# How to connect Grist to Hermes Agent (paste one key, 30 tools) > Connect Grist to Hermes with ClawLink: paste your Grist key once and 30 tools work from chat. No MCP server to run, nothing stored on your machine. Web version: https://claw-link.dev/hermes/grist Most guides for giving Hermes Agent Grist 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 Grist setup: pair once in the browser and your always-on Hermes agent can act on Grist 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 Grist. 1. **Install ClawLink** — add the plugin to Hermes Agent once. 2. **Connect Grist** — 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 grist # connect Grist (browser OAuth) npx -y @useclawlink/cli actions grist # list available actions npx -y @useclawlink/cli run grist --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 Grist in the [ClawLink dashboard](https://claw-link.dev/dashboard) — paste your Grist API key once. Verify the connection by asking Hermes: > Use Grist to download all attachments archive 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 Grist is connected in the dashboard, that agent calls the same 30 Grist 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). ## Grist MCP for Hermes Looking for a Grist MCP server for Hermes Agent? ClawLink connects Grist to Hermes Agent and exposes 30 Grist 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 Grist integration](https://claw-link.dev/openclaw/grist) works the same way. ## What the Hermes Agent Grist integration can do 30 Grist tools are ready for Hermes Agent once the account is connected. The 25 below are the ones people reach for most; your agent can call all 30. ### 25 of 30 Grist tools for Hermes | Tool | What it does | |---|---| | **Download all attachments archive** `grist_download_all_attachments_archive` | Download all attachments from a Grist document as a single archive file (.zip or .tar) | | **Download attachment** `grist_download_attachment` | Download a file attachment from a Grist document | | **Fetch document metadata** `grist_fetch_document_metadata` | Fetch metadata for a specified Grist document | | **Fetch table metadata** `grist_fetch_table_metadata` | Retrieve metadata for a specified table in a Grist document | | **Get org access** `grist_get_org_access` | Retrieves the list of users who have access to a Grist organization along with their access | | **Get users** `grist_get_users` | Retrieve a list of users via SCIM v2 | | **List attachments** `grist_list_attachments` | List all attachments in a Grist document | | **List columns** `grist_list_columns` | List all columns in a specified Grist table | | **List organizations** `grist_list_organizations` | List all organizations accessible to the authenticated user | | **List records** `grist_list_records` | Retrieve records from a specified table within a Grist document | | **List tables** `grist_list_tables` | List all tables within a specified document | | **List webhooks** `grist_list_webhooks` | List all webhooks configured for a Grist document | | **List workspaces** `grist_list_workspaces` | List all workspaces and documents accessible to the authenticated user on the current site | | **Run SQL query** `grist_run_sql_query` | Execute a read-only SQL SELECT query on a Grist document | | **Add records** `grist_add_records` | Add one or more records to a Grist table | | **Create document** `grist_create_document` | Creates a new Grist document in a specified workspace | | **Create scim user** `grist_create_scim_user` | Create a new SCIM user | | **Create table** `grist_create_table` | Create tables in a document | | **Create webhook** `grist_create_webhook` | Create a new webhook for a specified document | | **Update column metadata** `grist_update_column_metadata` | Updates metadata (label, type, description, formula, etc.) for one or more columns in a Grist | | **Update document metadata** `grist_update_document_metadata` | Update metadata for a specified Grist document | | **Update records** `grist_update_records` | Update existing records in a Grist table by their row IDs | | **Update table metadata** `grist_update_table_metadata` | Update metadata properties for a table in a Grist document | | **Update webhook** `grist_update_webhook` | Update an existing webhook configuration for a Grist document | | **Upload attachment** `grist_upload_attachment` | Upload one or more file attachments to a Grist document | ## Example prompts **Download All Attachments Archive** > Use Grist to download all attachments archive and walk me through the result in plain English. **Download Attachment** > Use Grist to download attachment and walk me through the result in plain English. **Fetch Document Metadata** > Pull the relevant data from Grist, summarize it in plain English, and point out anything that needs attention. **Fetch Table Metadata** > Pull the relevant data from Grist, 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 Grist working from chat. | | Manual | ClawLink | |---|---|---| | **Credential handling** | Collect, validate, store, and rotate the Grist API key yourself, then make sure every tool call uses the right account. | Users complete the hosted ClawLink setup once and the connected Grist 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 Grist. | 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 Grist actions to the runtime in a format your agent can reliably use. | 30 tools for Grist are already exposed through ClawLink, so the agent can read and act from chat immediately. | ## ClawLink vs. Composio Composio also exposes Grist 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 Grist in the browser, and the 30 tools above work from chat. There is no SDK and no config file, and the Grist key you paste at setup is stored server-side rather than kept in your environment. Choosing between them? Read the full [Composio alternatives](https://claw-link.dev/hub/composio-alternatives) comparison. ### Hermes paired but still can't use Grist 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 Grist 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 Grist tools Grist 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 Grist 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. ### Grist 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 Grist has the right scopes or account access. A valid key can still be too limited for some reads or writes. ### Is there a Hermes Agent Grist integration? Yes. ClawLink is the fastest way to connect Hermes to Grist: link your Grist account once in the browser and Hermes Agent can call the Grist API through 30 ready-made tools — no custom code or token handling. ### How do I connect Grist 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 Grist in the dashboard and Hermes can use it from the next message — no config files, and the Grist key you paste is stored server-side instead of in your environment. ### How long does it take to connect Grist to Hermes Agent? About two minutes. Sign in, click Connect next to Grist in the dashboard, authenticate, and Hermes Agent can use it from the next chat message. ### Why use ClawLink instead of wiring Grist 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 Grist working from chat. ### Hermes paired but still can't use Grist 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 PostHog integration](https://claw-link.dev/hermes/posthog) — Track user behavior and feature flags - [Connect DataforSEO](https://claw-link.dev/hermes/dataforseo) — SEO data APIs for keywords, SERP, and site audits - [Metabase](https://claw-link.dev/hermes/metabase) — Metabase is an open-source business intelligence tool that lets you ask questions about your data and visualize answers as charts, graphs, and dashboards.