- Getting started
- UiPath Agents in Studio Web
- UiPath Coded agents
Agents user guide
API workflows
API workflows are serverless integrations that agents can use as tools to interact with enterprise systems through APIs. By adding an API workflow as a tool, you enable your agent to perform secure, deterministic operations — such as retrieving, updating, or synchronizing data — without requiring direct access to underlying systems or credentials.
When you include an API workflow as a tool, the agent can:
- Call the workflow at runtime to perform backend actions like querying business data, triggering updates, or aggregating information.
- Reason over structured results returned by the workflow to decide on next steps in its plan.
- Combine logic from multiple systems by chaining API workflows with other tools, such as automations or Integration Service connectors.
API workflows run on a fully cloud-managed, serverless infrastructure, ensuring scalability, security, and organizational governance. Each workflow defines a request-and-response contract in JSON format, allowing agents to invoke them programmatically and interpret their outputs for reasoning.
Key benefits
- Deterministic and governed – API workflows encapsulate enterprise logic behind secure, versioned APIs with full auditability in Orchestrator.
- Reusable across agents – The same workflow can serve as a shared tool for multiple agents or Maestro processes.
- Serverless and scalable – Execution is managed automatically in UiPath Automation Cloud™, requiring no infrastructure setup.
- Composable and controlled – Combine API workflows with RPA workflows, automations, and connectors, while applying consistent governance and simulation policies across all tools.
How agents use API workflows
Once published to Orchestrator, API workflows appear as reusable components within the Tools section of an agent definition in Studio Web. Each tool can include a description that helps the agent understand its purpose and when to use it. When invoked, the agent passes input parameters to the workflow, executes its logic — for example, making an external API call or transforming structured data — and retrieves the results as JSON output.
Like other tool types — for example, RPA workflows or automations — you can:
- Set up guardrails to control when and how an API workflow can be invoked by the agent. Guardrails can limit tool availability based on input patterns, enforce usage policies, or restrict execution to approved workflows.
- Enable tool simulation to test an agent’s reasoning flow without executing real API calls. During simulation, the agent receives representative mock data instead of triggering the actual workflow, allowing safe validation of tool selection and decision-making logic.
These controls ensure agents behave predictably, stay within defined boundaries, and can be safely tested during development or evaluation.
Adding an API workflow as a tool
- From the Definition panel, under the Tools section, select Add tool.
- Select the API workflow tab and search for workflows using the search bar or select one from the available list. To access an API workflow as a tool, you must first publish and deploy it as a process to a shared Orchestrator folder.
- Use the system prompt to describe its function and when it should be used.
