> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.agentvault.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Connect Hermes

> Add Agent Vault to Hermes with one command and sign in, in about 2 minutes.

Connect Hermes, Nous Research's self-hosted agent, to Agent Vault so it can
check out and sign in for you, using only mock tokens. It takes about 2 minutes:
one command adds the server, and you sign in once in your browser.

<Frame caption="Copy the line for Hermes from your dashboard, or open the steps to set it up by hand.">
  <video controls muted playsInline preload="metadata" className="w-full" poster="/images/agents/hermes-poster.webp" src="https://mintcdn.com/self-labs/VeDWRFlNWGO5jQN6/videos/agents/hermes.mp4?fit=max&auto=format&n=VeDWRFlNWGO5jQN6&q=85&s=e71f0030b90e219b4f351bfc16713581" aria-label="The dashboard's Connect another agent panel with Hermes picked, its line copied and its by-hand steps opened." data-path="videos/agents/hermes.mp4" />
</Frame>

## Before you start

* An Agent Vault account, with a card if your agent will check out. New here?
  The [Quickstart](/get-started/quickstart) sets one up in about 5 minutes.
* Hermes, installed where it runs.

## Connect Hermes

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Paste one line">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Paste this into Hermes">
        ```text theme={null}
        Read https://mcp.agentvault.io/skill.md and follow it to connect Agent Vault.
        ```

        Hermes reads the connect skill and adds the server with OAuth turned on.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Sign in">
        Hermes starts the sign-in and sends you a link. Open it and sign in on the
        Agent Vault sign-in page, with your Agent Vault account.

        If Hermes runs on a server, your browser then fails to load an address starting
        with `http://127.0.0.1`. That is expected: copy the whole address and send it
        back to Hermes within a few minutes, before the code in it expires.
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Set it up by hand">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Add the server">
        ```bash theme={null}
        hermes mcp add agent-vault --url https://mcp.agentvault.io/mcp --auth oauth
        ```

        If it asks whether to continue without signing in, answer yes: sign-in is the
        next step. Keep `--auth oauth` in the command. Without it, Hermes can save the
        server without sign-in, and disabled.

        Then check that the entry under `mcp_servers` in `~/.hermes/config.yaml` reads
        exactly this, and is not disabled:

        ```yaml ~/.hermes/config.yaml theme={null}
        agent-vault:
          url: "https://mcp.agentvault.io/mcp"
          auth: oauth
        ```

        You can also add that entry to the file yourself, keeping everything already in
        it, instead of running the command.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Sign in">
        ```bash theme={null}
        hermes mcp login agent-vault
        ```

        Open the link it prints and sign in on the Agent Vault sign-in page.

        If Hermes runs on a server, your browser then fails to load an address starting
        with `http://127.0.0.1`. Copy the whole address and paste it into the waiting
        `hermes mcp login` within a few minutes.
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Choose what it may use

A new connection starts with nothing granted, so your agent can't use a card or
a login yet. Until you choose, its first tool call answers:

```text theme={null}
Choose what this app may use in Agent Vault before it can act: open the connection's page in the dashboard.
```

The connection itself appears in the dashboard only once your agent makes its
first tool call, so make that call first.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Make a first call">
    Ask your agent to call `get_token_catalog`. It answers with the message above,
    and the call creates the connection.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open Connected apps">
    In the dashboard sidebar, under **Vault**, click **Connected apps**. The new
    connection's row shows **Choose what it may use**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick its cards and logins">
    Click **Choose access**. Under **Cards** and **Logins**, pick **All**, or keep
    **Only selected** and tick the ones this agent may use.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check the choices, then click Save access">
    Your first connection's dialog opens with nothing ticked. After that, a new
    connection's dialog opens with the choices of the connection you used most
    recently, so saving it unchanged grants the same cards and logins, and the same
    three switches: **Let this app create and change its own logins**, **Ask me
    before every purchase from this app** and **Fill a test card instead of my
    card**. Check all of them for this agent before you click **Save access**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

You can change or revoke the connection on the same page at any time. See
[Connected apps](/dashboard/api-keys#connected-apps).

## Check it works

Ask Hermes to call the Agent Vault tool `get_token_catalog`. If the tools don't
appear, run `/reload-mcp` in Hermes and ask again. It answers with the mock
tokens for the cards and logins you allowed, such as `av_card_1_number_u7x2k`.

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="The server is saved but disabled">
    It was added without `--auth oauth`. Correct the entry in `~/.hermes/config.yaml`
    to match the one above, then run `hermes mcp login agent-vault`.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The Agent Vault tools don't appear">
    Run `/reload-mcp` in Hermes, then ask again.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The first tool call says to choose what this app may use">
    The connection has nothing granted yet. Follow
    [Choose what it may use](#choose-what-it-may-use), then ask again.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Tip>
  For Hermes, the dashboard recommends an API key over signing in: in testing,
  sign-in was slower or failed more often. Its Hermes setup leads with one
  command that runs the local server with your key. On **Overview**, open
  **Connect another agent** and pick **Hermes**.
</Tip>

## Next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Your first checkout" icon="cart-shopping" href="/guides/first-checkout">
    Have Hermes buy something, start to finish.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Tool reference" icon="wrench" href="/mcp/tool-reference">
    Every tool your agent now has.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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