Step 4: Connect Your Tools

Each tool you connect unlocks new capabilities. Start with the essentials and add more over time.

What you’ll need: Your profile set up (Step 3 complete), and login credentials for the services you want to connect.

Time: About 30 minutes (depends on how many tools you connect).

How Connections Work

Analogy: Think of each connection like giving your assistant a key to a different room. The calendar key lets them manage your schedule. The email key lets them triage your inbox. Each key unlocks new capabilities.

                 ┌────────────────────┐
                 │ Your Agent System  │
                 └────────────────────┘
                            │
     ┌──────────┬───────────┴───────────┬──────────┐
     │          │           │           │          │
     ▼          ▼           ▼           ▼          ▼
 ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐
 │Calendar│ │ Email  │ │ Tasks  │ │ Vault  │ │More... │
 │  mgmt  │ │ triage │ │  mgmt  │ │  sync  │ │add any │
 └────────┘ └────────┘ └────────┘ └────────┘ └────────┘

The Essentials (Start Here)

1Password (For All Credentials)

Your first step is setting up 1Password to securely store API keys, passwords, and tokens. Never store credentials in plain text files.

Why 1Password first? Every connection below requires credentials. Setting up 1Password now means every key you add is stored securely from the start.

1Password stores all your passwords and API keys securely:

brew install --cask 1password 1password-cli

After installation:

1. Open 1Password and create an account (or sign in)
2. Sign in to the CLI:

op signin

What you should see: A confirmation that you’re signed in.

Your Anthropic API Key

This is the key that powers the AI. Store it in 1Password, then add it to your shell:

claude

Then type:

Help me store my Anthropic API key securely using 1Password and load it in my shell profile (~/.zshrc). The key starts with sk-ant-...

Claude will walk you through it.

Optional Connections (Add What You Use)

Google Calendar

Lets the system read your schedule, detect conflicts, and prepare meeting briefs.

What you need:

• A Google account
• A Google Cloud project with Calendar API enabled

Setup:

claude

Then type:

Help me set up Google Calendar integration. Walk me through creating a Google Cloud project, enabling the Calendar API, and running the OAuth flow.

Claude will guide you through each step interactively.

What you’ll be able to do: Automated conflict detection, meeting prep notes, schedule summaries.

Gmail

Lets the system read and draft emails.

What you need:

• The same Google Cloud project (if you set up Calendar)
• Gmail API enabled

Setup: Ask Claude to help:

Help me add Gmail API to my existing Google Cloud project and run the OAuth flow for email access.

What you’ll be able to do: Inbox triage, draft replies, track follow-ups.

Task Manager (Asana, Linear, or GitHub Projects)

Lets the system track tasks and follow-ups.

Setup varies by tool. Ask Claude:

Help me connect [Asana/Linear/GitHub Projects] to my agent system.

Communication Tools (Slack, Telegram)

Lets the system send you notifications and summaries.

Setup varies by tool. Ask Claude:

Help me set up [Slack/Telegram] notifications for my agent system.

Keeping Track of Your Connections

Use this checklist to track what you’ve connected:

You don’t need everything at once. Start with the Anthropic API and GitHub (the essentials), then add Calendar and Email when you’re ready. Each new connection makes the system more capable.

Checkpoint

claude --version && gh auth status

What you should see: Claude Code version and GitHub authentication confirmed.

Test a connection (if you set up Calendar):

claude

Then type: “Can you check my calendar for tomorrow?”

What you should see: Claude reads your calendar and shows tomorrow’s events.

All good? Move on to Step 5: Your First Workflow.