diff --git a/tools/environments/docker.py b/tools/environments/docker.py
index 496b41d38460..febefab10486 100644
--- a/tools/environments/docker.py
+++ b/tools/environments/docker.py
@@ -167,6 +167,7 @@ def __init__(
         # escalation, PID limits). The container filesystem is writable so agents
         # can install packages as needed.
         # User-configured volume mounts (from config.yaml docker_volumes)
+        # Supports read-only mounts: "~/.gitconfig:/root/.gitconfig:ro"
         volume_args = []
         for vol in (volumes or []):
             if not isinstance(vol, str):
@@ -175,11 +176,23 @@ def __init__(
             vol = vol.strip()
             if not vol:
                 continue
+            # Expand ~ in host path (first segment before first colon)
+            parts = vol.split(":", 1)
+            parts[0] = os.path.expanduser(parts[0])
+            vol = ":".join(parts)
             if ":" in vol:
                 volume_args.extend(["-v", vol])
             else:
                 logger.warning(f"Docker volume '{vol}' missing colon, skipping")
 
+        # Auto-mount ~/.gitconfig read-only if it exists and not already mounted
+        gitconfig = os.path.expanduser("~/.gitconfig")
+        gitconfig_target = "/root/.gitconfig"
+        already_mounted = any(gitconfig_target in v for v in (volumes or []))
+        if os.path.exists(gitconfig) and not already_mounted:
+            volume_args.extend(["-v", f"{gitconfig}:{gitconfig_target}:ro"])
+            logger.info("Auto-mounting ~/.gitconfig into container (read-only)")
+
         logger.info(f"Docker volume_args: {volume_args}")
         all_run_args = list(_SECURITY_ARGS) + writable_args + resource_args + volume_args
         logger.info(f"Docker run_args: {all_run_args}")
@@ -260,8 +273,18 @@ def execute(self, command: str, cwd: str = "", *,
         if effective_stdin is not None:
             cmd.append("-i")
         cmd.extend(["-w", work_dir])
+        # Load ~/.hermes/.env so secrets set via `hermes config set` are
+        # available inside the Docker container (os.getenv only sees shell exports).
+        _hermes_env: dict = {}
+        try:
+            from hermes_cli.config import get_env_path, load_env
+            _hermes_env = load_env() or {}
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+
         for key in self._inner.config.forward_env:
-            if (value := os.getenv(key)) is not None:
+            value = os.getenv(key) or _hermes_env.get(key)
+            if value is not None:
                 cmd.extend(["-e", f"{key}={value}"])
         for key, value in self._inner.config.env.items():
             cmd.extend(["-e", f"{key}={value}"])