> This page is for version v1 API.
> For other versions, use one of these documentation indexes:
> - v2 API (default): https://docs.cohere.com/v2/llms.txt
> - v1 API: https://docs.cohere.com/v1/llms.txt

> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.cohere.com/llms.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.cohere.com/_mcp/server.

# An Overview of Tool Use with Cohere

> Understand single-step and multi-step tool use, and learn when to use each in your workflows.

Here, you'll find context on [single-step tool use](/docs/tool-use) and [multi-step tool use](/docs/multi-step-tool-use).

Single-step is sometimes referred to as "function calling" because it uses functions to call external tools that augment the capabilities of large language models. Multi-step tool use is sometimes referred to as "agents," because it forms the core of many workflows relying on agents.

You'll also find additional documentation on the various [types of parameters](/docs/parameter-types-in-tool-use) offered by Cohere's tool use functionality, as well as a guide on when to use single-step v.s. multi-step capabilities.