diff --git a/hermes/install.sh b/hermes/install.sh
index d424550..7b74e5f 100755
--- a/hermes/install.sh
+++ b/hermes/install.sh
@@ -74,7 +74,9 @@ if [ "$KEY_CHANGED" -eq 1 ] && [ -f "$HOME/.config/mcp-sync/key" ]; then
     fi
     say "hermes: Updated LITELLM_KEY in ~/.hermes/.env"
   else
-    # Create .env if it doesn't exist
+    # Create .env if it doesn't exist. On a fresh home this runs BEFORE the
+    # installer below has created ~/.hermes, so make the directory first.
+    mkdir -p "$HOME/.hermes"
     printf 'LITELLM_KEY=%s\n' "$NEW_KEY" >"$HOME/.hermes/.env"
     say "hermes: Created ~/.hermes/.env with LITELLM_KEY"
   fi