diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index b416a82..38f30b1 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 # Hermes Web UI -- Changelog
 
+## [v0.50.62] — 2026-04-16
+
+### Fixed
+- **Docker startup no longer hard-exits when hermes-agent source is not mounted** — previously `docker_init.bash` would call `error_exit` if the agent source directory was missing, preventing the container from starting at all. Users running a minimal `docker run` without the two-container compose setup hit this immediately. Now the script checks for the directory and `pyproject.toml` first, prints a clear warning explaining reduced functionality, and continues startup. The WebUI already has `try/except` fallbacks throughout for when hermes-agent is unavailable. (Fixes #570, PR #573)
+
 ## [v0.50.61] — 2026-04-16
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/docker_init.bash b/docker_init.bash
index 84aeb9a..edd685e 100644
--- a/docker_init.bash
+++ b/docker_init.bash
@@ -235,7 +235,17 @@ else
   test -x /app/venv/bin/pip
 
   echo ""; echo "== Adding hermes-agent's pyproject.toml base dependencies to the virtual environment"
-  uv pip install "/home/hermeswebui/.hermes/hermes-agent[honcho]" --trusted-host pypi.org --trusted-host files.pythonhosted.org || error_exit "Failed to install hermes-agent's requirements"
+  if [ -d "/home/hermeswebui/.hermes/hermes-agent" ] && [ -f "/home/hermeswebui/.hermes/hermes-agent/pyproject.toml" ]; then
+    uv pip install "/home/hermeswebui/.hermes/hermes-agent[honcho]" --trusted-host pypi.org --trusted-host files.pythonhosted.org || error_exit "Failed to install hermes-agent's requirements"
+  else
+    echo ""
+    echo "!! WARNING: hermes-agent source not found at /home/hermeswebui/.hermes/hermes-agent"
+    echo "!! The WebUI will start with reduced functionality (no model auto-detection,"
+    echo "!! no personality routing, no CLI session imports)."
+    echo "!! To fix: mount the agent source volume into the container. See:"
+    echo "!!   https://github.com/nesquena/hermes-webui/blob/master/docker-compose.two-container.yml"
+    echo ""
+  fi
   touch /app/venv/.deps_installed
 fi
 
diff --git a/static/index.html b/static/index.html
index 95454db..df19319 100644
--- a/static/index.html
+++ b/static/index.html
@@ -553,7 +553,7 @@
                 <div class="settings-section-title">System</div>
                 <div class="settings-section-meta">Instance version and access controls.</div>
               </div>
-              <span class="settings-version-badge">v0.50.61</span>
+              <span class="settings-version-badge">v0.50.62</span>
             </div>
             <div class="settings-field" style="border-top:1px solid var(--border);padding-top:12px;margin-top:8px">
               <label for="settingsPassword" data-i18n="settings_label_password">Access Password</label>