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Builder mode · Tutorial

Connect OpenAlex

Sign in to OpenAlex from Settings, then ask Hermes to find research papers for you.

Builder mode

This tutorial connects OpenAlex to your agent, so Hermes can search research papers, authors, citations and journals, then asks it to find papers for you. It's a good first connector: you sign in once, and there's no key to copy.

What you'll need

  • A paid plan, Mini or Pro, with your agent set up.
  • An OpenAlex account. You sign in on OpenAlex's own site during the steps.
  • A moment for your agent to restart once OpenAlex is connected.

Steps

  1. Open Settings, Connectors

    Open SettingsConnectors (open it). In builder mode you can also choose "Settings" in the account menu, then "Connectors" under "Customize".

    You see the apps you can connect, as cards grouped under headings.

  2. Find the OpenAlex card

    Scroll down to the "Research" group, the last one.

    The "OpenAlex" card is tagged "OAuth" and reads "Search research papers, authors, citations, and journals." Its button says "Connect".

  3. Press Connect

    Press "Connect" on the OpenAlex card.

    The button reads "Redirecting…", and your browser goes to OpenAlex's site.

  4. Sign in and approve

    Sign in to your OpenAlex account there, and approve access.

    You land back on SettingsConnectors. A notice says "MCP server updated. Restart Hermes to load the change.", and the OpenAlex card now shows "● connected".

  5. Restart Hermes

    Press "Restart Hermes" in the notice.

    The button reads "Restarting…", then the notice closes. Your agent is now restarting so it loads OpenAlex.

  6. Close Settings

    Close Settings.

    The banner at the top of the dashboard says your agent is restarting and messaging is paused. Wait until it reads "Your agent is back and ready." Until then, the chat box asks you to wait a moment.

  7. Start a new chat

    Start a new chat. Chat shows where the button is on each screen size.

    An empty chat opens, ready for your message.

  8. Ask for papers

    Send this message (change the topic to one you care about, if you like):

    Find three recent research papers on sleep and memory. For each one, give me the title, the authors, the year and a link.

    Hermes searches OpenAlex and replies with a list of papers. Above its reply, a row with a 🔧 shows how many tool calls it made.

  9. Look at the tool calls

    Click the 🔧 row above the reply.

    It opens to show each call your agent made while answering, including its OpenAlex searches. That's how you can tell the papers came from OpenAlex rather than from the model's own memory.

If something goes wrong

  • You came back to Connectors with a message that the connection failed. The sign-in was cancelled or didn't complete. Press "Connect" on the OpenAlex card and try again.
  • The card shows "● awaiting auth". The sign-in was started but not finished. Press "Retry connect".
  • The card shows "● error". MyHermes couldn't finish the sign-in, or couldn't renew access later. Press "Reconnect" and sign in again.
  • There's no 🔧 row, or Hermes answers without searching. Check the OpenAlex card still shows "● connected". Then restart your agent (press "restart" on SettingsStatus, or send /restart in the chat) and ask again, mentioning OpenAlex in your message.
  • It shows "● connected", but the searches fail. Press "Disconnect", press "Connect" and sign in again, then press "Restart Hermes". Connectors explains why this happens.

Disconnecting OpenAlex

Press "Disconnect" on the OpenAlex card. It reads "Disconnecting…", with no confirmation, and then a notice says "openalex updated. Restart Hermes to load the change." Press "Restart Hermes" so your agent stops loading it.

What's next

  • Connectors: every app you can connect, and what a connection lets your agent do.
  • Chat: the web chat, including the 🔧 tool-call row.
  • Skills: other ways to give your agent new abilities.