HTTP Request Tool
HTTP Request Tool
Section titled “HTTP Request Tool”Gives an AI agent the ability to send HTTP requests. Every call the model makes is gated: you see the exact request and approve or reject it before it is sent.
What it does
Section titled “What it does”Exposes an HTTP client as a tool the model can call. The model decides the method, URL, headers, and body; the tool describes that request to you as a plain sentence (for example, “send a POST request to api.example.com”), and the request is only sent after you approve it. Rejected calls are never sent — the model is told you declined and continues without that action.
This tool exists so an agent can call APIs safely. Because page content an agent reads is untrusted input, a model that can both read a page and make network calls is a potential action primitive for a hostile page. The approval gate is what makes that safe. See Action Approval for the reasoning.
When to use it
Section titled “When to use it”- You want an agent to call an external API as part of its reasoning — fetch a record, post an update, trigger a webhook.
- You want a human in the loop on every outbound request the model decides to make.
- Prefer this over hand-wiring a fixed HTTP Request action node when the model should choose whether and how to call the API.
Inputs and settings
Section titled “Inputs and settings”| Setting | Notes |
|---|---|
| Authentication | Optional credential applied to the requests this tool makes. Resolved from the credential store at call time; the secret never travels in the workflow or the approval prompt. |
The model supplies the rest of each request at call time: method (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH, OPTIONS, HEAD), URL, optional headers, and an optional body.
Outputs
Section titled “Outputs”Returns a tool dependency that agent nodes (such as Tools Agent) can call. It has no output port of its own — connect it into an agent’s tools input.
Approval and safety
Section titled “Approval and safety”- Every call is gated. The request is sent only after you approve it; there is no setting to turn the gate off.
- The prompt names the action, not the payload. You see the method and host — never headers, bodies, or credential values.
- Blocked and unsafe URLs are refused. The tool validates the URL before prompting or sending, and rejects internal/loopback and cloud-metadata addresses (the same SSRF protection as the built-in HTTP Request node), on the initial URL and on every redirect.
- Unattended runs auto-reject. If no one responds within the approval timeout, the call is rejected so a background run can’t act without a human.
Dependencies and credentials
Section titled “Dependencies and credentials”- Optional Authentication credential (Basic Auth, Bearer token, etc.). Reuses the same credential types as the built-in HTTP Request node.
Example workflow
Section titled “Example workflow”Connect HTTP Request Tool into the tools input of a Tools Agent. Give the agent a goal that needs an API call (“look up the order status for #1234”). When the agent decides to make the request, the run surfaces an approval row in the Executions pane naming the method and host; approve it to let the call proceed.
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”- If a call never fires, check the Executions pane — it may be waiting on your approval, or it may have auto-rejected after the timeout.
- If the model reports the action was denied, either you (or the timeout) rejected it, or the URL was blocked by the SSRF guard.
- Verify the optional Authentication credential is set if the target API requires it.