How to connect Exa to Hermes Agent (paste one key, 17 tools)

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

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

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 Exa in the ClawLink dashboard — paste your Exa API key once.

Verify the connection by asking Hermes:

Use Exa to answer 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 Exa is connected in the dashboard, that agent calls the same 17 Exa tools over MCP. Full setup for MCP clients and shell agents: connect apps to any AI agent.

Exa MCP for Hermes

Looking for a Exa MCP server for Hermes Agent? ClawLink connects Exa to Hermes Agent and exposes 17 Exa tools your agent can call over MCP, with hosted auth and nothing to run or maintain yourself. Using OpenClaw instead? The OpenClaw Exa integration works the same way.

What the Hermes Agent Exa integration can do

17 Exa tools are ready for Hermes Agent once the account is connected. The 15 below are the ones people reach for most; your agent can call all 17.

15 of 17 Exa tools for Hermes

Tool	What it does
Answer `exa_answer`	Generates a direct, citation-backed answer to a clear natural language question or topic using
Get API key `exa_get_api_key`	Retrieve details of a specific API key by its ID
Get contents action `exa_get_contents_action`	Retrieve text / highlights / summary / subpages from URLs
Get event `exa_get_event`	Get details of a specific event by its ID
Get research `exa_get_research`	Retrieve the status and results of a previously created research task
List events `exa_list_events`	List all events that have occurred in the system
List imports `exa_list_imports`	List all imports for the Webset
List research `exa_list_research`	Retrieve a paginated list of your research tasks
List webhooks `exa_list_webhooks`	List all webhooks for Websets
Search `exa_search`	Web search via the Exa engine
Create import `exa_create_import`	Create a new import to upload data into a Webset
Create monitor `exa_create_monitor`	Create a new Monitor
Create research `exa_create_research`	Creates an asynchronous research task that explores the web, gathers sources, synthesizes
Create webset `exa_create_webset`	Create a new Webset with search, import, and enrichment setup
Update import `exa_update_import`	Update an import configuration by ID

Try it: find the Exa tool you need

Browse the 15 Exa tools

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

Example prompts

Use Exa to answer and walk me through the result in plain English.

Pull the relevant data from Exa, 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 Exa working from chat.

	Manual	ClawLink
Credential handling	Collect, validate, store, and rotate the Exa API key yourself, then make sure every tool call uses the right account.	Users complete the hosted ClawLink setup once and the connected Exa 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 Exa.	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 Exa actions to the runtime in a format your agent can reliably use.	17 tools for Exa are already exposed through ClawLink, so the agent can read and act from chat immediately.

ClawLink vs. Composio

Composio also exposes Exa 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 Exa in the browser, and the 17 tools above work from chat. There is no SDK and no config file, and the Exa 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 Exa

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 Exa 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 Exa tools

Exa 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 Exa 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.

Exa 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 Exa 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 Exa integration?

Yes. ClawLink is the fastest way to connect Hermes to Exa: link your Exa account once in the browser and Hermes Agent can call the Exa API through 17 ready-made tools — no custom code or token handling.

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

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

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

Why use ClawLink instead of wiring Exa up myself?

Hermes paired but still can't use Exa

How to connect Exa to Hermes Agent

Setup

Install and pair

Connect Exa

Use it from chat