> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.superglue.cloud/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Concepts

> Understanding superglue fundamentals

The core idea of superglue is to let users connect their systems via a natural language interface that abstracts away the pain of authentication, structuring requests and mapping data between systems. This page explains key concepts - systems and tools - that are the essential building blocks of everything superglue does.

## <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="25" height="25" viewBox="0 0 25 25" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="2" strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round" className="inline-block mr-2 mb-1"><rect width="7" height="7" x="14" y="3" rx="1" /><path d="M10 21V8a1 1 0 0 0-1-1H4a1 1 0 0 0-1 1v12a1 1 0 0 0 1 1h12a1 1 0 0 0 1-1v-5a1 1 0 0 0-1-1H3" /></svg> Systems

Systems are the reusable building blocks for tools in superglue. A system represents anything that can provide, store, or process data: REST APIs, GraphQL endpoints, SOAP services, SFTP servers, Postgres databases, Redis instances, and more.

Instead of maintaining a limited connector library, superglue takes a more general approach. Users can configure any system with custom documentation, URLs, authentication, and instructions tailored to their use case. Think of systems as containers that store all context required to interact with an external service. To learn more about creating systems, check the [systems guide](/guides/creating-a-system).

## <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="25" height="25" viewBox="0 0 25 25" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="2" strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round" className="inline-block mr-2 mb-1"><path d="m15 12-8.373 8.373a1 1 0 1 1-3-3L12 9" /><path d="m18 15 4-4" /><path d="m21.5 11.5-1.914-1.914A2 2 0 0 1 19 8.172V7l-2.26-2.26a6 6 0 0 0-4.202-1.756L9 2.96l.92.82A6.18 6.18 0 0 1 12 8.4V10l2 2h1.172a2 2 0 0 1 1.414.586L18.5 14.5" /></svg> Tools

superglue is an AI-powered **tool builder** that builds on top of a user's systems. Tools are built according to user instructions and execute **sequentially**. Every tool takes a number of (optional) inputs, executes a series of tool steps and returns an output.
Tool inputs can include the systems that this tool will use, a payload of tool variables (e.g. a timestamp, a user ID or something similar) or files.
Tools will **execute deterministically** once they are saved, but are built and auto-evaluated using large language models. For more details on tool building, please check out our [tool guide](/guides/creating-a-tool).

## <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="25" height="25" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="2" strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round" className="inline-block mr-2 mb-1"><polygon points="5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3" /></svg> Runtime

superglue is not just a tool builder, it's the execution environment where your tools run. When you execute a tool, superglue handles the entire data pipeline: making API calls, resolving credentials, managing retries and rate limiting, and logging results. You don't need to host your own workers, manage queues, or set up cron infrastructure.

Tools can be triggered through multiple access points: the REST API, the TypeScript and Python SDKs, Model Context Protocol (MCP) for AI agents, the CLI, or directly from the UI. For automated execution, superglue supports cron-based schedules and incoming webhooks. Every execution, whether triggered manually or on a schedule, produces a run record with step-by-step logs, timing, and full request/response details.

To learn more about running tools, see the [deploying a tool](/guides/deploying-a-tool) guide.

## <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="25" height="25" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="2" strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round" className="inline-block mr-2 mb-1"><path d="M14 9a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H6l-4 4V5a2 2 0 0 1 2-2h8a2 2 0 0 1 2 2z" /><path d="M18 9h2a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v11l-4-4h-6a2 2 0 0 1-2-2v-1" /></svg> Agents

Definitions of agents vary. When mentioning agents in superglue, we are referring to a chat-based interface to an LLM with access to a set of custom tools that it can execute on our user's behalf.
The superglue agent is designed to help you understand what superglue is, how to set up your systems in superglue and how to build tools tailored exactly to your needs and specifications.
Different agents in superglue may have slightly different tool calling capabilities and context about your tools and systems, but the core concept remains the same.