Tools
The Tools page is the catalog of services CatalEx can connect to — Slack, GitHub, Jira, Gmail, Notion, HubSpot, Salesforce, Stripe, and roughly a hundred more. Once a service is connected, your Studio agents and Freeflow can act on it: read and send email, create issues, post messages, query a database, and so on.
Each connectable service is an integration, and every integration exposes a set of individual actions (for example, the Gmail integration includes Send Email, Create Draft, and List Labels).
Browsing the catalog
Tools are grouped under Official Integrations into collapsible categories (Communication, CRM & Sales, Developer Tools, and more). Use the Search tools… box or the category pills to find what you need.
Cards carry badges that tell you their state:
| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ✓ Available | A built-in tool that needs no setup — Web Search, Web Fetcher, Script Executor, Knowledge Base. |
| + (Connect) | Ready to connect with one click. |
| ✓ Connected | Already connected. (N) indicates multiple accounts. |
| Setup Required | Needs your own API key or OAuth app first. |
| Coming Soon | Not yet available. |
Connecting integrations requires the ADMIN or OWNER role. Members can use what's connected but see a prompt to "Contact your workspace admin to add this integration."
Connecting an integration
There are three connection paths, depending on the service:
- One-click OAuth (most services). Click +, approve access on the vendor's screen, then give the connection a name (e.g. "Work Slack"). This name helps you tell multiple accounts apart.
- Custom OAuth app. Some services need your company's own OAuth app. CatalEx shows the redirect URI to register and fields for the Client ID and Client Secret, then continues to OAuth.
- API key / token (Setup Required). CatalEx walks you through a per-service Setup Guide with the exact fields that service needs.
Multiple accounts
You can connect more than one account per integration. Click the ✓ Connected badge to open the connections manager, where you can rename a connection, add another account, or disconnect one. Disconnecting is reversible — reconnect any time.
How agents use tools
Connecting an integration here makes it available; each agent then chooses which tools it actually uses. In an agent's Tools tab, you add tools from the catalog and pick which connected accounts that agent may act through.
Guardrails and approvals
Every tool action has a guardrail setting that decides whether an agent can run it automatically or must pause for your approval. Open an integration's detail panel to see its Available Tools list. Each action has a toggle:
- Auto — the agent performs the action automatically.
- Manual — the action requires your approval before it runs (this is the default).
Changes save instantly. When an action is set to Manual, the agent pauses and asks you to Approve or Reject it — you'll see this in the agent's chat. From an approval prompt you can also choose to auto-approve that tool going forward (for 24 hours, or always), so you aren't asked again.
Guardrails can be set at two levels: a workspace default here on the Tools page, and a per-agent override in each agent's Tools tab.
Start new integrations on Manual for anything that writes or sends data (emails, messages, tickets). Once you trust an agent's behavior, switch the safe actions to Auto.
Custom tools and MCPs
Beyond the official catalog, you can extend what agents can do with script tools — small Python tools you build directly in an agent's Tools tab for bespoke logic. See Studio → Tools.
For an overview of how integrations work and the full list of supported services, see Integrations.
FAQ
What's the difference between an integration and an action? An integration is the service (e.g. Gmail). An action is one thing the agent can do within it (e.g. Send Email). Guardrails are set per action.
Why did my agent stop and ask for approval? That action's guardrail is set to Manual. Approve it once, or switch the action (or tool) to Auto to skip future prompts.
Can different agents use different accounts of the same tool? Yes. When you add a tool to an agent, you choose which connected accounts that agent may use.
Do members need to reconnect tools themselves? No. An admin connects an integration once, and team members reuse it.