gc-provider-install - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: gc-provider-install description: Install, repair, or configure the GrowthCircle.id gc-provider for OpenClaw and Hermes Agent. Use this whenever a user asks to connect GrowthCircle AI Console keys, install gc-provider, install the Hermes GrowthCircle model-provider plugin, configure GrowthCircle as an OpenAI-compatible provider, migrate from Hermes to OpenClaw, verify GrowthCircle model discovery, or troubleshoot GrowthCircle free/paid/team model access. metadata: growthcircle: ai_console_docs: https://d.growc.id/llms/ai-console.md plugin_package: gc-provider provider_id: growthcircle endpoint: https://ai.growthcircle.id/v1 openclaw_min_version: "2026.5.4" hermes_plugin_path: hermes/plugins/model-providers/growthcircle

GC Provider Install

Use this skill to guide an operator through installing or repairing gc-provider and configuring GrowthCircle.id AI keys safely. Keep the instructions practical and key-aware: GrowthCircle model availability depends on the exact AI key used.

Source Of Truth

Use these public sources before inventing behavior:

GrowthCircle AI Console docs: https://d.growc.id/llms/ai-console.md
Plugin README/source: https://github.com/Growth-Circle/gc-provider
In this skill, read references/install-guide.md for the compact install and troubleshooting runbook.

Safety Rules

Never ask the user to paste a GrowthCircle AI key into public chat, a public repo, logs, screenshots, or frontend code.
Tell the user to create, rotate, label, and revoke keys from https://growthcircle.id/app/ai.
Always discover models with the same key that will make requests: GET https://ai.growthcircle.id/v1/models.
Do not guess Free, Paid, or Team model IDs. Team/Patungan keys must use only model IDs returned by that team key.
Do not map a Team/Patungan key to Free/Paid fallback IDs. If the team model is missing, fail closed and ask the operator to check the team package.
Prefer the native gc-provider artifact for each runtime: OpenClaw uses the OpenClaw code plugin, and Hermes uses the model-provider plugin under hermes/plugins/model-providers/growthcircle.
Use a manual OpenAI-compatible provider in Hermes only as a temporary fallback when the native Hermes plugin cannot be installed.

Workflow

Identify the target runtime.
- OpenClaw: install or update the native OpenClaw gc-provider plugin.
- Hermes: install the native Hermes Agent model-provider plugin.
- Hermes to OpenClaw migration: keep the skill under skills/gc-provider-install/SKILL.md, migrate skills, then install the native OpenClaw plugin after migration.
Confirm the key source.
- Ask the user to create the key in GrowthCircle AI Console.
- Keep secrets in environment variables or the runtime's credential store.
- Use GROWTHCIRCLE_API_KEY for OpenClaw native plugin installs.
Discover valid model IDs.
- Run /v1/models with the same key.
- Use returned IDs exactly.
- For OpenClaw text models, refs use growthcircle/<model-id>.
Install or configure.
- For OpenClaw, use the update-or-install command in references/install-guide.md.
- For Hermes, use the native Hermes plugin notes in references/install-guide.md.
Verify.
- OpenClaw: check plugin state, restart gateway, and list GrowthCircle models.
- Hermes: run hermes doctor, open hermes model, then send a small request with provider growthcircle and a model returned by /v1/models.

OpenClaw Quick Path

Use this idempotent path for a new install, tracked update, or repair of a stale copy:

(openclaw plugins update gc-provider || openclaw plugins install clawhub:gc-provider --force)
openclaw plugins enable gc-provider
openclaw gateway restart
openclaw configure --section=model
openclaw models list --provider growthcircle

If OpenClaw says plugins.allow is empty, add the provider to the allowlist without removing other plugins:

openclaw config set plugins.allow '["gc-provider"]' --strict-json
openclaw gateway restart

Hermes Quick Path

Install the native Hermes Agent model-provider plugin:

npx --yes gc-provider@latest gc-provider-install-hermes

This is the publish path for Hermes for now: the Hermes plugin is distributed inside the npm package and installed into $HERMES_HOME/plugins/model-providers/growthcircle.

Keep the API key in the environment or Hermes secret mechanism:

export GROWTHCIRCLE_API_KEY="<growthcircle-ai-key>"
curl https://ai.growthcircle.id/v1/models \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GROWTHCIRCLE_API_KEY"

Then verify Hermes sees the provider and can run a short request:

hermes doctor
hermes model
hermes -z "Reply with one short sentence." --provider growthcircle -m model-id-from-v1-models

Manual OpenAI-compatible provider configuration is only a fallback when the native Hermes plugin cannot be installed:

providers:
  growthcircle:
    base_url: https://ai.growthcircle.id/v1
    api_key_env: GROWTHCIRCLE_API_KEY
    models:
      - model-id-from-v1-models
provider: growthcircle
model: model-id-from-v1-models

If the user is migrating Hermes to OpenClaw, do not treat Hermes plugins as trusted executable code in OpenClaw. Import skills/config through the migration flow, then install gc-provider through OpenClaw:

openclaw migrate hermes --dry-run
openclaw migrate apply hermes --yes
openclaw plugins install clawhub:gc-provider --force
openclaw plugins enable gc-provider
openclaw gateway restart

Troubleshooting Priorities

401: missing, invalid, or revoked GrowthCircle key.
403: key scope, plan, policy, or model entitlement does not allow the request.
429: quota, rate limit, cooldown, or rolling free window.
503: model/path temporarily unavailable.
OpenClaw install looks updated but model list is stale: restart openclaw-gateway and re-run model discovery.
Team key does not show expected model: verify /v1/models with that exact team key before blaming the plugin.

Output Style

When helping a user:

Give commands in the order they should be run.
Redact secrets in examples.
State whether the path is OpenClaw-native, Hermes-native, or Hermes-manual fallback.
Include verification commands, not only install commands.
If the user asks for a one-shot fix, execute the install/update and verification when you have shell access.