How to connect Cats to OpenClaw
Connect Cats to OpenClaw with ClawLink: paste your Cats key once and 18 tools work from chat. No MCP server to run, nothing stored on your machine.
CatsAPI KEYMCPAn API providing access to a vast collection of cat images, breeds, and facts.. Once connected, OpenClaw can read and act on Cats from chat — pairing, token refresh, and tool wiring handled for you.
The usual route to Cats access for OpenClaw is an MCP server you configure and keep running, plus your own OAuth app or API keys. ClawLink gives OpenClaw a more practical Cats setup: install one ClawHub skill, connect Cats in the browser, and OpenClaw can call real Cats actions from any chat surface with no auth, token refresh, or tool wiring to build yourself.
Setup
It takes three steps to connect OpenClaw to Cats.
1Install the plugin
Paste the setup prompt into OpenClaw, or install from the terminal and ask OpenClaw to pair:
openclaw plugins install clawhub:clawlink-plugin- 2
Connect Cats
Paste your API key in the dashboard.
- 3
Use it from chat
Ask OpenClaw: "What can you do with Cats?"
Install by command
The setup prompt above does all of this in one paste. By hand, it is one install command plus a browser approval:
openclaw plugins install clawhub:clawlink-pluginThen ask OpenClaw to set up ClawLink. It starts browser pairing and prints an approval link — open it, approve the device, return to the chat, and say done. Finally, connect Cats in the ClawLink dashboard — paste your Cats API key once.
Verify the connection by asking OpenClaw:
Pull the relevant data from Cats, summarize it in plain English, and point out anything that needs attention.
Using a different agent?
The OpenClaw 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 Cats is connected in the dashboard, that agent calls the same 18 Cats tools over MCP. Full setup for MCP clients and shell agents: connect apps to any AI agent.
Cats MCP for OpenClaw
Looking for a Cats MCP server for OpenClaw? ClawLink connects Cats to OpenClaw and exposes 18 Cats tools your agent can call over MCP, with hosted auth and nothing to run or maintain yourself. Using Hermes instead? The Hermes Cats integration works the same way.
What the OpenClaw Cats integration can do
18 Cats tools are ready for OpenClaw once the account is connected. The 15 below are the ones people reach for most; your agent can call all 18.
15 of 18 Cats tools for OpenClaw
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
Get breed cats_get_breed | Get detailed information about a specific cat breed by its ID |
Get favourite cats_get_favourite | Retrieve a specific favourite by its unique ID |
Get image cats_get_image | Retrieve a specific cat image by its unique ID |
Get image analysis cats_get_image_analysis | Get machine learning analysis results for an uploaded image |
Get image breeds cats_get_image_breeds | Retrieve breed information associated with a specific cat image |
Get portals cats_get_portals | Retrieves a paginated list of cat breeds from The Cat API |
Get vote cats_get_vote | Retrieves a specific vote by its unique ID from The Cat API |
List categories cats_list_categories | Retrieves a list of all active image categories from The Cat API |
List favourites cats_list_favourites | Get all favourites belonging to your account |
List uploaded images cats_list_uploaded_images | Get all images uploaded to your account via /images/upload |
List votes cats_list_votes | Retrieve all votes you have created |
Search breeds cats_search_breeds | Search for cat breeds by name |
Search images cats_search_images | Search for random cat images with optional filters |
Create favourite cats_create_favourite | Save an image as a favourite to your account |
Create vote cats_create_vote | Vote on a cat image |
Try it: find the Cats tool you need
Browse the 15 Cats tools
Click any tool to see exactly what OpenClaw can do and copy a ready-to-use prompt.
Example prompts
Pull the relevant data from Cats, summarize it in plain English, and point out anything that needs attention.
Pull the relevant data from Cats, summarize it in plain English, and point out anything that needs attention.
Pull the relevant data from Cats, summarize it in plain English, and point out anything that needs attention.
Pull the relevant data from Cats, 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 OpenClaw. That is fine if you want to build and maintain the integration yourself. Most teams just want Cats working from chat.
| Manual | ClawLink | |
|---|---|---|
| Credential handling | Collect, validate, store, and rotate the Cats API key yourself, then make sure every tool call uses the right account. | Users complete the hosted ClawLink setup once and the connected Cats 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 Cats. | 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 Cats actions to the runtime in a format your agent can reliably use. | 18 tools for Cats are already exposed through ClawLink, so the agent can read and act from chat immediately. |
ClawLink vs. Composio
Composio also exposes Cats 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 OpenClaw users instead. You install the plugin once, connect Cats in the browser, and the 18 tools above work from chat. There is no SDK and no config file, and the Cats 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
OpenClaw installed the Cats skill but can't call the tools
The ClawHub skill teaches OpenClaw about Cats, but the calls run through the ClawLink plugin and your connected account. Make sure Cats is connected in the dashboard, then start a fresh chat so OpenClaw reloads the tool catalog. If OpenClaw runs as a persistent gateway, restart it so the new tools register.
Connection succeeds but no tools appear
Reconnect Cats 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 Cats tools
Cats 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 Cats 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.
Cats 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 Cats has the right scopes or account access. A valid key can still be too limited for some reads or writes.
FAQ
Is there a OpenClaw Cats integration?
Yes. ClawLink is the fastest way to connect OpenClaw to Cats: link your Cats account once in the browser and OpenClaw can call the Cats API through 18 ready-made tools — no custom code or token handling.
How do I add Cats to OpenClaw with ClawLink?
Paste the setup prompt from this page into OpenClaw. It installs the ClawLink Cats skill from ClawHub, then you click Connect in the dashboard to authorize Cats. OpenClaw calls the tools from the next message — no config files, and the Cats key you paste is stored server-side instead of in your environment.
How long does it take to connect Cats to OpenClaw?
About two minutes. Sign in, click Connect next to Cats in the dashboard, authenticate, and OpenClaw can use it from the next chat message.
Why use ClawLink instead of wiring Cats up myself?
The alternative to ClawLink is usually manual API key setup plus your own token handling, permission troubleshooting, and tool plumbing for OpenClaw. That is fine if you want to build and maintain the integration yourself. Most teams just want Cats working from chat.
OpenClaw installed the Cats skill but can't call the tools
The ClawHub skill teaches OpenClaw about Cats, but the calls run through the ClawLink plugin and your connected account. Make sure Cats is connected in the dashboard, then start a fresh chat so OpenClaw reloads the tool catalog. If OpenClaw runs as a persistent gateway, restart it so the new tools register.
Related
Connect Cloudinary
Cloudinary is a cloud-based media management platform for uploading, storing, transforming, and delivering images and videos via CDN.
Penpot tools
Open-source design and prototyping platform for collaborative design workflows.
Canva
Create designs, upload assets, export content, and manage brand templates