diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index c52f9b3..ef44634 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ HERMES_CONTAINER_USER=0:0
 HERMES_SETUP_UI_PORT=7843
 HERMES_PRE_AI_API_PORT=8645
 HERMES_POST_AI_API_PORT=8646
+HERMES_PUBLISHED_BIND_IP=127.0.0.1
 
 HERMES_PRE_AI_PROVIDER=nous
 HERMES_POST_AI_PROVIDER=nous
@@ -16,5 +17,6 @@ POSTGRES_PASSWORD=hermes-change-me
 HERMES_ADMIN_USERNAME=admin
 HERMES_ADMIN_PASSWORD=change-this-to-a-long-random-password
 HERMES_ADMIN_SESSION_TTL_HOURS=12
+HERMES_ADMIN_COOKIE_SECURE=false
 HERMES_LOG_RETENTION_DAYS=90
 HERMES_AUDIT_MAX_BYTES=10485760
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index eccacb3..ae152e3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ POSTGRES_PASSWORD              PostgreSQL password (default: hermes-change-me 
 HERMES_ADMIN_USERNAME          Admin username (default: admin)
 HERMES_ADMIN_PASSWORD          Admin password — minimum 16 characters
 HERMES_ADMIN_SESSION_TTL_HOURS Session lifetime in hours (default: 8)
+HERMES_ADMIN_COOKIE_SECURE     Set true when admin UI is served only through HTTPS
 HERMES_LOG_RETENTION_DAYS      Audit log retention in days (default: 90)
 HERMES_AUDIT_MAX_BYTES         Max bytes per logged request body (default: 65536)
 ```
@@ -54,6 +55,8 @@ The admin password must be at least 16 characters. Sessions expire after `HERMES
 
 On first run, set your admin credentials in the environment before starting the container. There is no in-app registration flow.
 
+If the admin UI is exposed through an HTTPS reverse proxy, set `HERMES_ADMIN_COOKIE_SECURE=true` so browsers do not send the admin session cookie over plain HTTP.
+
 ## API Access (Pre/Post)
 
 API keys start with `hms_`. Each key is scoped to allow the pre gateway, the post gateway, or both.
@@ -90,7 +93,7 @@ Download logs as JSONL from the admin UI or directly:
 
 ```http
 GET /api/admin/logs/download?api_user_id=<id>
-Cookie: hermes_session=...
+Cookie: hermes_admin=...
 ```
 
 Response content-type is `application/x-ndjson`. Each line is a JSON object with request metadata, prompt, and response.
@@ -115,6 +118,18 @@ Use Portainer's Git-backed Stack flow:
 
 Portainer pulls the latest Git version when it redeploys the Stack. A normal Docker container restart does not pull Git or rebuild the image, so use Portainer's webhook/polling redeploy for updates.
 
+### Nginx Proxy Manager
+
+The compose stack binds published ports to `127.0.0.1` by default via `HERMES_PUBLISHED_BIND_IP`. This prevents clients on the LAN or internet from bypassing Nginx Proxy Manager by calling `http://<docker-host>:7843`, `:8645`, or `:8646` directly.
+
+Use one of these deployment shapes:
+
+- **NPM on the same Docker host:** keep `HERMES_PUBLISHED_BIND_IP=127.0.0.1` and proxy to `127.0.0.1:7843`, `127.0.0.1:8645`, or `127.0.0.1:8646`.
+- **NPM in a container on a shared Docker network:** prefer adding NPM to the stack network and proxy to service names such as `hermes-control-plane:7843`, without broad host-port exposure.
+- **NPM on another host/LXC:** set `HERMES_PUBLISHED_BIND_IP` to the private interface IP that only NPM can reach, then block direct client access to ports `7843`, `8645`, and `8646` with host or network firewall rules.
+
+When the public admin URL is HTTPS, also set `HERMES_ADMIN_COOKIE_SECURE=true`.
+
 `HERMES_CONTAINER_USER` defaults to `0:0` so the container can write credentials/config into Portainer-created bind directories. If you pre-create the host directories and `chown` them to UID/GID `1000:1000`, set `HERMES_CONTAINER_USER=1000:1000`.
 
 Recommended persistent host layout on the Portainer host:
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 6671ea2..015d76e 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ services:
     user: ${HERMES_CONTAINER_USER:-0:0}
     restart: unless-stopped
     ports:
-      - "${HERMES_SETUP_UI_PORT:-7843}:7843"
+      - "${HERMES_PUBLISHED_BIND_IP:-127.0.0.1}:${HERMES_SETUP_UI_PORT:-7843}:7843"
     environment:
       <<: *hermes-environment
       HERMES_SETUP_UI_HOST: 0.0.0.0
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ services:
       HERMES_ADMIN_USERNAME: ${HERMES_ADMIN_USERNAME:-admin}
       HERMES_ADMIN_PASSWORD: ${HERMES_ADMIN_PASSWORD}
       HERMES_ADMIN_SESSION_TTL_HOURS: ${HERMES_ADMIN_SESSION_TTL_HOURS:-12}
+      HERMES_ADMIN_COOKIE_SECURE: ${HERMES_ADMIN_COOKIE_SECURE:-false}
       HERMES_LOG_RETENTION_DAYS: ${HERMES_LOG_RETENTION_DAYS:-90}
     volumes: *hermes-volumes
     depends_on:
@@ -134,7 +135,7 @@ services:
     restart: unless-stopped
     command: ["node", "/app/api-gateway.cjs"]
     ports:
-      - "${HERMES_PRE_AI_API_PORT:-8645}:8645"
+      - "${HERMES_PUBLISHED_BIND_IP:-127.0.0.1}:${HERMES_PRE_AI_API_PORT:-8645}:8645"
     environment:
       DATABASE_URL: *db-url
       HERMES_API_ROUTE_KIND: pre
@@ -162,7 +163,7 @@ services:
     restart: unless-stopped
     command: ["node", "/app/api-gateway.cjs"]
     ports:
-      - "${HERMES_POST_AI_API_PORT:-8646}:8646"
+      - "${HERMES_PUBLISHED_BIND_IP:-127.0.0.1}:${HERMES_POST_AI_API_PORT:-8646}:8646"
     environment:
       DATABASE_URL: *db-url
       HERMES_API_ROUTE_KIND: post
diff --git a/lib/security.cjs b/lib/security.cjs
index 3c6f315..c2877d8 100644
--- a/lib/security.cjs
+++ b/lib/security.cjs
@@ -100,16 +100,18 @@ function parseCookies(cookieHeader) {
  * @param {number} ttlSeconds
  * @returns {string}
  */
-function serializeAdminCookie(plaintext, ttlSeconds) {
-  return `hermes_admin=${plaintext}; HttpOnly; Path=/; SameSite=Lax; Max-Age=${ttlSeconds}`
+function serializeAdminCookie(plaintext, ttlSeconds, options = {}) {
+  const secure = options.secure ? "; Secure" : ""
+  return `hermes_admin=${plaintext}; HttpOnly; Path=/; SameSite=Lax; Max-Age=${ttlSeconds}${secure}`
 }
 
 /**
  * Return a Set-Cookie header value that expires/clears the admin cookie.
  * @returns {string}
  */
-function clearAdminCookie() {
-  return "hermes_admin=; HttpOnly; Path=/; SameSite=Lax; Max-Age=0; Expires=Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT"
+function clearAdminCookie(options = {}) {
+  const secure = options.secure ? "; Secure" : ""
+  return `hermes_admin=; HttpOnly; Path=/; SameSite=Lax; Max-Age=0; Expires=Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT${secure}`
 }
 
 module.exports = {
diff --git a/server.cjs b/server.cjs
index 28a8ef1..2118767 100644
--- a/server.cjs
+++ b/server.cjs
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ const DATABASE_URL = process.env.DATABASE_URL
 const ADMIN_USERNAME = process.env.HERMES_ADMIN_USERNAME
 const ADMIN_PASSWORD = process.env.HERMES_ADMIN_PASSWORD
 const SESSION_TTL_SECONDS = Number(process.env.HERMES_ADMIN_SESSION_TTL_HOURS || 12) * 3600
+const ADMIN_COOKIE_SECURE = /^(1|true|yes|on)$/i.test(String(process.env.HERMES_ADMIN_COOKIE_SECURE || ""))
 
 // Module-level pool — null when DATABASE_URL is not set (auth disabled)
 let pool = null
@@ -61,7 +62,7 @@ let pool = null
 // ─── Process tracking ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 const runningProcs = new Map() // key: provider, val: state
 
-function runHermes(args, timeoutMs = 5000) {
+function runHermes(args, timeoutMs = 30000) {
   return new Promise((resolve) => {
     const proc = spawn(HERMES_EXE, args, {
       env: { ...process.env, NO_COLOR: "1", HERMES_NO_TUI: "1", PYTHONIOENCODING: "utf-8" },
@@ -69,13 +70,20 @@ function runHermes(args, timeoutMs = 5000) {
     })
     let stdout = ""
     let stderr = ""
+    let settled = false
+    function settle(result) {
+      if (settled) return
+      settled = true
+      resolve(result)
+    }
     const timer = setTimeout(() => {
-      try { proc.kill() } catch {}
+      try { proc.kill("SIGKILL") } catch {}
+      settle({ code: -1, stdout, stderr: stderr + "\ntimeout" })
     }, timeoutMs)
     proc.stdout.on("data", (d) => { stdout += d.toString("utf-8") })
     proc.stderr.on("data", (d) => { stderr += d.toString("utf-8") })
-    proc.on("close", (code) => { clearTimeout(timer); resolve({ code, stdout, stderr }) })
-    proc.on("error", (err) => { clearTimeout(timer); resolve({ code: -1, stdout, stderr: stderr + "\n" + err.message }) })
+    proc.on("close", (code) => { clearTimeout(timer); settle({ code, stdout, stderr }) })
+    proc.on("error", (err) => { clearTimeout(timer); settle({ code: -1, stdout, stderr: stderr + "\n" + err.message }) })
   })
 }
 
@@ -1398,7 +1406,7 @@ async function h_adminLogin(req, res) {
   await createAdminSession(pool, hash, expiresAt)
 
   sendJson(res, 200, { ok: true }, {
-    "Set-Cookie": serializeAdminCookie(plaintext, SESSION_TTL_SECONDS)
+    "Set-Cookie": serializeAdminCookie(plaintext, SESSION_TTL_SECONDS, { secure: ADMIN_COOKIE_SECURE })
   })
 }
 
@@ -1411,7 +1419,7 @@ async function h_adminLogout(req, res) {
       await revokeAdminSession(pool, hash).catch(() => {})
     }
   }
-  sendJson(res, 200, { ok: true }, { "Set-Cookie": clearAdminCookie() })
+  sendJson(res, 200, { ok: true }, { "Set-Cookie": clearAdminCookie({ secure: ADMIN_COOKIE_SECURE }) })
 }
 
 function h_health(_req, res) {
diff --git a/test/compose-contract.test.cjs b/test/compose-contract.test.cjs
index fff55ff..8412e93 100644
--- a/test/compose-contract.test.cjs
+++ b/test/compose-contract.test.cjs
@@ -50,6 +50,15 @@ test("compose config is valid and has correct service structure", (t) => {
   assert(preApi.ports && preApi.ports.length > 0, "hermes-pre-api should publish ports")
   assert(postApi.ports && postApi.ports.length > 0, "hermes-post-api should publish ports")
 
+  const controlPlane = services["hermes-control-plane"]
+  const controlPlanePort = controlPlane.ports?.find((port) => Number(port.target) === 7843)
+  const preApiPort = preApi.ports?.find((port) => Number(port.target) === 8645)
+  const postApiPort = postApi.ports?.find((port) => Number(port.target) === 8646)
+
+  assert.equal(controlPlanePort?.host_ip, "127.0.0.1", "control plane should bind to loopback by default")
+  assert.equal(preApiPort?.host_ip, "127.0.0.1", "pre API should bind to loopback by default")
+  assert.equal(postApiPort?.host_ip, "127.0.0.1", "post API should bind to loopback by default")
+
   // Post upstream must have API_SERVER_ENABLED=true
   const postUpstreamEnv = postUpstream.environment || {}
   assert.equal(String(postUpstreamEnv.API_SERVER_ENABLED), "true", "hermes-post-upstream API_SERVER_ENABLED must be true")
diff --git a/test/security.test.cjs b/test/security.test.cjs
index d3e0917..1186c69 100644
--- a/test/security.test.cjs
+++ b/test/security.test.cjs
@@ -2,7 +2,15 @@
 
 const test = require("node:test")
 const assert = require("node:assert/strict")
-const { adminCredentialsMatch, createSessionToken, createApiKey, hashSecret, parseCookies } = require("../lib/security.cjs")
+const {
+  adminCredentialsMatch,
+  createSessionToken,
+  createApiKey,
+  hashSecret,
+  parseCookies,
+  serializeAdminCookie,
+  clearAdminCookie,
+} = require("../lib/security.cjs")
 
 test("adminCredentialsMatch returns true for correct credentials", (t) => {
   assert.equal(adminCredentialsMatch("admin", "secret-value-123", {
@@ -50,3 +58,15 @@ test("parseCookies returns empty object for null/undefined", (t) => {
   assert.deepEqual(parseCookies(undefined), {})
   assert.deepEqual(parseCookies(""), {})
 })
+
+test("serializeAdminCookie can mark admin session cookies Secure for HTTPS proxy deployments", (t) => {
+  const cookie = serializeAdminCookie("session-value", 3600, { secure: true })
+  assert.match(cookie, /; HttpOnly\b/)
+  assert.match(cookie, /; SameSite=Lax\b/)
+  assert.match(cookie, /; Secure\b/)
+})
+
+test("clearAdminCookie can mark cleared admin cookies Secure for HTTPS proxy deployments", (t) => {
+  const cookie = clearAdminCookie({ secure: true })
+  assert.match(cookie, /; Secure\b/)
+})