You can write and publish your own components to your Pipedream workspace to use with Connect. This complements the public actions available in Pipedream’s global registry.

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Overview

Custom tools are Node.js modules that you develop using the Pipedream Components API and publish to your Pipedream workspace. Once published, they become available across all Connect APIs, including the list, retrieve, run endpoints, etc.
Publishing custom tools is available to Pipedream customers on the Business plan.

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Creating custom tools

Custom tools use the same development workflow as standard Pipedream components:
  1. Write your component using the Pipedream Components API
  2. Follow component guidelines outlined in the component development docs
  3. Use the Pipedream CLI to publish your component with a Connect-specific flag
Custom tools are actions. Check out the actions quickstart guide for step-by-step development instructions. Support for custom sources (triggers) is coming soon.

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Publishing for Connect

To make your custom components available in Connect, use the pd publish command with the --connect-environment flag: 
pd publish my-custom-action.mjs --connect-environment development

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Environments

The --connect-environment flag accepts two values:
  • development: makes the component available to your Pipedream workspace in Connect in development
  • production: makes the component available to your Pipedream workspace in Connect in production
Components published to development will only be available in the development environment, and vice versa for production.

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Using custom tools

Once published, your custom tools appear alongside public components in Connect APIs:
  • List endpoints: Custom tools are included in component listing responses
  • Retrieve endpoints: You can fetch details about your custom components
  • Run endpoints: Execute your custom tools with the same API calls used for public components

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Referencing custom tools

Custom tools are identified with a ~/ prefix in their component ID. For example, if you publish a component with the key google_sheets-update-file, it will appear in Connect APIs as ~/google_sheets-update-file. When making API calls to list, retrieve, or run custom tools, use the prefixed ID: 
# List all components (includes custom tools with ~/ prefix)
GET /v1/components
 
# Retrieve a specific custom tool
GET /v1/components/~/google_sheets-update-file
 
# Run a custom tool
POST /v1/components/~/google_sheets-update-file/run
The Connect API treats custom tools identically to public components, ensuring a consistent integration experience.

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Custom tools in MCP

Custom actions that you publish are automatically exposed as tools in the Pipedream MCP server for the relevant app.

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Example workflow

Here’s a typical workflow for creating and using a custom tool:
  1. Develop locally using your preferred editor
  2. Test your component using local testing for actions
  3. Publish to Connect with the appropriate environment flag
  4. Integrate via Connect APIs in your application
Test your custom tools in your application directly or run Pipedream’s SDK playground locally with your Pipedream credentials.

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Best practices

  • Follow naming conventions: Use clear, descriptive names for your tools
  • Include proper documentation: Add helpful descriptions and prop labels for easier configuration
  • Test thoroughly: Validate your components work as expected before publishing to production
  • Version management: Update component versions when making changes
  • Environment separation: Use development environment for testing, production for live integrations

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Getting help

For component development questions, visit the Pipedream Support. For Connect-specific integration help, refer to the Connect docs.