> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://backstage.spotify.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Available MCP Tools
> Reference list of built-in MCP tools that Portal ships — search, semantic search, catalog entity queries, and more.
Portal ships with the following built-in MCP tools, registered through the Actions Registry and automatically available to any connected AI agent.
## Built-in tools
| Tool | Description |
| -------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `search` | Search for information across company internal systems, documentation, and software catalogs. |
| `query-semantic-search-engine` | Perform semantic (meaning-based) search across indexed knowledge sources. |
| `get-catalog-entity` | Retrieve detailed information about a specific entity in the software catalog. |
| `get-datasets-by-registry-ids` | Fetch datasets from the data registry using their IDs. |
| `get-dbt-project-by-registry-id` | Fetch a dbt project from the data registry using its ID. |
| `get-entity-overlay` | Retrieve overlay metadata for a given entity in the software catalog. |
These tools are read-only and available to all authenticated users.
For detailed information about how AiKA uses the search tools, see [Searching for Information](../aika/searching-for-information.mdx).
## How agents use these tools
When you ask an AI agent a question that requires Portal data, the agent automatically selects the appropriate tool. For example:
* *"What is the payments-gateway service?"* — the agent calls `get-catalog-entity` to retrieve entity details from the catalog.
* *"Find documentation about our authentication flow"* — the agent calls `query-semantic-search-engine` to search across indexed knowledge sources.
* *"What overlay metadata is set on the checkout service?"* — the agent calls `get-entity-overlay` to retrieve overlay data.
You don't need to know the tool names — the agent selects the right tool based on your question.
## Configuring which tools are available
Navigate to App Settings > Actions > Plugin sources to configure the plugin sources for loading plugin actions.
Only tools from listed plugins are exposed. See [Registering Tools](./registering-tools) for how plugin developers add new tools to the registry.