluehost AI Credits key, with a balance available to spend.
  • The exact ID of the model you want to use.

Step 1: Point Hermes at the Bluehost AI Gateway

Run:

hermes model

Choose Custom endpoint and enter:

  • Base URL: https://gateway.ai.bluehost.com/
  • API key: the AI Credits key created in your Bluehost account
  • Model name: the exact model ID

Hermes saves the credentials in its environment file, usually ~/.hermes/.env. If you use profiles, each profile has its own .env. To find the files, run hermes config path or hermes config env-path.

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Test the provider before touching the web interface:

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hermes chat -q "Reply with exactly: provider ok"

If this fails, fix the key, model ID or credit balance now. Open WebUI can’t fix a broken upstream. Hermes also supports provider fallback chains, so a second provider can take over if the primary is rate-limited or your credits run out.

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Step 2: Turn on Hermes’s API server

Add these lines to the environment file for the profile you are using:

API_SERVER_ENABLED=true
API_SERVER_KEY=your-strong-random-secret

Use a long random value for the key. Then start the gateway process:

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hermes gateway

Open WebUI can only reach the agent while this process is running. For a long-lived setup, run it inside a terminal multiplexer or as a system service. Open WebUI’s documentation gives 8642 as the default API server port. With several profiles, each may run its own server on its own port.

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Step 3: Add Hermes to Open WebUI

  1. In Open WebUI, go to Admin Settings → Connections → OpenAI → Add Connection.
  2. Set the URL to http://localhost:8642/v1. Keep the /v1.
  3. Set the API key to exactly the value of API_SERVER_KEY. Do not use the Bluehost credits key here.
  4. Click verify, then save.
  5. Open a new chat. The model dropdown should list Hermes, commonly as hermes-agent for the default profile.

If Open WebUI runs in Docker

localhost inside a container is the container itself, not your host. If Hermes runs on the host, use:

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http://host.docker.internal:8642/v1

On Linux Docker without Docker Desktop, that name may not resolve. Open WebUI’s guide gives three options: add a host mapping, use host networking, or target the Docker bridge IP.

Persistent Compose configuration

Bluehost’s Compose example sets these values for Open WebUI:

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  • OPENAI_API_BASE_URL=http://host.docker.internal:8642/v1
  • OPENAI_API_KEY set to the Hermes API_SERVER_KEY
  • An extra_hosts entry of host.docker.internal:host-gateway
  • A volume persisting /app/backend/data

Open WebUI reads these variables only on first launch. After that, change the connection in the Admin UI, or reset the data volume.

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Security: tools run on the Hermes host

Hermes’s terminal and file tools execute on the machine running the API server. They do not run on the machine showing the browser. If Hermes is on a remote VPS, anyone who can use that connection can trigger terminal and file actions on that server. Treat API_SERVER_KEY like a password, and don’t expose the port publicly without protection.

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Troubleshooting

Symptom Check
No Hermes model in the dropdown Confirm hermes gateway is still running, the port matches, and the URL ends in /v1.
Authentication error Compare the key saved in Open WebUI with API_SERVER_KEY. Open WebUI stores its own copy, so editing Hermes’s .env later doesn’t update it.
Verify fails but you suspect the setup is fine Open WebUI’s verify action requests the provider’s /models endpoint with a Bearer token. Some compatible providers lack it, so a failure alone doesn’t prove chat can’t work. Try a chat.
Unexpected model or spend Run hermes doctor and check /usage. Another active profile may select a different model.
Responses stop Your AI Credits balance may be exhausted. Top up, or configure a fallback provider.

What AI Credits cost

These figures come from Bluehost’s “Understanding AI Credits” help page, accessed Oct 5, 2026. Bluehost says prices may change and points to the AI Tooling tab of the Bluehost Portal for current pricing.

Pack Price
500 credits $5
1,000 credits $10
5,000 credits $50
10,000 credits $100
  • One credit is $0.010. Credits are prepaid and limited to Self-Managed VPS and VDS plans.
  • Cost per request depends on the model and token usage.
  • One wallet is shared across all of the account’s API keys.
  • Purchased balance has a 12-month window that resets with each purchase. Without a new purchase, the balance resets to zero at expiry.

This guide is based on vendor documentation, not a hands-on test, so confirm current terms in your portal.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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