How to connect Elai to Hermes Agent (paste one key, 8 tools)

Most guides for giving Hermes Agent Elai 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 Elai setup: pair once in the browser and your always-on Hermes agent can act on Elai 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 Elai.

1
Install 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 Elai
Paste your API key in the dashboard.
3
Use it from chat
Ask Hermes Agent: "What can you do with Elai?"

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 test

Then connect Elai in the ClawLink dashboard — paste your Elai API key once.

Verify the connection by asking Hermes:

Use Elai to estimate speech duration 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 login

login opens the same browser approval and stores a credential locally. Once Elai is connected in the dashboard, that agent calls the same 8 Elai tools over MCP. Full setup for MCP clients and shell agents: connect apps to any AI agent.

Elai MCP for Hermes

Looking for a Elai MCP server for Hermes Agent? ClawLink connects Elai to Hermes Agent and exposes 8 Elai tools your agent can call over MCP, with hosted auth and nothing to run or maintain yourself. Using OpenClaw instead? The OpenClaw Elai integration works the same way.

What the Hermes Agent Elai integration can do

8 Elai tools are ready for Hermes Agent once the account is connected. The 7 below are the ones people reach for most; your agent can call all 8.

7 of 8 Elai tools for Hermes

Tool	What it does
Estimate speech duration `elai_estimate_speech_duration`	Estimate how many seconds narration text will take with a selected Elai voice before modifying
Get video `elai_get_video`	Get a video's status, render URL, metadata, and optionally its full slide configuration
List avatars `elai_list_avatars`	Find available avatars and variants as compact records, optionally limited to
List videos `elai_list_videos`	List videos and templates as compact summaries, with filters and a continuation cursor for
Copy video `elai_copy_video`	Create a draft copy of an existing video or template; the new draft counts against Elai's
Create story video `elai_create_story_video`	Create a Story video from text, HTML, or a web-page URL and generate its visual slides so it is
Render video `elai_render_video`	Start asynchronous rendering of a prepared video, consuming paid rendering minutes

Try it: find the Elai tool you need

Browse the 7 Elai tools

Click any tool to see exactly what Hermes can do and copy a ready-to-use prompt.

Example prompts

Use Elai to estimate speech duration and walk me through the result in plain English.

Pull the relevant data from Elai, summarize it in plain English, and point out anything that needs attention.

List the relevant items in Elai, group them by priority, and recommend what Hermes should do next.

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 Elai working from chat.

	Manual	ClawLink
Credential handling	Collect, validate, store, and rotate the Elai API key yourself, then make sure every tool call uses the right account.	Users complete the hosted ClawLink setup once and the connected Elai 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 Elai.	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 Elai actions to the runtime in a format your agent can reliably use.	8 tools for Elai are already exposed through ClawLink, so the agent can read and act from chat immediately.

ClawLink vs. Composio

Composio also exposes Elai 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 Elai in the browser, and the 8 tools above work from chat. There is no SDK and no config file, and the Elai 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 Elai

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 Elai 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 Elai tools

Elai 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 Elai 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.

Elai 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 Elai 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 Elai integration?

Yes. ClawLink is the fastest way to connect Hermes to Elai: link your Elai account once in the browser and Hermes Agent can call the Elai API through 8 ready-made tools — no custom code or token handling.

How do I connect Elai 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 Elai in the dashboard and Hermes can use it from the next message — no config files, and the Elai key you paste is stored server-side instead of in your environment.

How long does it take to connect Elai to Hermes Agent?

About two minutes. Sign in, click Connect next to Elai in the dashboard, authenticate, and Hermes Agent can use it from the next chat message.

Why use ClawLink instead of wiring Elai up myself?

Hermes paired but still can't use Elai

How to connect Elai to Hermes Agent

Setup

Install and pair

Connect Elai

Use it from chat