How to connect Ably to Hermes Agent
Connect Ably to Hermes with ClawLink: paste your Ably key once and 25 tools work from chat. No MCP server to run, nothing stored on your machine.
AblyAPI KEYMCPAbly is a real-time messaging platform helping developers build live features, including chat and data synchronization, with global scalability and robust reliability for modern applications.. Once connected, Hermes Agent can read and act on Ably from chat — pairing, token refresh, and tool wiring handled for you.
Most guides for giving Hermes Agent Ably access start with registering your own OAuth app or pasting API keys into env files, then leave the token refresh and tool wiring to you. ClawLink gives Hermes a more practical Ably setup: pair once in the browser and your always-on Hermes agent can act on Ably for you, reading and doing real work on your behalf with no auth, token refresh, or tool wiring to build yourself.
Setup
It takes three steps to connect Hermes to Ably.
1Install and pair
Install the ClawLink plugin, then pair Hermes with a one-time browser approval:
hermes plugins install ClawLink-HQ/hermes-plugin --enable- 2
Connect Ably
Paste your API key in the dashboard.
- 3
Use it from chat
Ask Hermes Agent: "What can you do with Ably?"
Install by command
The prompt above walks Hermes through this. By hand, it is four commands and a browser approval:
hermes plugins install ClawLink-HQ/hermes-plugin --enable
hermes clawlink begin # prints an approval link — open it and approve
hermes clawlink finish # after approving in the browser
hermes clawlink testThen connect Ably in the ClawLink dashboard — paste your Ably API key once.
Verify the connection by asking Hermes:
Use Ably to batch presence and walk me through the result in plain English.
Using a different agent?
The Hermes plugin is one client of ClawLink's MCP server. Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, or any agent that can run a shell command pairs with the same ClawLink account through the CLI:
npx -y @useclawlink/cli loginlogin opens the same browser approval and stores a credential locally. Once Ably is connected in the dashboard, that agent calls the same 25 Ably tools over MCP. Full setup for MCP clients and shell agents: connect apps to any AI agent.
Ably MCP for Hermes
Looking for a Ably MCP server for Hermes Agent? ClawLink connects Ably to Hermes Agent and exposes 25 Ably tools your agent can call over MCP, with hosted auth and nothing to run or maintain yourself. Using OpenClaw instead? The OpenClaw Ably integration works the same way.
What the Hermes Agent Ably integration can do
25 Ably tools are ready for Hermes Agent once the account is connected. The 24 below are the ones people reach for most; your agent can call all 25.
24 of 25 Ably tools for Hermes
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
Batch presence ably_batch_presence | Enables querying the presence states of multiple channels in a single API request |
Batch presence history ably_batch_presence_history | Enables querying presence history for multiple channels in a single API request |
Get channel details ably_get_channel_details | Retrieves metadata and details for a specific channel in Ably |
Get channel history ably_get_channel_history | Retrieves the message history for a specified Ably channel |
Get channel presence ably_get_channel_presence | Obtain the set of members currently present for a channel |
Get message versions ably_get_message_versions | Retrieve all historical versions of a specific message from an Ably channel |
Get presence history ably_get_presence_history | Retrieves the history of presence messages for a specified channel in Ably |
Get push device ably_get_push_device | Get the full details of a device registration for push notifications |
Get service time ably_get_service_time | Retrieves the current server time from Ably's service in milliseconds since the epoch |
Get stats ably_get_stats | Retrieves your application's usage statistics from Ably |
List channels ably_list_channels | Enumerate all active channels in the Ably application |
List push channel subscriptions ably_list_push_channel_subscriptions | Retrieves a list of all push notification channel subscriptions |
List push channels ably_list_push_channels | List all channels with at least one subscribed device |
List registered push devices ably_list_registered_push_devices | List all devices registered for receiving push notifications in your Ably application |
Patch push device registration ably_patch_push_device_registration | Partially update specific attributes of an existing device registration in Ably's push |
Publish batch messages ably_publish_batch_messages | Batch publish messages to multiple channels in parallel |
Publish message to channel ably_publish_message_to_channel | Will allow users to publish a message to a specified Ably channel using a POST request |
Publish push notification ably_publish_push_notification | Publish a push notification directly to device(s) via Ably's Push Notifications API |
Publish push notifications batch ably_publish_push_notifications_batch | Batch publish push notifications directly to specific recipients |
Register push device ably_register_push_device | Register a device for receiving push notifications in Ably |
Request access token ably_request_access_token | Request an access token for Ably authentication |
Update push device ably_update_push_device | Update (upsert) a device registration for push notifications in Ably |
Unregister all push devices ably_unregister_all_push_devices | Unregister matching devices for push notifications |
Unregister push device ably_unregister_push_device | Unregister a single device from push notifications in Ably |
Try it: find the Ably tool you need
Browse the 24 Ably tools
Click any tool to see exactly what Hermes can do and copy a ready-to-use prompt.
Example prompts
Use Ably to batch presence and walk me through the result in plain English.
Use Ably to batch presence history and walk me through the result in plain English.
Pull the relevant data from Ably, summarize it in plain English, and point out anything that needs attention.
Pull the relevant data from Ably, summarize it in plain English, and point out anything that needs attention.
ClawLink vs. building it yourself
The alternative to ClawLink is usually manual API key setup plus your own token handling, permission troubleshooting, and tool plumbing for Hermes Agent. That is fine if you want to build and maintain the integration yourself. Most teams just want Ably working from chat.
| Manual | ClawLink | |
|---|---|---|
| Credential handling | Collect, validate, store, and rotate the Ably API key yourself, then make sure every tool call uses the right account. | Users complete the hosted ClawLink setup once and the connected Ably account becomes available to the agent without you building credential management. |
| Ongoing maintenance | You own refresh logic, permission debugging, environment config, and every provider-specific edge case for Ably. | ClawLink handles the repetitive integration plumbing so your team can focus on the workflow instead of the infrastructure. |
| Agent usability | You still need to expose the right Ably actions to the runtime in a format your agent can reliably use. | 25 tools for Ably are already exposed through ClawLink, so the agent can read and act from chat immediately. |
ClawLink vs. Composio
Composio also exposes Ably to AI agents. It is developer infrastructure: Python and TypeScript SDKs, an MCP server, and a catalog past 1,000 apps, aimed at teams shipping agent products. ClawLink is built for Hermes Agent users instead. You install the plugin once, connect Ably in the browser, and the 25 tools above work from chat. There is no SDK and no config file, and the Ably key you paste at setup is stored server-side rather than kept in your environment. Choosing between them? Read the full Composio alternatives comparison.
Troubleshooting
Hermes paired but still can't use Ably
Pairing is a two-step handshake: run hermes clawlink begin, approve the link in your browser, then run hermes clawlink finish. If you ran finish before approving, or the approval link expired, run hermes clawlink begin again to get a fresh link. Confirm the plugin was installed with --enable, then verify with hermes clawlink test.
Connection succeeds but no tools appear
Reconnect Ably from the dashboard, then start a fresh chat if the runtime still has the old tool catalog loaded.
"Tool schema not loaded yet" error when calling Ably tools
Ably tool schemas load on demand the first time a tool runs and are cached after that, so this error usually clears on its own: wait a few seconds and retry the same request. If every Ably call keeps failing with it in a fresh chat, reconnect from the dashboard, and contact support if it still persists — that pattern points to a configuration problem on our side, not something you can fix by reconnecting again.
Ably returns 403 or "permission denied" on one action while others work
Two usual causes. The connected account may not have access to the specific workspace, inbox, store, or project in the request — check that first. If access looks right, the agent may have sent a placeholder value (like "YOUR_ID" or an example id from documentation) instead of a real one: ask it to run a list or search tool first, then retry the action with a real id from those results. Most failures at this stage are one of these two, not ClawLink bugs.
API key setup works but results look incomplete
Double-check that the API key for Ably has the right scopes or account access. A valid key can still be too limited for some reads or writes.
FAQ
Is there a Hermes Agent Ably integration?
Yes. ClawLink is the fastest way to connect Hermes to Ably: link your Ably account once in the browser and Hermes Agent can call the Ably API through 25 ready-made tools — no custom code or token handling.
How do I connect Ably to Hermes with ClawLink?
Install the plugin with hermes plugins install ClawLink-HQ/hermes-plugin --enable, then pair once: run hermes clawlink begin, approve the link in your browser, and run hermes clawlink finish. Connect Ably in the dashboard and Hermes can use it from the next message — no config files, and the Ably key you paste is stored server-side instead of in your environment.
How long does it take to connect Ably to Hermes Agent?
About two minutes. Sign in, click Connect next to Ably in the dashboard, authenticate, and Hermes Agent can use it from the next chat message.
Why use ClawLink instead of wiring Ably up myself?
The alternative to ClawLink is usually manual API key setup plus your own token handling, permission troubleshooting, and tool plumbing for Hermes Agent. That is fine if you want to build and maintain the integration yourself. Most teams just want Ably working from chat.
Hermes paired but still can't use Ably
Pairing is a two-step handshake: run hermes clawlink begin, approve the link in your browser, then run hermes clawlink finish. If you ran finish before approving, or the approval link expired, run hermes clawlink begin again to get a fresh link. Confirm the plugin was installed with --enable, then verify with hermes clawlink test.
Related
GitHub
Manage repositories, issues, pull requests, and workflows
Connect PagerDuty
Manage incidents, on-call schedules, and services
SafetyCulture tools
SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor) is a workplace operations platform that enables teams to conduct digital inspections, manage audits, track issues, schedule tasks, and maintain compliance through mobile and web applications.