Tools

LibreChat tools are selected from the Agent Builder and run when an agent decides they are useful. This section covers built-in agent tools such as image generation, search, weather, computation, and private index lookup.

Not the same as Web Search or MCP

The search tools on this page are tools you add to a specific agent. LibreChat's built-in Web Search feature is configured separately, and custom third-party tools are usually added through MCP or Actions.

Quick Setup

Pick the Tool

Choose a tool from the table below and collect any required API keys, service URLs, or index names.

Add Credentials

Add the required values to your .env file, or let users provide their own credentials from the LibreChat UI when the tool prompts for them.

Restart LibreChat

Environment variable changes are loaded on restart.

Deployment	Command
Docker	`docker compose down && docker compose up -d`
Local	Stop the server, then run `npm run backend` again

Add the Tool to an Agent

In LibreChat, select Agents, create or edit an agent, open the agent's Tools list, select the tool, and save the agent.

Test in Chat

Start a chat with that agent and ask for something that requires the tool, such as a search, calculation, weather report, or image.

Current Built-In Tools

Tool	Use it for	Required configuration	Details
OpenAI Image Tools	Generate and edit images with OpenAI image models	`IMAGE_GEN_OAI_API_KEY`; optional `IMAGE_GEN_OAI_MODEL`	Image Generation
Gemini Image Tools	Generate images and edit with image context using Gemini	`GEMINI_API_KEY`, `GOOGLE_KEY`, or `GOOGLE_SERVICE_KEY_FILE`; optional `GEMINI_IMAGE_MODEL`	Gemini Image Generation
DALL-E-3	Legacy OpenAI image generation	`DALLE3_API_KEY` or `DALLE_API_KEY`	DALL-E
Flux	Cloud image generation and fine-tuned image models	`FLUX_API_KEY`; optional `FLUX_API_BASE_URL`	Flux
Stable Diffusion	Local or self-hosted image generation through Automatic1111	`SD_WEBUI_URL`	Stable Diffusion
Google Search	Google Custom Search results for an agent	`GOOGLE_SEARCH_API_KEY` and `GOOGLE_CSE_ID`	Google Search
Tavily Search	Current web results optimized for agents	`TAVILY_API_KEY`	Tavily Search
Traversaal	AI search results with sources	`TRAVERSAAL_API_KEY`	Traversaal
Azure AI Search	Search a private Azure AI Search index	`AZURE_AI_SEARCH_SERVICE_ENDPOINT`, `AZURE_AI_SEARCH_INDEX_NAME`, `AZURE_AI_SEARCH_API_KEY`	Azure AI Search
OpenWeather	Current, forecast, historical, and daily weather data	`OPENWEATHER_API_KEY`	OpenWeather
Wolfram\|Alpha	Math, computation, units, curated knowledge, and real-time data	`WOLFRAM_APP_ID`	Wolfram\|Alpha
Calculator	Basic and complex calculations	None	Calculator

Creating Custom Tools

Most custom tools should be added without editing LibreChat source code.

Use MCP when you want to connect an agent to a local script, internal service, database, browser automation server, or a custom API wrapper. For example, a DuckDuckGo search tool can be exposed through an MCP server and then selected from the Agent Builder.
Use Actions when the tool is an HTTP API that can be described with an OpenAPI schema.
Edit LibreChat's source-level structured tools only when you are developing LibreChat itself. The legacy Tools and Plugins development guide remains available for contributors, but MCP and Actions are the recommended extension paths for deployments.

Tool Availability

Tools are identified internally by their pluginKey from LibreChat's api/app/clients/tools/manifest.json.

Use filteredTools to hide tools, or includedTools to allow only specific tools:

includedTools:
  - calculator
  - image_gen_oai
  - google

If a tool is not visible in the Agent Builder after restart, check the tool's environment variables, includedTools, filteredTools, and whether the agent's tools capability is enabled.