diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 6d87318e3..119ae94d1 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -136,3 +136,4 @@ RELEASE_v*.md
 # Desktop demo-run scratch output (hermes writes demo/*.txt during recorded
 # walkthroughs). Throwaway artifacts, never part of the app.
 apps/desktop/demo/
+ui-tui/node.core
diff --git a/packaging/freebsd/hermes_dashboard.in b/packaging/freebsd/hermes_dashboard.in
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a15acb385
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packaging/freebsd/hermes_dashboard.in
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+#
+# Hermes Agent Dashboard — FreeBSD rc.d service
+#
+# Hermes dashboard web UI runs in the FOREGROUND. rc.d runs it under
+# daemon(8), which backgrounds it, writes a pidfile, restarts on crash,
+# drops privileges to the configured user, and redirects stdout/stderr
+# to a logfile.
+#
+# Setup (one-time, as root):
+#     cp /home/clawdie/ai/hermes-bsd/packaging/freebsd/hermes_dashboard.in \
+#        /usr/local/etc/rc.d/hermes_dashboard
+#     chmod 555 /usr/local/etc/rc.d/hermes_dashboard
+#     sysrc hermes_dashboard_enable=YES
+#
+# Requires:
+#   - hermes gateway already installed and configured
+#   - web UI built (cd ~/ai/hermes-bsd/web && npm run build)
+#   - hermes_daemon rc.d service (for shared run/log dirs)
+
+# PROVIDE: hermes_dashboard
+# REQUIRE: LOGIN cleanvar hermes_daemon
+# KEYWORD: shutdown
+
+. /etc/rc.subr
+
+name="hermes_dashboard"
+rcvar="hermes_dashboard_enable"
+
+load_rc_config $name
+
+: ${hermes_dashboard_enable:="NO"}
+: ${hermes_dashboard_user:="clawdie"}
+: ${hermes_dashboard_group:="clawdie"}
+: ${hermes_dashboard_program:="/home/clawdie/ai/hermes-bsd/venv/bin/hermes"}
+: ${hermes_dashboard_home:="/home/clawdie/.hermes"}
+: ${hermes_dashboard_run_dir:="/var/run/hermes"}
+: ${hermes_dashboard_logfile:="/var/log/hermes/dashboard.log"}
+: ${hermes_dashboard_host:="0.0.0.0"}
+: ${hermes_dashboard_port:="9119"}
+
+pidfile="${hermes_dashboard_run_dir}/hermes-dashboard.pid"
+supervisor_pidfile="${hermes_dashboard_run_dir}/hermes-dashboard-supervisor.pid"
+
+command="/usr/sbin/daemon"
+procname="hermes"
+
+start_cmd="hermes_dashboard_start"
+start_precmd="hermes_dashboard_prestart"
+status_cmd="hermes_dashboard_status"
+stop_cmd="hermes_dashboard_stop"
+extra_commands="health"
+
+hermes_dashboard_prestart()
+{
+    install -d -o "${hermes_dashboard_user}" -g "${hermes_dashboard_group}" -m 0750 \
+        "${hermes_dashboard_run_dir}"
+    install -d -o "${hermes_dashboard_user}" -g "${hermes_dashboard_group}" -m 0750 \
+        "$(/usr/bin/dirname "${hermes_dashboard_logfile}")"
+
+    export HERMES_HOME="${hermes_dashboard_home}"
+
+    # Verify web UI is built before starting.
+    if [ ! -f "${hermes_dashboard_home}/../ai/hermes-bsd/hermes_cli/web_dist/index.html" ]; then
+        echo "ERROR: web_dist not found — build first: cd ~/ai/hermes-bsd/web && npm run build"
+        return 1
+    fi
+}
+
+hermes_dashboard_start()
+{
+    env HERMES_HOME="${hermes_dashboard_home}" \
+        /usr/sbin/daemon \
+        -P "${supervisor_pidfile}" \
+        -p "${pidfile}" \
+        -r \
+        -t "${name}" \
+        -u "${hermes_dashboard_user}" \
+        -o "${hermes_dashboard_logfile}" \
+        "${hermes_dashboard_program}" dashboard \
+            --host "${hermes_dashboard_host}" \
+            --port "${hermes_dashboard_port}" \
+            --no-open \
+            --skip-build
+}
+
+hermes_dashboard_stop()
+{
+    local _sup=""
+    [ -f "${supervisor_pidfile}" ] && _sup=$(cat "${supervisor_pidfile}" 2>/dev/null)
+    if [ -n "${_sup}" ] && kill -0 "${_sup}" 2>/dev/null; then
+        echo "Stopping ${name} (daemon(8) supervisor pid ${_sup})."
+        kill -TERM "${_sup}" 2>/dev/null
+        local _n=0
+        while kill -0 "${_sup}" 2>/dev/null && [ ${_n} -lt 30 ]; do
+            sleep 1
+            _n=$((_n + 1))
+        done
+        if kill -0 "${_sup}" 2>/dev/null; then
+            echo "Supervisor did not exit in time; sending SIGKILL."
+            kill -KILL "${_sup}" 2>/dev/null
+        fi
+    else
+        echo "${name} is not running."
+    fi
+    local _ch=""
+    [ -f "${pidfile}" ] && _ch=$(cat "${pidfile}" 2>/dev/null)
+    if [ -n "${_ch}" ] && kill -0 "${_ch}" 2>/dev/null; then
+        kill -TERM "${_ch}" 2>/dev/null
+    fi
+    rm -f "${supervisor_pidfile}" "${pidfile}"
+}
+
+health_cmd="hermes_dashboard_health"
+status_cmd="hermes_dashboard_status"
+hermes_dashboard_status()
+{
+    hermes_dashboard_health
+}
+
+hermes_dashboard_health()
+{
+    if [ -f "${pidfile}" ]; then
+        local _pid
+        _pid=$(cat "${pidfile}" 2>/dev/null)
+        if [ -n "${_pid}" ] && kill -0 "${_pid}" 2>/dev/null; then
+            echo "hermes-dashboard is healthy (pid ${_pid} alive)"
+            return 0
+        fi
+    fi
+    echo "hermes-dashboard not running"
+    return 1
+}
+
+run_rc_command "$1"