> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vulpy.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Fox sidecars: Gitea and SearXNG

> The two sidecar containers that ship alongside Fox for local git hosting and metasearch, both defined in docker-compose.hermes.yml.

Fox runs with two sidecar services in `docker-compose.hermes.yml`: Gitea for local version control and SearXNG for privacy-preserving web search. Both live on the same Docker network as Fox and start together with a single command.

<Tip>
  **Ask Fox to use them.** Gitea and SearXNG exist for Fox; you rarely open them yourself.

  Try prompts like:

  * "Is Gitea up?"
  * "Search the web for the Medusa v2 payment provider list."
  * "Show me the last commits you made in Gitea."
</Tip>

## What ships in docker-compose.hermes.yml

The compose file defines three services:

* **hermes** (Fox itself)
* **gitea** (local Git host)
* **searxng** (metasearch engine)

These containers share a private bridge network. Neither Gitea nor SearXNG is exposed to the public internet by default.

## Gitea: local git for Fox

Gitea acts as a local Git host that Fox uses to manage branches, review diffs, and stage work without pushing code to an external provider. It is reachable from Fox over the Docker internal network. You do not need a GitHub or GitLab account for Fox to track its own changes.

Data is persisted under `.data/hermes/` on the host so repositories survive container restarts.

## SearXNG: privacy-preserving metasearch

SearXNG aggregates search results from multiple sources without sending queries to a single vendor. Fox uses it to look up documentation, packages, and references on the web while preserving query privacy.

Like Gitea, SearXNG stores its state under `.data/hermes/` and is only reachable from inside the compose network.

## Starting and stopping the sidecars

Use the same commands that start Fox. On a local workstation:

```bash theme={null}
pnpm db:hermes:up
```

On a server install:

```bash theme={null}
pnpm vulpy hermes up
```

Stop everything with the corresponding down command:

```bash theme={null}
pnpm db:hermes:down
```

## Guardrails

Neither sidecar has access to the Docker socket. Their only role is to serve Fox from inside the compose network. They cannot start, stop, or inspect other containers.

<Note>
  These are internal services. Only expose Gitea or SearXNG publicly if you intentionally publish them and have configured authentication.
</Note>

For more details, see the [Gitea documentation](https://gitea.com/) and the [SearXNG documentation](https://docs.searxng.org/).

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Fox WebUI" icon="layout" href="/fox/webui">
    Explore the WebUI where Fox presents search results and git diffs.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Extensions" icon="puzzle" href="/fox/extensions">
    Learn how to extend the WebUI with custom iframes and pages.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>