How to connect Dovetail to OpenClaw
Connect Dovetail to OpenClaw with ClawLink: paste your Dovetail key once and 51 tools work from chat. No MCP server to run, nothing stored on your machine.
DovetailAPI KEYMCPDovetail is an Australian software company that provides tools for transcription analysis, coding interpretation of interviews, survey responses, and feedback, enabling users to create summarized insights from their research analysis.. Once connected, OpenClaw can read and act on Dovetail from chat — pairing, token refresh, and tool wiring handled for you.
The usual route to Dovetail 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 Dovetail setup: install one ClawHub skill, connect Dovetail in the browser, and OpenClaw can call real Dovetail 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 Dovetail.
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 Dovetail
Paste your API key in the dashboard.
- 3
Use it from chat
Ask OpenClaw: "What can you do with Dovetail?"
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 Dovetail in the ClawLink dashboard — paste your Dovetail API key once.
Verify the connection by asking OpenClaw:
Use Dovetail to export data and walk me through the result in plain English.
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 Dovetail is connected in the dashboard, that agent calls the same 51 Dovetail tools over MCP. Full setup for MCP clients and shell agents: connect apps to any AI agent.
Dovetail MCP for OpenClaw
Looking for a Dovetail MCP server for OpenClaw? ClawLink connects Dovetail to OpenClaw and exposes 51 Dovetail tools your agent can call over MCP, with hosted auth and nothing to run or maintain yourself. Using Hermes instead? The Hermes Dovetail integration works the same way.
What the OpenClaw Dovetail integration can do
51 Dovetail tools are ready for OpenClaw once the account is connected. The 30 below are the ones people reach for most; your agent can call all 51.
30 of 51 Dovetail tools for OpenClaw
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
Export data dovetail_export_data | Export data in HTML or Markdown format |
Export doc dovetail_export_doc | Export a doc in HTML or Markdown format |
Export insight dovetail_export_insight | Export an insight in HTML or Markdown format |
Export note dovetail_export_note | Export a note from Dovetail in HTML or Markdown format |
Get contact dovetail_get_contact | Retrieve details of a specific contact |
Get data dovetail_get_data | Retrieve details of a specific data item by ID |
Get doc dovetail_get_doc | Retrieve details of a specific doc by ID |
Get file dovetail_get_file | Retrieve details of a specific file by its ID |
Get folder dovetail_get_folder | Retrieve details of a specific folder |
Get insight dovetail_get_insight | Retrieve details of a specific insight by ID |
Get note dovetail_get_note | Retrieve details of a specific note |
Get project dovetail_get_project | Retrieve details of a specific project |
Get token info dovetail_get_token_info | Retrieves information about the current API token, including its unique identifier and the |
List contacts dovetail_list_contacts | Retrieves a paginated list of contacts from a Dovetail workspace |
List data dovetail_list_data | List data items in Dovetail |
List docs dovetail_list_docs | List docs in a Dovetail workspace with optional filtering, sorting, and pagination |
List folders dovetail_list_folders | Get a list of folders associated with a workspace |
List highlights dovetail_list_highlights | List highlights from your Dovetail workspace with optional filtering and pagination |
List insights dovetail_list_insights | Get a list of insights associated with a workspace |
List notes dovetail_list_notes | List notes in Dovetail workspace with optional pagination and sorting |
List projects dovetail_list_projects | List all projects in Dovetail |
List tags dovetail_list_tags | List all tags in the authenticated Dovetail workspace |
List user docs dovetail_list_user_docs | Get a list of docs associated with a user in Dovetail |
List user insights dovetail_list_user_insights | List personal insights for a user in Dovetail |
Magic search dovetail_magic_search | Perform a magic search across workspace data |
Create channel dovetail_create_channel | Creates a new channel in Dovetail to organize and collect feedback data |
Create contact dovetail_create_contact | Create a new contact in Dovetail |
Create data dovetail_create_data | Create a data item in a Dovetail project with text content, title, and/or structured fields |
Create data point dovetail_create_data_point | Create a data point within a channel |
Create doc dovetail_create_doc | Create a doc in a Dovetail project with text content, title and/or custom fields |
Try it: find the Dovetail tool you need
Browse the 30 Dovetail tools
Click any tool to see exactly what OpenClaw can do and copy a ready-to-use prompt.
Example prompts
Use Dovetail to export data and walk me through the result in plain English.
Use Dovetail to export doc and walk me through the result in plain English.
Use Dovetail to export insight and walk me through the result in plain English.
Use Dovetail to export note and walk me through the result in plain English.
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 Dovetail working from chat.
| Manual | ClawLink | |
|---|---|---|
| Credential handling | Collect, validate, store, and rotate the Dovetail API key yourself, then make sure every tool call uses the right account. | Users complete the hosted ClawLink setup once and the connected Dovetail 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 Dovetail. | 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 Dovetail actions to the runtime in a format your agent can reliably use. | 51 tools for Dovetail are already exposed through ClawLink, so the agent can read and act from chat immediately. |
ClawLink vs. Composio
Composio also exposes Dovetail 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 Dovetail in the browser, and the 51 tools above work from chat. There is no SDK and no config file, and the Dovetail 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 Dovetail skill but can't call the tools
The ClawHub skill teaches OpenClaw about Dovetail, but the calls run through the ClawLink plugin and your connected account. Make sure Dovetail 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 Dovetail 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 Dovetail tools
Dovetail 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 Dovetail 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.
Dovetail 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 Dovetail 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 Dovetail integration?
Yes. ClawLink is the fastest way to connect OpenClaw to Dovetail: link your Dovetail account once in the browser and OpenClaw can call the Dovetail API through 51 ready-made tools — no custom code or token handling.
How do I add Dovetail to OpenClaw with ClawLink?
Paste the setup prompt from this page into OpenClaw. It installs the ClawLink Dovetail skill from ClawHub, then you click Connect in the dashboard to authorize Dovetail. OpenClaw calls the tools from the next message — no config files, and the Dovetail key you paste is stored server-side instead of in your environment.
How long does it take to connect Dovetail to OpenClaw?
About two minutes. Sign in, click Connect next to Dovetail in the dashboard, authenticate, and OpenClaw can use it from the next chat message.
Why use ClawLink instead of wiring Dovetail 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 Dovetail working from chat.
OpenClaw installed the Dovetail skill but can't call the tools
The ClawHub skill teaches OpenClaw about Dovetail, but the calls run through the ClawLink plugin and your connected account. Make sure Dovetail 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.
