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The Runchat agent has access to a set of built-in tools for interacting with your canvas, editing code, loading skills, and more. The tools available depend on the current permission level. In plain language, the agent can:
  • Read everything on your canvas, including node configurations and error messages
  • Create and connect new nodes, organize layouts, and update parameters
  • Edit code in Code nodes with surgical replacements rather than full rewrites
  • Run nodes and execute workflows on your behalf (Run permission only)
  • Search, inspect and run published tools (both from the community and your own private tools)
  • Load domain-specific skills before writing code
  • Create, update and publish workflows (when used from the dashboard, REST API or MCP)
The rest of this page lists the underlying tools by category.

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Canvas Tools

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Reading the canvas

These tools are available at all permission levels:
  • Get canvas (get_canvas), see all nodes and edges on the canvas. For large canvases, paginate with the offset parameter.
  • Read nodes (read_nodes), inspect the full state of specific nodes by ID, including inputs, outputs and configuration.

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Creating and editing nodes

These tools require Edit or Run permission:
  • Create node, add new nodes to the canvas. The agent can create all node types: Agent (promptNode), Create (imageNode), Code (codeNode), Input (inputNode), Note (noteNode), and Tool (runChatNode).
  • Connect nodes, wire data between nodes by specifying source and target handles.
  • Update node, modify an existing node’s label, model, or input values.
  • Delete nodes, remove nodes from the canvas.
  • Delete edges, disconnect nodes without deleting them.
  • Organize nodes, auto-layout nodes after creating or modifying a workflow.

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Running nodes

Requires Run permission:
  • Run nodes, execute nodes in dependency order with their current inputs and connections.

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Code File Tools

Every Code node — regardless of mode — exposes a uniform file model. Snippet modes (JavaScript, HTML, Rhino/Blender Python, Revit C#) have a single virtual entry file (index.js, index.html, index.py, index.cs). Worker mode has index.ts plus optional additional files like package.json or helper modules. The same four tools work across all modes:
  • Read files, read content from one or more files in a code node with line numbers. Omit files to read everything (recommended when you don’t yet know paths). Available at all permission levels.
  • Read status, check error and status messages for debugging. Available at all permission levels.
These require Edit or Run permission:
  • Edit file, targeted edit (pass old_text + new_text) or full overwrite (pass only new_text).
  • Create files, add new files to a worker-mode bundle. Worker mode only.
  • Delete files, remove non-entry files from a worker-mode bundle. Worker mode only.

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Media Tools

  • Get model parameters, fetch the full parameter details for a generative model before creating an imageNode. This tells the agent what inputs the model accepts (e.g. prompt, image_url, resolution).
  • View image, fetch and display images from URLs in tool results.

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Custom Tools

  • Search Tools, search for public tools published by the community and private tools published by your team.
  • Inspect Tool, view the workflow of a specific tool.
  • Execute Tool, with run permissions, run the tool.
Common patterns:
  • Two-step research for better images, ask the agent to “search first, then pull images from the projects you find” rather than grabbing search thumbnails. You’ll get higher-resolution imagery straight from the source.
  • Group on the canvas, once images are nodes on the canvas, the agent can read them and group by palette, narrow to a brief, or compare two.
  • Pick a format, ask for Notes when each item has mixed content (image, description, link); ask for Tables when you want to compare consistent columns across items.
  • Deep dive a result, pick one project from the search and ask the agent to dig further. It can follow links to find architect statements, materials, press coverage, then consolidate everything onto the canvas.

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Next steps