> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://cortex-foundation-add13747-droid-2a5c5e50-docs-ferndesk-pro.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Bot tools

> The parent catalog a bot receives — files and shell, computer use, browser, web, memory and skills, messaging, nested tasks, agents, and your plugins.

A bot receives the **parent catalog**: everything below, plus the connected apps you enabled for Bot. It is not a subset of Chat's tools or Code's workspace catalog — it is its own set, built around having a computer.

## Catalog

| Group                 | Tools                                                                                                                           | Notes                                                                                                                       |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Files and shell**   | `read`, `write`, `edit`, `shell`                                                                                                | On the bot's computer                                                                                                       |
| **Computer use**      | `screenshot`, `grounded_click`, `type`, `hotkey`, `scroll`, `drag`, `wait`, `open_app`, `switch_app`, `save_note`, `code_agent` | The planner names a control; a second inference call returns framebuffer coordinates. The planner never guesses raw pixels. |
| **Browser**           | `browser`                                                                                                                       | Drive a browser on the desktop                                                                                              |
| **Web**               | `web_search`, `web_fetch`                                                                                                       | Search and fetch without opening the browser                                                                                |
| **Memory and skills** | `update_memory`, `skill`, `routine`                                                                                             | Remember, follow a [skill](/bot/skills), schedule a [routine](/bot/routines)                                                |
| **User-visible**      | `send_to_user`, `ask_user`, `notify`, `secret_request`                                                                          | The only things that appear as bubbles in the conversation                                                                  |
| **Nested**            | `task`                                                                                                                          | Background work with progress events                                                                                        |
| **Agents**            | `send_to_agent`, `create_agent`, `create_channel`                                                                               | Work with other agents and channels                                                                                         |
| **Artifacts**         | `read_artifact`, `grep_artifact`                                                                                                | Read and search large outputs                                                                                               |
| **Plugins**           | Connected apps enabled for **Bot**                                                                                              | Under **Customize → Connectors** — see [Tools and connectors](/chat/tools)                                                  |

## User-visible tools

What you see in the conversation is a handful of short bubbles, not the inner loop. Four tools produce them:

| Tool             | What you see                                                                              |
| ---------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `send_to_user`   | A message from the bot                                                                    |
| `ask_user`       | A question that waits for your answer                                                     |
| `notify`         | A notification — useful from a [routine](/bot/routines)                                   |
| `secret_request` | A request for a credential the bot needs, entered by you, never typed into the transcript |

Plain assistant text outside these tools is dropped, not rewritten into a canned message. See [How Bot works](/bot/how-it-works).

## Background tasks

`task` starts work in the background and returns immediately with `{ ok, id, status: "queued" }`. The child then emits `task_started`, `task_progress`, and `task_completed` or `task_failed`. Children cannot `send_to_user` and cannot nest another `task`; everything reports back through the parent.

## What parks behind approvals

Dangerous computer steps and changes in connected apps do not run on the bot's say-so. They park as **Allow / Deny / Always** in the conversation. See [Approvals](/bot/approvals).

## What is not here

| Not a Bot tool                                              | Where it lives                                                                           |
| ----------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Deep Research                                               | [Chat](/chat/deep-research)                                                              |
| Code's `read_file` / `edit_file` / `bash` workspace catalog | [Code sessions](/code/how-it-works) — though `code_agent` can hand a coding task to Code |
| Design canvas tools                                         | Chat and Code host canvases; Bot does not receive those tools. See [Design](/design)     |

## Related

* [Computer](/bot/computer) — the machine the tools run on.
* [Skills](/bot/skills) — instruction bundles the `skill` tool loads.