Installing a Vendor Tool

Installing a Vendor Tool

Applies to: AGS 1.0  |  Level: Beginner  |  Reading time: 6 min  |  No coding required
Part of: Using Tools with Your Agent (Overview)  |  Last reviewed: 25 Sep 2026

This guide shows you how to install a ready-made tool for a system that's already in the Tool Catalog, such as FreshDesk, HubSpot, Halo, Calendly or ConnectWise. It's the right path for most users. If your system isn't listed, see Building a Custom HTTP Tool instead.

What you'll be able to do

  • Check whether the tool you need is already installed
  • Find your vendor in the Tool Catalog
  • Choose or create a connection for that vendor
  • Select only the tools your agent needs and fill in their install variables
  • Install the tools so they're ready to attach to an agent

Before you begin

  • Permissions: you can install tools in AGS (read-only accounts can't).
  • Credentials: the API key or login for the target system.
  • Vendor-specific values: for example a baseUrl, ticket group ID, pipeline, board or calendar ID.

For the full checklist, see Before you begin in the overview. New to tools? Read What Is a Tool? first.

Steps

Step 1: Open the Tool Marketplace

In the left navigation rail, click the Tool Marketplace icon.

✔ You should see: the Tool Marketplace heading with three tabs: Tool Catalog, Installed Tools and Connections.

Step 2: Check what's already installed

Open the Installed Tools tab and look for the action you need.

Go back to Tool Catalog and type the system name in Search catalog, for example FreshDesk. Use the All dropdown to filter by category, and Name (A–Z) to change the sort order.

Before you click, check the button on the vendor's row:

ButtonWhat it means
SetupNo connection exists for this vendor yet. You'll create one in Step 4.
Install toolA connection already exists. You can pick it and go straight to choosing tools.



Step 4: Choose or create a connection

Click Install tool (or Setup). On the Install tools screen, open Choose a connection and pick an existing one, or click + New to create one.



⚠ One connection per customer. A connection stores the credentials for one account in one system. Create a separate connection for each customer or tenant you serve, and name it so the customer is obvious at a glance, for example FreshDesk – Acme Corp.

Step 5: Select the tools you need

Under Choose tools, tick the actions you want. A counter shows your progress, for example 0 of 14 selected.

⚠ Install only what the agent will use. Every extra tool is one more option the agent has to weigh up mid-call. More options means slower, less predictable decisions.

A common FreshDesk starting set (adapt it for other vendors):

If the agent needs to…Typical tools to install
Identify the callerGetContactById, GetContactByPhone / LookupContact
Log a new issueCreateContact, CreateTicket
Give a status updateFilterTickets, ListTicketConversationsById
Leave context for a technicianAddNoteToTicket
✔ Read the description before ticking. Each tool has a one-line description written for the agent, for example: "Creates a new company record. Use only after a company search has returned no match." The agent reads that sentence to decide when to call the tool, so it also tells you exactly what the tool is for.

Step 6: Fill in the install variables

Tools labelled 1 install variable expand when ticked to show a field you must fill in with a value from the target system. Values can differ for each install.

These are values the agent must never guess: a FreshDesk baseUrl, a ticket group ID, a default priority, a pipeline, a board or a calendar ID.




✔ Installing the same tool twice. A badge such as Installed ×1 means the tool is already in your workspace. You can install it again with different install variables, for example one CreateTicket that files into the billing queue and another that files into support. Give each install a name that makes the difference obvious.

Step 7: Install

Click Install at the bottom of the Install tools screen.

Verify it worked

Open the Installed Tools tab. Your new tools should be listed with the connection you chose. If a tool is missing or shows the wrong connection, repeat Steps 4 to 7.

⛔ Not live yet: installing a tool doesn't give it to any agent. Callers won't be affected until you attach it and deploy the change.

Next step

Continue with Attaching Tools to Your Agent & Writing Instructions to give the tool to your agent and tell it when to use it.