Guide · Advanced users
Giving tools to an assistant (MCP, API, webhooks)
Let an assistant query your systems in a controlled way, with an MCP server, an API tool or a webhook.
An assistant can do more than search documents: it can call tools to retrieve up-to-date data or trigger an action. These features require a Pro license and are configured on the Tools page of the administration area (Administrator and Owner roles).
Three types of tools
| Type | When to use it |
|---|---|
| MCP server | You have a Model Context Protocol server (“streamable” HTTP transport) that already exposes tools |
| API tool | You want to call an existing REST API, describing its parameters precisely |
| Webhook | You want to pass a request to a service (for example an n8n workflow) that will handle the processing |
API tool: describe each parameter
An API tool is defined by a URL (with optional path parameters), a method, a body format (JSON, form), a timeout and a maximum response size. For each parameter, you choose:
- its location: path, query, header or body;
- its source:
- provided by the model (for example a case number given by the user),
- fixed by the administrator (for example an access key),
- taken from the conversation context.
Never leave a sensitive parameter to the model: credentials, data scope, permissions. Fix them.
A response selector lets you pass only the relevant part of the result to the model.
MCP server
Enter the server address and, if needed, its access token and the header to use. EasyRag lists the tools it exposes; select only those the assistant needs. Test each tool from the interface before linking it to an assistant.
EasyRag is an MCP client: it uses tools from other servers. It does not expose an MCP server itself.
Webhook
Specify the URL, method, headers, timeout and the schema of the expected parameters. EasyRag adds the session, conversation and assistant IDs to the call, which help trace the processing on the service side.
Link the tools to the assistant
In the assistant’s configuration, under Knowledge and tools, enable the tools you want. Describe in the system prompt when to use them (“For any case number, check the Request tracking tool”).
Test
- Ask a question that should trigger the tool, and one that should not.
- Check the calls made in the monitoring request logs.
- Test an error case (service unavailable): the assistant should say so, not make something up.