# LookerHost — One-click AI apps (n8n, Hermes Agent, OpenClaw, Steel Browser)

Canonical page: https://lookerhost.com/docs/ai-apps
MCP/API documentation: https://lookerhost.com/docs/mcp

## What the catalog includes

| App | What it is | Where it runs | Credentials |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **n8n** | Workflow automation (Zapier-style) with AI nodes, a visual editor and webhooks | Shares your account's Docker environment — ready in seconds | None required |
| **Hermes Agent** | Autonomous AI agent (Nous Research, MIT) with persistent memory and skills; connects to Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp and email | Dedicated, isolated VM (~3–5 min) | Dashboard password + API server key (generated), plus at least one AI provider key |
| **OpenClaw** | Self-hosted personal assistant that runs scheduled tasks and replies over WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord and more | Dedicated, isolated VM (~3–5 min) | Access token (generated), plus an AI provider key |
| **Steel Browser** | Headless browser for AI agents — sessions API + CDP for Playwright/Puppeteer. Apache 2.0 | Dedicated, isolated VM (~3–5 min) | None required |

Every app gets a public URL under `apps.lookerhost.com` with HTTPS included, visible on its project card.

## Create one from the console — step by step

1. Log in to the [console](/login) and click **＋ New → AI app**.
2. **Pick the app** from the catalog cards.
3. **Name it** (letters, numbers and dashes) and **fill in the credentials** the app asks for:
   - Fields marked `*` are required.
   - *Generated* fields (the OpenClaw access token, the Hermes dashboard password and API key) are created for you — **copy them now**: they are shown only once and the panel never stores them.
   - AI provider keys (`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`, `OPENAI_API_KEY`, `OPENROUTER_API_KEY`) are your own; get one from your provider. Agent apps require at least one.
4. **Review and create.** n8n deploys in seconds. Agent apps provision a dedicated VM: the card moves through *creating → installing → running* in ~3–5 minutes and you get an email when it is ready.
5. Click **Open app** on the card.

> Your credentials are encrypted into the deployment and are never stored by the panel, never shown again, and never written to logs.

## First steps in each app

**n8n** — the first visit asks you to create the owner account. Webhook URLs are already generated with your public HTTPS domain, so triggers from external services work out of the box.

**Hermes Agent** — sign in to the dashboard with user `admin` and the password you saved from the wizard. From there, connect messaging channels (Telegram, Discord, Slack…) and chat with your agent. It also exposes an OpenAI-compatible API protected by the API server key you saved.

**OpenClaw** — the Control UI opens from your app URL; paste the access token you saved in the wizard. Connect channels (e.g. a Telegram bot token) and define scheduled tasks from there.

**Steel Browser** — unlike the other apps, Steel **is not used by hand: it is driven by code**. It is an isolated Chrome that your program (or your AI agent, or an n8n flow) commands over an API, and `/ui` is the **live viewer** where you watch what the robot is doing. Three ways to use it, easiest first:

1. **Direct endpoints** — one call, one result:

```bash
# Extract a page's content (ideal to feed an AI)
curl -X POST https://YOUR-STEEL.apps.lookerhost.com/v1/scrape \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"url":"https://example.com"}'

# Screenshot of any page
curl -X POST https://YOUR-STEEL.apps.lookerhost.com/v1/screenshot \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"url":"https://example.com"}' -o shot.jpg

# Page → PDF
curl -X POST https://YOUR-STEEL.apps.lookerhost.com/v1/pdf \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"url":"https://example.com"}' -o page.pdf
```

2. **Full-control sessions** — your code creates a session (`POST /v1/sessions`) and connects Playwright/Puppeteer over CDP: clicks, forms, human-like navigation. While it runs, open `/ui` to watch the robot's screen live.

3. **From another agent** — an n8n or Hermes on the same account uses these endpoints as its "eyes on the web": e.g. an n8n flow that scrapes competitor prices with `/v1/scrape` every morning and posts them to Telegram.

## Paying with LookerHost AI credits instead of your own key

Agent apps normally need your own provider key (Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter).
If your account has [AI credits](/dashboard#ai-credits), some apps can use those
instead: pick **Use LookerHost credits** in the wizard and set a budget — the
platform issues a scoped key against its own LLM gateway and meters usage from
that budget, no key to manage.

**Steel Browser** works this way today. **Hermes Agent does not**: its own
startup process ignores the credits key for its main agent and always talks to
OpenRouter directly, so the option is not offered for it in the wizard —
bring your own Anthropic, OpenAI or OpenRouter key for Hermes. OpenClaw follows
its own SDK's standard handling of a custom endpoint, so credits are expected
to work there, though we have not run an end-to-end check of that specific path.

## Managing the service

- **Power**: stop/start/restart from the project card or its detail panel.
- **Delete**: removes the app *and* destroys its dedicated VM — nothing keeps billing.
- Agent apps run isolated on their own VM: they can never affect your other sites, apps or databases.

## Create one via API or MCP

The same operation is available to scripts and agents. REST:

```bash
curl -X POST https://lookerhost.com/api/services/aiapps \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <API_KEY_WITH_apps:write>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"label":"my-agent","app":"hermes","envs":{"HERMES_DASHBOARD_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD":"…","API_SERVER_KEY":"…","ANTHROPIC_API_KEY":"sk-ant-…"}}'
```

Via MCP, use the `lookerhost_create_aiapp` tool — the per-app credential spec comes back in `aiApps` from `lookerhost_list_plans`. See the [MCP server and API documentation](/docs/mcp) for keys, scopes and the full tool catalog. This means an agent you run on LookerHost can provision more LookerHost infrastructure for you.

Once a Hermes or Steel app is running, the same MCP server can talk to it
directly — no need to expose its API to the internet yourself:

- `lookerhost_agent_chat` — send a message to your Hermes Agent and get its reply.
- `lookerhost_browser_session` — create, list, get or release a Steel Browser session (returns a CDP endpoint for Playwright/Puppeteer).
- `lookerhost_browser_scrape` — render and extract a page with your Steel Browser in one call.
- `lookerhost_aiapp_api` — a lower-level call to any allow-listed route on either app's API.

These reach the app over LookerHost's internal network; the agent's own API is
never exposed publicly.

## Plans

See current AI app plans on the [pricing page](/pricing#aiapps). Each plan covers the app, its (dedicated) compute, the public HTTPS URL and platform monitoring; AI usage is billed by your own provider through your key.