Guide

Use Your Claude Pro/Max Subscription with Hermes Agent

Already paying for Claude Pro ($20/mo) or Max? Connect it to your Hermes Agent instance and run Claude models on your subscription quota — no separate Anthropic API key, no per-token billing.

Running OpenClaw instead of Hermes? See the OpenClaw Claude subscription guide.

How It Works

Hermes Agent's Anthropic provider reads a Claude Code subscription token from the CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN environment variable. When that token is present, Hermes routes Claude turns through your subscription's included quota instead of the pay-per-token Anthropic API — no API key required.

Is this allowed? Anthropic walked back its earlier ban on programmatic use of Claude subscription quota. Because the policy is still settling, treat this as a power-user option and watch for usage limits.

What You Need

An active Claude Pro ($20/mo) or Claude Max subscription
A deployed Hermes Agent instance on OpenClaw Launch
Claude Code installed locally, to run claude setup-token

Step 1: Get a Subscription Token

On your own computer, with Claude Code installed and signed in to your Claude subscription, run:

claude setup-token

This prints a long-lived token that starts with sk-ant-oat01-. Copy it.

Step 2: Connect It on the API Keys Page

Open API Keys in your dashboard.
Find the Claude Subscription card, paste your sk-ant-oat01- token, and click Save.
Your token is encrypted at rest and injected into your Hermes instance as CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN. Hermes restarts briefly to pick it up.

Step 3: Use a Claude Model

Set your Hermes agent's model to a Claude model (e.g. anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6 or anthropic/claude-opus-4.8). Hermes detects the provider per call and uses your subscription token for Claude turns.

Step 4: Verify It Works

Send a message to your bot on whichever platform you connected. The reply should come from Claude, drawing on your subscription quota rather than API billing.

Available Models

Model ID	Model	Best For
`anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6`	Claude Sonnet 4.6	Fast, all-purpose
`anthropic/claude-opus-4.8`	Claude Opus 4.8	Most capable, complex reasoning

Important Notes

API key takes precedence: Hermes resolves Anthropic auth in the order ANTHROPIC_API_KEY → ANTHROPIC_TOKEN → CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN. If you also have an Anthropic API key saved, remove it so the subscription token is actually used.
Provisional policy: Anthropic only recently un-banned programmatic subscription use and may change the rules again. Don't rely on it for mission-critical uptime.
Usage limits: Claude subscriptions enforce a 5-hour rolling window plus a weekly cap. Heavy agent use can hit those limits before they reset.
Account risk: this uses your personal Claude account from a hosted server. For guaranteed, isolated billing, use an Anthropic API key instead.

Other Ways to Bring Your Own Key

Anthropic API key — Pay-per-token, no subscription limits
ChatGPT subscription — Use GPT-5.5 via your ChatGPT Plus/Pro plan

Or skip API keys entirely — OpenClaw Launch includes AI credits and free models out of the box.

Troubleshooting

Claude turns still bill my API account

Hermes prefers ANTHROPIC_API_KEY over the subscription token. Remove any saved Anthropic API key on the API Keys page so the subscription token is used.

Auth errors after a while

Subscription tokens are long-lived but not permanent. If Claude responses start failing, run claude setup-token again and paste the fresh token on the API Keys page.

Hitting quota limits

Claude subscriptions cap usage on a 5-hour window and a weekly total. If you hit the cap, switch temporarily to an API key or another model until it resets.