Connect an external tool to Hermes

Add one MCP connection and verify a narrowly scoped read before expanding access.

Before you start

• A working Hermes setup and access to the service you want to connect.
• The service’s official MCP configuration instructions and a non-sensitive test record.

Want to do it yourself?

Difficulty

6 out of 10

Estimated completion time

30–60 minutes

Skills you’ll need: Follow a service’s setup instructions, review tool permissions, and verify a connection.

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How this helps your brand

Bring a useful work source into Hermes while keeping the first integration easy to inspect. Validate the result against your original records.

1. 1

   Step 1: Pick one useful read

   Choose a small task such as reading one practice issue. Identify the service, account, and exact record Hermes should retrieve. Begin with a connection that offers read-only access where possible.

2. 2

   Step 2: Configure the connection

   Use Hermes’s approved MCP catalog when your service is available, or follow the official instructions to add it under mcp_servers in the active config.yaml. Hermes supports local stdio and remote HTTP servers.

   Review the requested permissions and authenticate through the service’s setup flow. Keep tokens out of conversation text.

3. 3

   Step 3: Expose only the tools you need

   Use the documented per-server tool filtering to limit the available tools. Start or restart Hermes as directed so it discovers the server’s tools. Check that the expected tool appears before asking for work.

4. 4

   Step 4: Verify the actual record

   Ask Hermes to retrieve the test record and compare it with the original service. Disable the test connection when finished if you do not need continuing access. Expand scope only after the first read is reliable.

Use the connected [service] tool to read [practice record]. Return its title, status, and source link. Do not change the record or retrieve unrelated records. If the connection or permissions are missing, explain what is missing.