# How to connect Clay to Hermes Agent (no API keys) > Connect Clay to Hermes with ClawLink in one click — 17 tools your AI agent can call from chat via hosted OAuth. No API keys, no manual setup. Web version: https://claw-link.dev/hermes/clay Most guides for giving Hermes Agent Clay 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 Clay setup: pair once in the browser and your always-on Hermes agent can act on Clay 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 Clay. 1. **Install ClawLink** — add the plugin to Hermes Agent once. 2. **Connect Clay** — one-click OAuth in the ClawLink dashboard. 3. **Use it from chat** — ask Hermes Agent in plain English. **Paste this into Hermes to set up ClawLink:** > Set up ClawLink for Hermes and tell me when it's ready. > 1. Install the plugin: `hermes plugins install ClawLink-HQ/hermes-plugin --enable` > 2. Start pairing with `hermes clawlink begin`. It prints an approval link, so show me the link and stop, don't wait. > 3. I'll approve it in my browser, then reply "approved". > 4. When I say approved, finish setup: `hermes clawlink finish` > 5. Then run `hermes clawlink test` and tell me whether ClawLink is ready. **Alternative for any agent (no plugin needed):** if the Hermes Agent plugin route isn't available or doesn't work, any AI agent with shell access can use the ClawLink CLI instead: ```bash npx -y @useclawlink/cli login # sign in via browser — no API key to paste npx -y @useclawlink/cli connect clay # connect Clay (browser OAuth) npx -y @useclawlink/cli actions clay # list available actions npx -y @useclawlink/cli run clay --input '' # execute (add --confirm for writes) ``` ### Install by command The prompt above walks Hermes through this. By hand, it is four commands and a browser approval: ```bash 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 test ``` Then connect Clay in the [ClawLink dashboard](https://claw-link.dev/dashboard) — a one-click OAuth approval, no API keys. Verify the connection by asking Hermes: > Use Clay to mcp ask question about accounts 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: ```bash npx -y @useclawlink/cli login ``` `login` opens the same browser approval and stores a credential locally. Once Clay is connected in the dashboard, that agent calls the same 17 Clay tools over MCP. Full setup for MCP clients and shell agents: [connect apps to any AI agent](https://claw-link.dev/learn/connect-apps-to-any-ai-agent). ## Clay MCP for Hermes Looking for a Clay MCP server for Hermes Agent? ClawLink connects Clay to Hermes Agent and exposes 17 Clay tools your agent can call over [MCP](https://claw-link.dev/learn/what-is-an-mcp-server), with [hosted auth](https://claw-link.dev/learn/oauth-for-ai-agents) and nothing to run or maintain yourself. Using OpenClaw instead? The [OpenClaw Clay integration](https://claw-link.dev/openclaw/clay) works the same way. ## What the Hermes Agent Clay integration can do 17 Clay tools are ready for Hermes Agent once the account is connected. ### All 17 Clay tools for Hermes | Tool | What it does | |---|---| | **Mcp ask question about accounts** `clay_mcp_ask_question_about_accounts` | Ask a natural language question about one or more accounts available in Clay Audiences | | **Mcp find and enrich company** `clay_mcp_find_and_enrich_company` | Find and enrich a single company by domain or LinkedIn URL | | **Mcp find and enrich contacts at company** `clay_mcp_find_and_enrich_contacts_at_company` | Search for contacts at a company by role, title, name, or department | | **Mcp find and enrich list of contacts** `clay_mcp_find_and_enrich_list_of_contacts` | Find and enrich specific named contacts at their companies | | **Mcp get credits available** `clay_mcp_get_credits_available` | Check if credits are available for the workspace | | **Mcp get current workspace** `clay_mcp_get_current_workspace` | Report which Clay workspace this connection is pinned to | | **Mcp get subroutine input options** `clay_mcp_get_subroutine_input_options` | Fetch the available dropdown options for a subroutine input that has a configured options source | | **Mcp get task** `clay_mcp_get_task` | Get task status and results by task ID | | **Mcp get task context** `clay_mcp_get_task_context` | Retrieve the current state of a task — all entities, enrichment values, and statuses | | **Mcp list subroutines** `clay_mcp_list_subroutines` | List available functions | | **Mcp query objects** `clay_mcp_query_objects` | Query audience accounts, contacts, or deals using natural language | | **Mcp track event** `clay_mcp_track_event` | Track an analytics event with optional properties | | **Mcp add company data points** `clay_mcp_add_company_data_points` | Add data points to companies in an existing search | | **Mcp add contact data points** `clay_mcp_add_contact_data_points` | Add data points to contacts in an existing search | | **Mcp run subroutine** `clay_mcp_run_subroutine` | Execute a function on contacts/companies FROM AN EXISTING SEARCH (Company Address, Company | | **Mcp run subroutine direct** `clay_mcp_run_subroutine_direct` | Execute a custom function on one or more sets of provided inputs | | **Mcp run subroutine no mapping** `clay_mcp_run_subroutine_no_mapping` | Run a custom subroutine on search entities | ## Example prompts **Mcp Ask Question About Accounts** > Use Clay to mcp ask question about accounts and walk me through the result in plain English. **Mcp Find And Enrich Company** > Use Clay to mcp find and enrich company and walk me through the result in plain English. **Mcp Find And Enrich Contacts At Company** > Use Clay to mcp find and enrich contacts at company and walk me through the result in plain English. **Mcp Find And Enrich List Of Contacts** > Use Clay to mcp find and enrich list of contacts and walk me through the result in plain English. ## ClawLink vs. building it yourself The alternative to ClawLink is usually manual OAuth app 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 Clay working from chat. | | Manual | ClawLink | |---|---|---| | **Connection flow** | Register a Clay app, configure redirect URLs, manage consent details, and reconnect users when auth settings drift. | Users connect Clay through the hosted browser flow and ClawLink keeps the token lifecycle out of your app code. | | **Ongoing maintenance** | You own refresh logic, permission debugging, environment config, and every provider-specific edge case for Clay. | 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 Clay actions to the runtime in a format your agent can reliably use. | 17 tools for Clay are already exposed through ClawLink, so the agent can read and act from chat immediately. | ## ClawLink vs. Composio Composio also exposes Clay 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 Clay in the browser, and the 17 tools above work from chat. There is no SDK, no config file, and no API key handling. Choosing between them? Read the full [Composio alternatives](https://claw-link.dev/hub/composio-alternatives) comparison. ### Hermes paired but still can't use Clay 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 Clay 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 Clay tools Clay 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 Clay 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. ### Clay 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. ### OAuth finished in the browser but the account is still missing Try reconnecting Clay and complete the consent flow in the same browser session. Partial OAuth approvals or switching accounts mid-flow can leave the connection incomplete. ### Is there a Hermes Agent Clay integration? Yes. ClawLink is the fastest way to connect Hermes to Clay: link your Clay account once in the browser and Hermes Agent can call the Clay API through 17 ready-made tools — no custom code or token handling. ### How do I connect Clay 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 Clay in the dashboard and Hermes can use it from the next message — no config files or API keys to manage. ### How long does it take to connect Clay to Hermes Agent? About two minutes. Sign in, click Connect next to Clay in the dashboard, authenticate, and Hermes Agent can use it from the next chat message. ### Why use ClawLink instead of wiring Clay up myself? The alternative to ClawLink is usually manual OAuth app 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 Clay working from chat. ### Hermes paired but still can't use Clay 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 - [Hermes DataRobot integration](https://claw-link.dev/hermes/datarobot) — DataRobot is a machine learning platform that automates model building, deployment, and monitoring, enabling organizations to derive predictive insights from large datasets. - [Connect Chatbotkit](https://claw-link.dev/hermes/chatbotkit) — ChatBotKit is a platform that enables developers to build and manage AI-powered chatbots, offering comprehensive APIs and SDKs for seamless integration into applications. - [Connect Just One API](https://claw-link.dev/hermes/just-one-api) — Just One API provides unified access to public social media, creator, entertainment, and ecommerce data across hundreds of metered endpoints.