Built-in Tools

Runtype includes seven built-in tools that you can add to any Agent or Flow. These tools let your AI generate images, search the web, fetch page content, scrape sites, and search your knowledge bases without writing custom code.

Getting started

Most built-in tools work out of the box with Runtype platform keys, so you can try them right away. For higher-volume usage, connect your own API keys.

• OpenAI tools (DALL-E, Web Search): Go to Settings → Models and add your OpenAI API key. See Connecting AI model providers.

• Anthropic tools (Web Search, Web Fetch): Go to Settings → Models and add your Anthropic API key.

• Exa: Go to Settings → Integrations and add your Exa API key, or use the included platform key.

• Firecrawl: Go to Settings → Integrations and add your Firecrawl API key, or use the included platform key.

• Semantic Search: Requires an OpenAI API key for embeddings in Settings → Models. If you need background on vector data, see What are Records?.

Adding tools to an Agent

1. Open your Agent and go to the Capabilities tab.

2. In the Tools section, click Configure Tools.

3. Select tools from the Built-in Tools category. Only tools that match your Agent's model will appear.

4. Click Apply Changes.

For the full Agent setup flow, see Creating and configuring Agents.

Adding tools to a Flow

1. Open your Flow and add or edit a prompt step.

2. Open the tools configuration and choose Built-in Tools.

3. Select the tools you need and configure any optional settings.

For a step-by-step Flow walkthrough, see Creating and Editing Flows.

DALL-E

DALL-E generates images from text descriptions using OpenAI's image model. Use it to create visuals, mockups, logos, and illustrations inside a Flow or Agent conversation.

Settings

• Size: 1024x1024, 1792x1024, or 1024x1792

• Quality: Standard or HD

• Style: Vivid or Natural

Example: An Agent can answer “Create a logo for a coffee shop” by generating and returning an image URL.

OpenAI Web Search

OpenAI Web Search lets OpenAI models search the web and return current information during a conversation.

Settings

• Search context size: Low, medium, or high

• Location context: Optionally provide a city and region for location-specific results

Anthropic Web Search

Anthropic Web Search lets Claude models search the web for current information.

Settings

• Max uses: Limit how many searches the model can make per response from 1 to 10. The default is 5.

Anthropic Web Fetch

Anthropic Web Fetch lets Claude Sonnet models fetch and read content from specific URLs. Use it when your prompt references a known page and you want the model to pull that content directly.

Settings

• Max uses: Limit how many pages the model can fetch per response from 1 to 10. The default is 1.

Exa

Exa provides AI-powered web search with semantic and keyword options. It works with any model and supports filtering for research-heavy workflows.

Settings

• Search type: Auto, neural, or keyword

• Number of results: 1 to 10. The default is 5.

• Content options: Include full text, AI-generated summaries, or highlights

• Domain filtering: Restrict or exclude specific domains

• Date filtering: Limit results to a date range

Example: An Agent can search for “recent breakthroughs in quantum computing” and return titles, URLs, and summaries.

Firecrawl

Firecrawl extracts clean, structured content from web pages. It handles JavaScript-rendered pages and removes navigation, ads, and footers so your AI gets the main content.

Settings

• Output formats: Markdown, HTML, raw HTML, screenshot, or links

• Main content only: Enabled by default to remove sidebars, navigation, and footers

• Wait time: Add up to 30 seconds for pages with dynamic content

Example: An Agent can scrape a product page and extract the main content as Markdown for summarization or analysis.

Semantic Search

Semantic Search lets you search knowledge bases using vector similarity. Instead of matching exact keywords, it finds content by meaning.

You can configure multiple Semantic Search instances on a single Agent or Flow step, with each instance pointing to a different knowledge base.

Set up a knowledge base instance

1. In the tool configuration, click Add Knowledge Base.

2. Enter a display name. This is what the AI model sees, such as “Search Documentation.”

3. Choose a vector provider.

4. Set the similarity threshold from 0 to 1. Lower values return more results. Higher values return only closer matches.

Settings

• Limit: Maximum number of results per query from 1 to 20. The default is 5.

Example: A support Agent can search a product documentation knowledge base before responding to a customer question.

Using platform keys and your own API keys

Runtype provides platform keys for several tools so you can start building without signing up for separate services. Platform keys are shared and rate-limited, which works well for development and lower-volume use.

For production or heavier usage, connect your own API keys in Settings to get dedicated rate limits and full control over usage. To understand the tradeoffs, see Platform Keys vs. Bring Your Own Key (BYOK).

Best practices

• Be specific in your prompts: Tell your Agent when and how to use each tool.

• Limit result counts: Fewer results often keep responses faster and more focused.

• Combine tools strategically: Pair Exa with Firecrawl for end-to-end research, or pair Semantic Search with a prompt step for retrieval workflows.

• Use multiple knowledge bases: Configure separate Semantic Search instances for different data sources, such as documentation and customer Records.

Next steps

• What are Tools? for a broader overview of how built-in, custom, and external tools fit together.

• Creating and configuring Agents if you want to add built-in tools to an Agent.

• Creating and Editing Flows if you want to use built-in tools inside a Flow.

• Connecting AI model providers if you need to add provider keys before tools appear.