> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://explore.airia.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Tools & MCP

> Connect tools and external MCP servers to extend what Airia Agent can do.

<Note>
  Not sure whether to use tools or sub-agents? Read [Extending Airia Agent](/admin-hub/airia-agent/extending-airia-agent) first to pick the right approach.
</Note>

## Add a tool

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Tools tab">
    Navigate to **Settings → Airia Agent → Tools**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Browse available tools">
    The tool picker shows all tool definitions available in your tenant. Use the search box to filter by name or category.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select tools">
    Click the tools you want to add. Selected tools appear in the **Configured Tools** list.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Bind credentials (if required)">
    Some tools require authentication credentials (for example, a CRM integration that needs an API key). If prompted, select an existing credential from the dropdown or ask an admin to add one via [Credential Management](/admin-hub/account_settings/credential-management).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Click **Save**. The tools are available to Airia Agent immediately.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Enable or disable individual tools

After adding tools, you can turn individual tools on or off without removing them from the configuration. This is useful during rollout or troubleshooting.

1. In the **Tools** tab, find the tool in the **Configured Tools** list
2. Use the toggle next to the tool name to enable or disable it
3. Click **Save**

<Note>
  Tool availability changes take effect on the next user message. Active conversations are not interrupted.
</Note>

## Connect an MCP server

MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers expose multiple tools through a single connection. Connecting one makes all of its tools available to Airia Agent.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Tools tab">
    Navigate to **Settings → Airia Agent → Tools**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add an MCP server">
    Click **Add MCP Server**. Enter the server's connection details:

    * **Name**: A display name shown in the tool list
    * **URL**: The MCP server endpoint
    * **Authentication**: Select the credential to use for server authentication, if required
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review available tools">
    Once connected, the platform fetches the server's tool manifest. Review the tools it exposes and enable or disable individual ones as needed.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Click **Save**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Tool response history

The **Save tool responses to history** toggle controls whether the full output of each tool call is included in subsequent conversation turns for LLM context.

| Setting       | Behavior                                                                                                                                 |
| ------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Off (default) | Tool results are used to generate the immediate reply but are not stored in the conversation history passed to the model on future turns |
| On            | Full tool call inputs and outputs are appended to conversation history, giving the model richer context across turns                     |

**When to enable:** Turn this on for multi-step workflows where later tool calls benefit from knowing the output of earlier ones — for example, an agent that queries a database, processes the results, and then queries again based on what it found.

**When to leave off:** Single-step tool calls and high-volume use cases where the added history tokens would increase cost or latency without meaningful benefit.

## MCP placeholder bindings

When upgrading from an earlier version of Airia Agent to v2 or later, the Tools tab may display a **Placeholder Bindings** section requiring resolution before the upgrade can complete.

Placeholder bindings are named slots in the new agent pipeline that must be mapped to actual MCP servers or tools in your configuration. Think of them as required connections the new version expects but that the upgrade process cannot automatically infer from your existing setup.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Tools tab after triggering an upgrade">
    If placeholder bindings exist, a warning banner appears at the top of the Tools tab.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review each binding">
    The list shows each placeholder name and its expected type (MCP server or tool). Match each one to the correct resource from your configured tools and servers.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save bindings">
    Click **Save**. Once all bindings are resolved, the upgrade can proceed.
  </Step>
</Steps>

See [Version Management](/admin-hub/airia-agent/version-management) for the full upgrade flow.

## Best practices

* **Start small.** Add two or three high-value tools first and validate that Airia Agent uses them correctly before adding more. A large tool list can increase latency and make it harder to debug unexpected behavior.
* **Use descriptive tool names.** Airia Agent selects tools based on their names and descriptions. Tools with clear, specific descriptions are used more accurately.
* **Credential hygiene.** Use service-specific credentials rather than shared personal credentials. This makes auditing easier and limits blast radius if a credential is rotated.
* **Monitor usage.** Use [Feeds](/feeds/intro) to review which tools are being invoked and whether they are returning errors.