Tools

Sometimes a model needs more than its training data to answer a question — it might need to search the web, check a calendar, or query a database. Tools give models the ability to take actions and incorporate real-time results into their responses.

Server-Side vs Client-Side

Server-side tools run on the Portal API. The entire flow happens in a single request with no client-side handling needed. You just specify which tools to enable by name. Examples include web search and image generation.

Client-side tools run in your app. You define the tool with a JSON Schema for parameters and provide an executor function that runs locally. These are useful when the tool needs access to local data, user permissions, or browser APIs.

Server tools are simpler to integrate since everything happens API-side. Client tools give you full control but require a multi-turn request flow where the SDK sends tool results back to the model automatically.

Multiple Tool Calls

Models can call multiple tools in one turn. For server tools, the API handles parallel execution internally. For client tools, the SDK executes them in parallel and sends all results together before the model continues.

Available Tools

Browse all server tools for a live list from the API. The SDK also includes pre-built client tools for Google Calendar and Google Drive.