Tools

Tools are services that agents invoke to interact with external systems. Configure once in 2LY, use across all agents.

Tool Types

1. MCP Servers

Pre-built tools following the Model Context Protocol standard. These are production-ready implementations maintained by the community, providing standardized interfaces for common integrations.

Examples: Filesystem, GitHub, PostgreSQL, Slack, Brave Search

2. API Integrations

Turn any REST API into a tool by wrapping HTTP endpoints. Configure authentication, request parameters, and response handling through the dashboard without writing code.

Use for: Internal APIs, third-party services, legacy systems, webhook consumers

3. Coded Functions

Deploy custom JavaScript or Python code directly as tools. Write proprietary business logic, data transformations, or specialized operations that don't fit standard APIs.

Use for: Business rules, data validation, custom calculations, workflow orchestration

How Tools Work

When an agent invokes a tool:

1. Agent calls tool via MCP
2. Request routed through NATS
3. Runtime executes tool
4. Result returns to agent

Tools run anywhere: local, cloud, or edge.

Benefits

• Reusable: Configure once, use across all agents
• Consistent: Same behavior for all agents
• Centralized: Manage in dashboard, not in code
• Secure: Centralized auth, no credential distribution

Next Steps

• Connect Tool - Add your first tool
• Agents - How agents use tools
• Runtime - Tool execution environments