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Apps and Tools

Apps are what your assistant uses, such as Gmail, Notion or GitHub. Each one brings a set of tools: "list emails", "create a page", "create a pull request". You decide which tools are on and how each one runs.

Willow's gateway holds every sign-in and makes every call, so the assistant never sees your password or API key.

Open the assistant's page and scroll to Connectors.

Add an app​

  1. Click Add.
  2. Search for an app, or filter by category. Each tile shows the best way to connect it:
    • Willow: hosted by Willow.
    • Official: run by the app's own company.
    • Community: built by someone else.
  3. Click the app. Scout adds it with the tools that fit, already set the safe way.
  4. Click Connect on its card and sign in.

For what the most common apps start with, see Apps.

Add your own MCP server​

If the app you need isn't listed, paste its MCP URL into the search box, or click the Custom MCP tile.

  1. Enter the MCP URL. This is the server's Streamable HTTP endpoint and usually ends in /mcp.
  2. Optionally give it a Name. Without one, Scout names it after the website.
  3. Click Add server. Scout checks the server and adds it.
  4. If the server needs a sign-in, click Connect on its card.

Local MCP servers, which run a command on your own machine, are a premium feature. Contact us to turn them on. Remote servers by URL always work.

Sign in to an app​

Until you sign in, the assistant can't use the app's tools. Click Connect on the card. Once you're in, the card shows Connected.

Every call runs as you, with your account. The card's sign-in chip says how: Runs as you · OAuth, Runs as you · API key or Runs as you · Your own OAuth app. Click it to change:

  • OAuth: authorize your own account on the app's sign-in page. This is the recommended choice when the app offers it.
  • API key: paste a key from the app's settings.
  • Your own OAuth app: sign in through an OAuth app you create in the app.

Switching method signs you out of that app, so you connect again the new way. Servers that need no sign-in don't show the chip.

One sign-in serves every assistant that uses the app. To sign out of an app everywhere, click Disconnect on its card, or go to Settings > Connectors.

Choose its tools​

Click the arrow on a card to see its tools. The card's summary line says how many are on, how many need a session, how many ask each time, and how many rules it has. Each tool has:

  • A switch to turn it on or off. Only switch on what the assistant needs.
  • A risk level from Willow:
RiskWhat it means
Low riskIt looks things up or makes small changes that are easy to undo.
Medium riskIt changes your data, like creating or editing items. Mistakes can be fixed by hand.
High riskIt does things that are hard to take back, like deleting data or sending messages for you.
CriticalIt can cause lasting damage, like wiping data, changing access or moving money.
  • read-only when it never changes anything.
  • How it runs (see below).

If an app hasn't listed its tools yet, they appear once you connect it. Notion's and Linear's own MCP servers work this way.

How each tool runs​

SettingWhat the assistant needs
Use freelyNothing more. It runs whenever the assistant needs it. Best for tools that only read.
Require SessionA session you approved. You approve once, and the tool runs freely until the session ends (30 minutes to start).
Ask Each TimeYour approval for every call, with exactly what it will send.

In the setup, the same choices read Always allow, Require session and Always ask, plus Disabled for a tool that's off.

The apps the setup offers start with their tools already set: reading runs freely, and changing data needs a session or asks each time. See each app's page under Apps. A tool you switch on yourself needs a session, and high-risk tools ask each time. See Approve requests.

Add rules​

Rules let you block a call you never want, or ask first only when it matters, based on what the assistant sends. For example, "block send-gmail-message when to ends with @rival.com".

Click the rules icon on a card. See Tool rules.

Remove an app​

Click the trash icon on its card. The assistant stops using it straight away. You stay signed in to the app in Willow, for other assistants.

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