Adding Tools

Tools define what AI is allowed to do with your application. Each tool represents a single, well-defined capability tied to a specific collection and action.

View all settings

Setting	Description
Name	Text input, required. Action-oriented tool name (e.g., Calculate Total Order Value).
Description	Multi-line text, required. Explains what the tool does and when to use it.
Select Area	Dropdown, required. Application area containing the target collection.
Select Collection	Dropdown, required. Data collection to operate on. Only shows collections configured for the selected Area.
Select Action Type	Dropdown, required. Operation type (determined by ACL permissions).

Adding a Tool

1

Click 'Add Tool'

In the Tools panel, click the + Add Tool button to open the Tool Configuration dialog.

2

Enter Name and Description

Choose a clear, action-oriented name and describe what the tool does.

Good names:

Calculate Total Order Value
List Customer Orders
Get Revenue Summary
Create Expense Report

Good descriptions:

Retrieves a list of financial transactions for a specified
date range. Returns transaction details including date,
amount, category, and description. Use this when the user
asks about specific transactions or spending patterns.

3

Select Area

Choose the application area that contains the collection you want to expose.

An area can have multiple collections configured for it. Only collections explicitly assigned to this area will appear in the next dropdown.

4

Select Collection

Choose the data collection this tool will operate on.

Available collections depend on what has been configured for the selected Area. Examples include:

• Users, SKUs, Warehouse Locations, Suppliers
• Customer Orders, Stock On Hand, Stock Movements
• Stock Adjustments, Warehouse Transfers, Cycle Counts
• Inventory Items, Purchase Orders, Customer Order Items

5

Select Action Type

Choose the operation this tool will perform on the collection.

Action Types

Action Type	Operation	Example Use
List	Retrieve multiple records	Get all transactions
Select	Query with filters/conditions	Search orders by status
Detail	Get single record by ID	View order details
Create	Insert new record	Create expense report
Update	Modify existing record	Update budget allocation
Delete	Remove record	Archive old records
Upload	Handle file uploads	Upload receipt image

ACL-Based Filtering

Action types are dynamically filtered based on your ACL configuration. If no role in the selected Area has permission for a specific action on any collection, that action type will not appear in the dropdown.

Tool Design Principles

Single Responsibility

Each tool should do one thing well. If you find yourself describing multiple capabilities, split them into separate tools.

Security Note

If a capability is not added as a tool, AI cannot access it. This is your primary security mechanism.

Automatic Parameters

Tool parameters are automatically generated based on the collection schema and action type you select. No manual parameter configuration is needed.

Next Steps

• Generating Code - Export your MCP-ready application
• Connecting to Claude - Set up Claude Desktop