diff --git a/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
index 58c21826..6011ceed 100644
--- a/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
+++ b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 {
-  "name": "Hermes-CodeSpace",
+  "name": "Hermes-Coding-Agent",
   "customizations": {
     "vscode": {
       "extensions": ["saoudrizwan.claude-dev","joaompfp.hermes-ai-agent"]
     }
   },
-  "postCreateCommand": "bash ./.devcontainer/post-create-cmd.sh",
-  "postStartCommand": "bash echo '[post-start-cmd.sh] Container started' >> /tmp/post-start-cmd.log"
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+  "postCreateCommand": "bash ./.devcontainer/post-create-cmd.sh > /tmp/post-create-cmd.log",
+  "postStartCommand":  "bash ./.devcontainer/post-start-cmd.sh  > /tmp/post-start-cmd.log"
+}
diff --git a/.devcontainer/post-create-cmd.sh b/.devcontainer/post-create-cmd.sh
index ea966f51..46d764ea 100755
--- a/.devcontainer/post-create-cmd.sh
+++ b/.devcontainer/post-create-cmd.sh
@@ -2,18 +2,36 @@
 
 # Install modelrelay globally
 sudo npm install modelrelay -g --prefix /usr/local/lib/modelrelay
-sudo ln -s /usr/local/lib/modelrelay/bin/modelrelay /usr/local/bin/modelrelay
+sudo ln -sf /usr/local/lib/modelrelay/bin/modelrelay /usr/local/bin/modelrelay
 sudo npm cache clean --force
 
-echo "[post-create-cmd.sh] Starting modelrelay in the background..."
+echo "[post-create-cmd.sh] Checking modelrelay..."
 if command -v modelrelay &>/dev/null; then
-  setsid /usr/local/bin/modelrelay >> /tmp/modelrelay.log 2>&1 &
+  if pgrep -f modelrelay > /dev/null; then
+    echo "[post-create-cmd.sh] modelrelay is already running, skipping"
+  else
+    echo "[post-create-cmd.sh] Starting modelrelay in the background..."
+    setsid /usr/local/bin/modelrelay >> /tmp/modelrelay.log 2>&1 &
+  fi
 else
   echo "[post-create-cmd.sh] modelrelay not found, skipping start"
 fi
 
+# Install ripgrep for better search performance in hermes-agent
+if ! command -v rg &>/dev/null; then
+  echo "[post-create-cmd.sh] Installing ripgrep for better search performance in hermes-agent..."
+  if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "linux-gnu"* ]]; then
+    # Linux
+    cd /tmp
+    curl -LO https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/releases/download/14.1.1/ripgrep_14.1.1-1_amd64.deb
+    sudo dpkg -i ripgrep_14.1.1-1_amd64.deb
+    rm ripgrep_14.1.1-1_amd64.deb
+  fi
+fi
+
 # Install hermes-agent
-curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.sh | bash -s -- --skip-setup
+HERMES_VERSION="v2026.5.7"
+curl -fsSL "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/${HERMES_VERSION}/scripts/install.sh" | bash -s -- --skip-setup
 npm cache clean --force
 sudo rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* 
 
@@ -24,4 +42,3 @@ if command -v hermes &>/dev/null && [ -d "$HOME/.hermes/sessions" ] && [ -z "$(l
   hermes config set model.base_url http://localhost:7352/v1
   hermes config set model.default auto-fastest
 fi
-
diff --git a/.devcontainer/post-start-cmd.sh b/.devcontainer/post-start-cmd.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..9598af78
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.devcontainer/post-start-cmd.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+echo "[post-start-cmd.sh] Checking modelrelay..."
+if command -v modelrelay &>/dev/null; then
+  if pgrep -f modelrelay > /dev/null; then
+    echo "[post-start-cmd.sh] modelrelay is already running, skipping"
+  else
+    echo "[post-start-cmd.sh] Starting modelrelay in the background..."
+    setsid /usr/local/bin/modelrelay >> /tmp/modelrelay.log 2>&1 &
+  fi
+else
+  echo "[post-start-cmd.sh] modelrelay not found, skipping start"
+fi
+
+# so that the script doesn't exit immediately before modelrelay has a chance to start properly
+sleep 60
\ No newline at end of file