Connecting tool servers (MCP)
Plug FlowArray into your catalogue, CRM, analytics or docs — one-click for open servers, a proper sign-in for the rest — then call any tool as a step.
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AI steps are only as good as what they know. Connecting a tool server lets a flow pull in your real data — a product record, this month's numbers, a support ticket — instead of whatever the model remembers.
Connecting
Settings → MCP servers:
- Popular connectors — pick one from the gallery. Open servers connect in one click. Services like Notion, Linear or Sentry take you to their own sign-in page to authorise. FlowArray never sees your password; the access it receives is stored encrypted and renewed automatically in the background, including for connections that have been idle.
- Add server — anything else: paste the URL (plus a token if it needs one). FlowArray then discovers what tools the server offers.
- Reconnect appears if a provider ever invalidates the connection, and the switch beside each server turns automatic renewal off for that one.
Using a tool in a flow
Add a Call a tool step, pick the server and the tool, and fill its inputs — the same placeholders work here, so {item.sku} calls it with each item's own value. The tool runs once per item, in parallel, and its output feeds the next step, which is usually an AI step that turns the raw result into something readable.
Two ready-made templates show the shape: Enrich via MCP tool (look something up per row, then write copy) and Analytics digest (pull metrics per date window, then write an executive summary). When a template already has a tool configured, choosing your server keeps that setup — you pick the server and run.
How tool results are treated
- A tool result is untrusted data, never instructions. It is escaped where it is displayed and never given authority over the flow.
- A tool that reports an error is not automatically retried — it may have had side effects. Turn on per-step retries only for tools you know are safe to repeat.
- Tool calls run through the same pooled, rate-limit-aware, cost-booked path as everything else, so they appear per item in the run monitor like any other step.
Letting a model choose the tool
Tick tools onto an Agent card instead, and the model decides which to call within your allowlist.
The other direction
FlowArray is also an MCP server, so Claude can drive your flows — see chatting with FlowArray.