# Multi-gateway deployment

Hermes supports multiple gateway processes running concurrently — one per profile
(default, writer, admin, coder, researcher). Each gateway opens its own connection
to platform APIs and delivers messages for its profile's subscribers.

## Single-dispatcher posture

Only one gateway owns the kanban dispatcher. The owning gateway keeps
`kanban.dispatch_in_gateway: true` (the default); every other gateway sets it
to `false`.

**Why this matters:** dispatching is single-owner so multiple gateways do not
race to spawn the same work. Notification delivery is profile-owned instead:
each gateway polls only subscriptions for profiles whose platform adapters it
hosts. The atomic event claim prevents duplicate delivery across watcher
processes.

## Configuration

On the dispatch-owning gateway (typically the `default` profile), no change is
needed. On every other profile gateway, add to `~/.hermes/config.yaml`:

```yaml
kanban:
  dispatch_in_gateway: false
```

Or set the env var: `HERMES_KANBAN_DISPATCH_IN_GATEWAY=false`

## What each gateway does

| Gateway role | dispatch_in_gateway | Opens subscribed board DBs? | Dispatcher | Notifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| default (confirmed dispatch-lock owner) | true (default) | yes | yes | owned profiles + legacy unstamped subscriptions |
| writer, admin, coder, etc. | false | yes, when the profile has subscriptions | no | that gateway's owned profiles |

Non-dispatch gateways still deliver messages for their own platform adapters
(Telegram, Discord, etc.). They do not dispatch tasks, and they skip boards
that have no subscriptions owned by their profiles.