> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.alterhq.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Use Flow for Tool Orchestration > Let Flow automatically select and orchestrate your tools to reduce context usage and improve performance **Flow** is Alter's built-in tool orchestrator. Instead of loading all your enabled tools into every request, Flow acts as a single tool that intelligently routes your requests to the right tools. **Enable Tools First** — Flow can only use tools you've already enabled in Tool Manager. It doesn't automatically enable disabled tools. Make sure the tools you need are toggled on before using Flow. ## Why Use Flow? Flow loads as a single tool instead of all enabled tools, freeing up your context window for actual content Smaller payloads process faster and reduce latency on every request Fewer tokens per request means less usage against your fair use policy budget Every tool you enable consumes space in your context window. When you have 10+ tools enabled, this significantly impacts performance. Flow solves this by acting as a single tool that orchestrates all others. *** ## Enable Flow Press **⌘ ,** (Command + Comma) or click **Settings** in the menu Navigate to the **Tool Manager** tab Under **Local Tools > Alter**, toggle **Flow** on Remember: Flow can only orchestrate tools that are already enabled. Enable the specific tools you need (Calendar, Gmail, Slack, etc.) in addition to Flow itself. *** ## How Flow Works When you send a request with Flow enabled, it follows this process: Flow analyzes your request to understand what you're trying to accomplish From your enabled tools, Flow selects the appropriate tool(s) for the task Flow executes the tool calls in sequence, passing data between steps as needed Results are condensed into a concise response with key data points preserved *** ## Examples **Request:** "What meetings do I have today?" Flow automatically: 1. Recognizes you need calendar information 2. Selects the Calendar tool 3. Retrieves your meetings No need to manually select the Calendar tool — Flow handles it. **Request:** "Cancel my 3pm meeting and send an email to the attendees explaining I'm sick" Flow automatically: 1. Uses the **Calendar** tool to find your 3pm meeting 2. Identifies the attendees from the meeting 3. Uses the **Gmail** tool to compose an email 4. Sends the cancellation and explanation All in one natural language request. **Request:** "Scrape the Alter documentation and extract the key features" Flow automatically: 1. Uses a web tool to fetch the documentation content 2. Transforms the raw HTML using `$1:Extract the key features and format as bullet points` 3. Returns a formatted list of features The transformation step extracts only relevant information. *** ## When to Use Flow vs Specific Tools **90% Rule:** For 90% of tasks, Flow is the best choice. Create specific tool actions only when you need optimized, repeatable workflows. *** ## Best Practice: Configure "Ask Anything" The **Ask Anything** action is Alter's default — it's used when you type in the prompt box without selecting a specific action. Go to **Settings > Actions** Look for the **"Ask Anything"** action Expand the **Advanced** section In the **Tools** section, select only **Flow** (deselect all other tools) Save your changes Now your default interactions will use Flow's orchestration instead of loading all enabled tools into every request. *** Flow automatically chains tools together when a task requires multiple steps. The output of one tool can be referenced in subsequent calls using the `$N` syntax. ### Reference Syntax | Syntax | Description | | ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | `$1` | Raw output from step 1 | | `$2` | Raw output from step 2 | | `$N:instruction` | Transform step N's output using an instruction | ### Example with Transformation When scraping a website and formatting the results: 1. Flow uses a web tool to fetch content 2. Applies transformation: `$1:Extract the key frameworks and format as bullet points` 3. The LLM processes the raw content before passing to the next tool This allows Flow to: * Extract only relevant information from large outputs * Format data appropriately for the next tool * Reduce noise in subsequent steps Flow includes a built-in summarization step that optimizes how results are returned to your conversation. ### What Summarization Does After executing tools, Flow: 1. **Condenses the output** — Compresses verbose tool outputs 2. **Preserves important data** — Keeps IDs, URLs, references, and data points 3. **Surfaces key insights** — Highlights links, ideas, and findings for follow-up 4. **Provides source citations** — Uses \[Step N] notation for traceability ### Why This Matters Without summarization, complex workflows would bloat your context window. By turn 5 or 6, you'd hit token limits. Flow's summarization ensures: * **Efficient context** — Only essential information is kept * **Actionable replies** — Important data points are preserved * **Better performance** — Less context = faster responses * **Traceability** — \[Step N] citations verify information sources ### Example Output ``` Task completed successfully. Key artifacts for next actions: - Meeting ID: 12345 [Step 1] - Attendees: alice@example.com, bob@example.com [Step 1] - Draft email prepared [Step 2] Important findings: - Meeting conflicts with another event at 3pm [Step 1] - Alice has an out-of-office message active [Step 2] ``` *** ## Tips for Best Results

Good: "Send a Slack message to the engineering channel"

Vague: "Message the team"

Specific requests help Flow select the right tool.

 Flow handles multi-step tasks well. Don't break complex requests into multiple prompts — let Flow orchestrate the chain. Flow shows which tools it's using. If it selects the wrong one, rephrase your request with more detail. *** ## Troubleshooting Rephrase your request with more specific details: * **Instead of:** "Check my messages" * **Try:** "Check my unread Slack messages in the general channel" The more specific you are, the better Flow can match your intent to the right tool. Make sure the tool is: * **Enabled** in Tool Manager (Flow can't use disabled tools) * **Properly configured** (e.g., authenticated with Gmail) * **Not restricted** by your action settings Even with Flow, very large requests can be slow. Try: * Breaking very complex tasks into 2-3 steps * Using specific tool actions for frequently repeated tasks * Enabling only essential tools in Tool Manager *** ## Related Docs Learn how to connect and manage your tools Fix common integration issues Build custom tool workflows