MCP tools
An agent can call tools to do things beyond plain chat — fetch a web page, search your documents, remember a fact, run a workflow, read a file, query a database. Tools are spoken over the Model Context Protocol (MCP), and your agent has two kinds:
| EcoLink Gateway | 17 tools built into the platform. Already there — nothing to install |
| Your MCP servers | Any MCP server you add yourself |
Open your agent from console.ecohash.com → Agents, then choose MCP Tools in the sidebar — next to Workflows and Knowledge Base.
EcoLink Gateway
The gateway appears at the top of the MCP Tools panel as a single entry. Expand it to see the 17 tools it provides. There is no command to type, no key to paste and no restart needed — it is wired up with your account already.
Your agent picks the right tool on its own; you ask in plain language.
Web
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Web Fetch | Fetch a web page and read its text |
| Gateway Ping | Connectivity check — confirms the gateway is reachable |
Knowledge base
Covered in detail in Knowledge base.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ingest Document | Add text, or a page from a URL, to a corpus |
| List Corpora | Show the corpora on your account |
| Search Knowledge | Search your documents by meaning |
Memory
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Remember | Store a fact for later conversations |
| Recall | Bring back a fact stored earlier |
Workflows
Covered in detail in Workflows.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Create Workflow | Save a new workflow |
| Validate Workflow | Check a definition without saving it |
| Update Workflow | Replace an existing definition |
| Delete Workflow | Remove a workflow |
| List Workflows | Show saved workflows |
| Get Workflow | Fetch one definition |
| Run Workflow | Start a run |
| Get Run | Status, cost and per-step results of a run |
| List Runs | Recent runs on the account |
| Cancel Run | Stop a run, keeping completed steps |
Check the gateway is working
In the chat:
use the gateway_ping tool
It replies pong along with your account id. If that works, every gateway tool is reachable.
Your MCP servers
To give the agent something the gateway does not cover — your database, an internal service, a third-party integration — add an MCP server of your own.
In MCP Tools, under Your MCP servers, click Add and fill in four fields:
| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
| Name | A short id (e.g. filesystem). Lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens |
| Command | The program that starts the server — usually npx for Node-based servers |
| Args | Arguments to that command (e.g. -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /home/node/.openclaw/workspace) |
| Env | Environment variables the server needs, such as an API key. Leave empty if none |
Restart the agent afterwards — a server is loaded at start-up, so it will not appear until you do.
Servers to try
Public MCP servers you can paste straight in:
Everything — the reference test server (add, echo, and more). Good for a
first check:
- Name:
everything - Command:
npx - Args:
-y @modelcontextprotocol/server-everything - Env: (empty)
Filesystem — read and write files in the agent's own workspace:
- Name:
filesystem - Command:
npx - Args:
-y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /home/node/.openclaw/workspace - Env: (empty)
A server needing a key — shows how Env is used:
- Name:
brave - Command:
npx - Args:
-y @modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search - Env:
BRAVE_API_KEY=your-key-here
Check your server is working
Add everything, restart the agent, then ask:
use the add tool to add 5 and 7
If it answers 12 by calling the tool, your server is wired up correctly. The same pattern works for any server — ask the agent to use one specific tool and check the answer came from the tool rather than a guess.
Which to use
Reach for a server of your own when the gateway has no equivalent. Where both could work, the gateway is usually the better choice — nothing to install, no restart, and no key of yours to keep working.
One case worth calling out: the gateway already provides Remember and Recall, so you do not need a separate memory server. Adding one gives the agent two unrelated places to keep facts, and it will not reliably look in both.
Notes
- Servers you add are stored with the agent, so they survive a restart.
- A newly added server only takes effect after a restart — that is when the agent loads it.
- Removing a server unloads it on the next restart.
- If a gateway tool is missing from the list, an account administrator may have restricted it for your account.
Related
- Agents — plans, creating and managing an agent
- Knowledge base — the documents the knowledge tools read
- Workflows — saving a task the workflow tools run
- API keys — where your
eco_key lives