Tools & MCP.

Give your AI real capabilities with MCP tools

Connect any MCP server, control which tools your agent can access, and validate it uses tools correctly.

macOS · Windows · Linux

From zero to tool-augmented AI in 4 steps

01
Connect

Connect any MCP server in a few clicks.

02
Configure

Control which tools your agent can access, with version history.

03
Run & inspect

Run your task and inspect every tool call, its arguments, and the tool's response in the full conversation trace.

04
Validate

Use tool-use evals to ensure your agent calls the right tools at the right time.

Tools & MCP in Kiln

Easily connect MCP servers

Connect any MCP server, local or remote, in just a few clicks.

Evaluate tool use

Kiln's tool use evals ensure your agent calls the appropriate tools with the correct parameters.

Track tool configurations

Kiln captures the full tool context of every agent run — every tool that was available, not just the ones invoked. This creates a reproducible trace for debugging, evals, and run comparison.

Fine-tune for tools

Tune models to call a specific set of tools, allowing small, fast, and cheap models to match frontier-model tool calling.

Kiln search tools

Create custom search tools (RAG), allowing your agent to search thousands of documents in milliseconds.

Everything you need for tool management

Per-run tool selection

Enable only the tools each run needs to keep context focused.

Model compatibility checks

Kiln warns when a selected model lacks tool-calling support.

Secret management

API keys stored locally, never committed to Git-synced project files.

Tool call trace inspection

View every tool call's arguments and results in the message trace.

Tool setup before and after Kiln

Without Kiln
  • Edit a JSON config file buried in a dotfile directory every time you add or change an MCP server.
  • Manually check traces to ensure tool calls are reliable.
  • Build search/RAG tools by hand.
With Kiln
  • Connect MCP servers through Kiln's UI with validation and troubleshooting guidance.
  • Tool call evals ensure tools are called when needed, and catch regressions before you ship.
  • Kiln builds and optimizes RAG/search tools for you.

Frequently asked

What is MCP?

The Model Context Protocol is an open standard for connecting AI systems to external tools and data sources. Kiln supports MCP natively as both client and server.

Can I connect my own custom MCP server?

Yes. Provide a command for local (stdio) servers or a URL for remote (HTTP/SSE) servers. Kiln supports both transports and walks you through auth setup.

How does Kiln handle secrets?

Mark env vars as secrets during setup. Secrets stay local and never touch Git-synced files. Teammates re-enter them on their own machines.

Can I use Kiln tools from other MCP clients?

Yes. Tools you create in Kiln, like search tools, become available to Claude Desktop, LMStudio, Jan, or any MCP client.

Connect your tools. Ship smarter agents.

Add MCP tools in minutes, validate model compatibility, and verify that your agent uses the right tool at the right time.