Overview

Tools are powerful components in Sim that allow your workflows to interact with external services, process data, and perform specialized tasks. They extend the capabilities of your agents and workflows by providing access to various APIs and services.

What is a Tool?

A tool is a specialized component that provides a specific functionality or integration with external services. Tools can be used to search the web, interact with databases, process images, generate text or images, communicate via messaging platforms, and much more.

Using Tools in Workflows

There are two primary ways to use tools in your Sim workflows:

As Standalone Blocks: Tools can be added as individual blocks on the canvas when you need deterministic, direct access to their functionality. This gives you precise control over when and how the tool is called.

As Agent Tools: Tools can be added to Agent blocks by clicking "Add tools" and configuring the required parameters. This allows agents to dynamically choose which tools to use based on the context and requirements of the task.

Tool Configuration

Each tool requires specific configuration to function properly. Common configuration elements include:

API Keys: Many tools require authentication through API keys
Connection Parameters: Endpoints, database identifiers, etc.
Input Formatting: How data should be structured for the tool
Output Handling: How to process the results from the tool

Available Tools

Sim provides a diverse collection of tools for various purposes, including:

AI and Language Processing: OpenAI, ElevenLabs, Google Translate
Search and Research: Google Search, Tavily, Exa, Perplexity
Document Manipulation: Google Docs, Google Sheets, Notion, Confluence
Media Processing: Vision
Communication: Slack, WhatsApp, Twilio SMS, Gmail
Data Storage: Pinecone, Supabase, Airtable
Development: GitHub

Each tool has its own dedicated documentation page with detailed instructions on configuration and usage.

Tool Outputs

Tools typically return structured data that can be processed by subsequent blocks in your workflow. The format of this data varies depending on the tool and operation but generally includes:

The main content or result
Metadata about the operation
Status information

Refer to each tool's specific documentation to understand its exact output format.

Common Questions

Sim includes over 180 service integrations with 1,000+ individual tool actions, spanning categories like AI and language processing, search and research, document manipulation, media processing, communication, data storage, development platforms, and more.

As a standalone block, the tool is called deterministically at a fixed point in your workflow, giving you precise control. As an agent tool, the tool is provided to an AI agent that dynamically decides whether and when to call it based on context and task requirements.

Tools support multiple authentication methods. Many use OAuth for secure token-based access to external services. Others accept API keys provided by the user. Some tools also support Sim's hosted API keys, so you can use the tool without providing your own key.

Yes. Tools can return file-typed outputs with associated metadata like file name, MIME type, and size. File data can be provided as a buffer, base64 string, or a URL to download from. This enables workflows that process documents, images, and other binary content.

Tools support configurable retry logic with settings for maximum retries, initial delay, and maximum delay. Error extractors parse provider-specific error responses to surface clear error messages. You can also configure whether only idempotent requests should be retried.

Yes. Tools support schema enrichment, where parameter schemas are dynamically updated at runtime based on other parameter values. For example, the knowledge search tool enriches its tag filter options based on the selected knowledgebase's actual tag definitions.