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Version: v1.7.3-27 🚧

Custom agent tools

Enterprise h2oGPTe lets you extend agents beyond their built-in capabilities by adding custom tools. Custom tools run your own code, connect to external services, or automate browser interactions; all invocable by the agent during a conversation.

There are four types of custom tools. Each type has a different delivery mechanism and is suited to a different class of task. This page introduces each type and helps you choose the right one for your use case.

Tool types at a glance​

Tool typeWhat you provideHow it runsBest for
General Code ToolPython file or ZIPExecuted directly in the agent runtimeCustom business logic, internal APIs, bespoke file generation
Local MCP ToolZIP with a server.py, index.ts, or index.js entry pointMCP server running inside the Enterprise h2oGPTe environmentProprietary integrations, offline tools, multi-function packages
Remote MCP ToolJSON config pointing to an external serverMCP over stdio, HTTP, or SSEThird-party services, shared team servers, cloud APIs
Browser Action ToolPython file or ZIPPlaywright-driven browser automationWeb scraping, form submission, UI testing, login-gated sites

When to use each type​

General Code Tool — Choose this when you have existing Python logic you want the agent to call. It is the simplest option: upload a script, write a system prompt, and the agent imports and runs your function. No server setup required.

Local MCP Tool — Choose this when your tool exposes multiple callable functions, needs to stay within your environment for security or compliance reasons, or is already packaged as an MCP server. The agent discovers all functions from the server automatically.

Remote MCP Tool — Choose this when the tool is hosted externally (a cloud API, a shared team server, or a third-party service). You provide a JSON config; Enterprise h2oGPTe connects to the server over the network without running any code locally.

Browser Action Tool — Choose this when the task requires interacting with a real browser: navigating to a URL, logging in, filling forms, or extracting content from pages that cannot be reached by a plain HTTP request.

Accessing custom tools​

All custom tools are created and managed from the Agents > Tools page.

  1. In the navigation menu, click Agents.
  2. Click the Tools tab.
  3. Click + Custom Tool to open the tool type menu.
  4. Select the tool type you want to create.

Custom Tool dropdown menu showing all four tool types

Each option in the dropdown opens a dedicated configuration dialog for that tool type. For step-by-step instructions, follow the guide for your chosen type in the Related documentation section below.

Known limitations​

  • No cross-user management: Custom tools are ownership-scoped. A user with the Add and edit custom agent tools permission can only create and edit their own tools; deletion requires the Delete custom agent tools permission and is similarly restricted to tools the user owns. Only administrators can manage tools belonging to other users. There is no finer-grained role-based sharing.
  • No cross-user tool sharing: Custom tools are not shared across users. A tool created by one user is not visible or available to other users.
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