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This guide attaches a tool to a sub-agent, so the model can call it during a run. It covers choosing which inputs the model supplies, testing the tool from the editor, and adding a guard that decides when the tool may run. Use it when an agent has to look something up or act on something, and its prompt alone is not enough. The example is a tool named github_repo that looks a repository up on the GitHub API. The model supplies the repository name and nothing else.

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Before you begin

  • An agent that answers a webhook and has a provider. See Create an agent. The screenshots show an agent named Repo lookup that answers on /repo.
  • For the example, an instance that can reach api.github.com. The request needs no credentials.

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Attach an action tool

1

Open the sub-agent's Tools section

Open the agent in the editor and click the sub-agent that needs the tool. In its panel, scroll to the Tools section. With nothing attached, it reads “No tools — it answers from the prompt alone.”
A sub-agent panel with an empty Tools section and the Add a tool select
2

Choose Run action and pick the action

Under Add a tool…, choose Run action…. The Choose action dialog opens. It lists the built-in actions and the actions of every app ServFlow connects to, grouped by app, so search for what the tool should do. Type http request and click HTTP Request.
The Choose action dialog with a search box, an app filter, and a grid of action cards
A row appears in the Tools section, and the Configure Run action dialog opens. The dialog has three sections, listed on its left edge: Tool, Action, and Guards.
3

Name the tool and say when to use it

In the Tool section, enter a Display name, for example github_repo. The model calls the tool by this name, so use letters, digits, and underscores.Under When to use, describe the situation the tool is for. The model reads this to decide whether to call it:
The Configure Run action dialog with the Display name and When to use fields filled in, and HTTP Request shown under Action
4

Open the action's fields

In the Action section, the action you picked is shown under Action, with a Change link to pick another. Its fields are listed below it. Each field holds a value you set, and most have a Let the model set this link under them.
5

Set the fields and the model's input

Leave HTTP Method at GET. Under URL, enter the address with the model’s input in the place it belongs:
The tool_param function reads an input the model sends when it calls the tool. With the rest of the URL fixed, the model chooses a repository and cannot point the request at another host. If you open the field with Open editor, the tool’s inputs are offered under Tags, and clicking one writes the call for you.
The Action section with HTTP Request chosen and a URL that contains a tool_param call
Every tool_param call in a field becomes an input the model is asked for, so repo is now everything the model sends when it calls this tool.To hand a whole field to the model instead, click Let the model set this under it. The field then holds the name of the input, and Set a fixed value instead switches it back.
6

Save the tool

Click Save tool. The row in the Tools section reads github_repo, and the tool appears on the canvas beside the sub-agent, marked Action. The gear on the row opens the dialog again, and the trash icon removes the tool.
The Tools section listing github_repo, and the tool shown on the canvas next to the sub-agent
7

Tell the model about the tool

In the same panel, set the sub-agent’s System prompt so the model knows to use the tool:
Click Save in the top bar. The button reads Saved.

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Verify

1

Run the agent from the editor

Click Run in the top bar. Enter a Request body that needs the tool, and click Run:
The Run dialog with a question about a GitHub repository as the request body
2

Read the log

The Run panel shows Completed. Its Log lists “attempting to execute tool”, then “finished request” from the HTTP action, then “successfully executed tool”. The Final response answers from what GitHub returned.
The Run panel with log lines for the tool call and a final response describing the repository
If the log has no tool lines, the model answered without the tool. See If the tool is not called.
3

Call the agent from outside

Send the same question to the agent’s path:
The response body is the agent’s reply.

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Add a guard

A guard is a condition on the request that started the run. When it does not pass, the tool call is refused, whatever the model sent. This example allows the lookup only for requests that carry "plan": "pro".
1

Open the Guards section

In the Tools section, click the gear on the github_repo row. In the dialog, click Guards on the left edge, then click Add guard.
2

Name the guard and write its condition

Enter a Guard name, for example pro_plan_only. The name appears in traces, and in what the model is told when a call is refused.Under Allow the call when, enter a template that renders true when the call is allowed:
The section’s summary reads “1 condition must pass”, and Guards on the left edge shows a count of 1.
The Guards section with a guard named pro_plan_only and its condition
3

Save and test the refusal

Click Save tool, then Save. Click Run and send the earlier request body, which has no plan field. The log reads “condition evaluated to false”, then “tool call denied by guard”, and the model answers without the repository data.
The Run panel with log lines showing the tool call denied by the guard
Click New payload and add "plan": "pro" to the body. The tool runs as before.

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Attach another type of tool

Add a tool… lists three more types. Each opens the same dialog with a different middle section. For every field, see the Tools reference.

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MCP server

To offer the tools of a Model Context Protocol server, choose MCP server…. In the Server section, enter the Server endpoint. If the server needs a token, choose where it comes from under Access token: an Integration connected through OAuth, a Secret, or a pasted Token. Click Load tools and select the Allowed tools. Save tool stays disabled until at least one tool is selected.
The Configure MCP server dialog with the Server endpoint, Access token, and Allowed tools fields

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Call sub-agent

To let one sub-agent call another in the same agent, choose Call sub-agent…. Under Sub-agent, choose the sub-agent to call. The Display name takes that sub-agent’s name. The called sub-agent’s reply is what comes back. For the full steps, including what the called sub-agent’s prompt has to say, see Call other agents.
The Configure Call sub-agent dialog with a sub-agent chosen

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Agent Task Tool

To hand a task to another stored agent, choose Agent Task Tool…. Under Agent, choose an enabled agent that is entered by a trigger. When the model calls the tool it writes one instruction, which the other agent reads as {{ input "instruction" }}. The tool returns as soon as the task has started, and nothing the other agent says comes back. See Call other agents.
The Configure Agent Task Tool dialog with an agent chosen

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Built-in file tools

Every sub-agent already has read_memory, write_memory, and list_memory, with nothing to attach. They work in the folder chosen under Workspace in the panel’s Memory section. See Built-in tools. To set a workspace up, see Set up memory and file access.

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If the tool is not called

  • The model did not choose it. Make When to use specific, and name the tool in the sub-agent’s System prompt.
  • A guard refused it. The log reads “tool call denied by guard”. Check the request against the guard’s condition.
  • The model sent a value the field does not accept. A select field that the model fills must receive one of its listed values.
  • An MCP server lists no tools. The server is asked with the access token you entered, so it lists nothing until the token is right. Correct the token and click Refresh.

Tools

The four kinds of tool, and what the agent fills in.

Dynamic content

Template functions such as tool_param, body, and header.

Available actions

Every action a tool can run.

Create an agent

Build the agent this guide adds a tool to.