# Overview (https://docs.fuser.studio/docs/tools)

A **Tool** is a node you describe in plain words. Fuser writes it, tests it,
and turns it into a working node with inputs, controls, and a result.

Ask for “Pixelate the image, with a slider for block size and a slider for
the number of colors” and you get a **Pixelate** node: wire in an image, drag
a slider, and watch the result update as you drag.

<div className="mx-auto max-w-2xl">
  ![An Image node wired into a Pixelate tool with Block size and Colors sliders and a pixelated result](/tools-overview.png)
</div>

## What tools are good at [#what-tools-are-good-at]

Tools handle the small, precise jobs between your other nodes:

* **Filters and looks** — pixelate, posterize, halftone, grain, color grading.
* **Layout and text on media** — captions, borders, before/after cards,
  contact sheets.
* **Video and audio edits** — trimming, reversing, joining, picking a frame.
* **Measuring and converting** — word counts, color palettes, subtitles from
  text, details about a 3D model.
* **Understanding content** — describing an image, extracting text, or finding
  objects, using AI in the cloud.

## Live and Cloud tools [#live-and-cloud-tools]

Every built tool shows a chip in its header that tells you how it runs.

| Chip                                                                                                            | How it runs                                                                                                            | Cost                                                        |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| <span className="whitespace-nowrap"> **Live**</span> | Runs instantly in your browser. The result updates whenever an input or control changes, even while you drag a slider. | Free.                                                       |
| <span className="whitespace-nowrap"> **Cloud**</span>    | Uses an AI model to understand or process content, so it runs on Fuser's servers. It only runs when you press **Run**. | Credits per run, shown on the **Run** button, such as `7+`. |

You don't choose the mode. Fuser picks it from what the tool needs to do:
anything that needs an AI model to look at the content is a Cloud tool, and
everything else is Live.

![A photo feeding a Live Pixelate tool and then an RGB split glitch tool, alongside a Cloud tool that writes an outfit caption and a Live tool that turns it into a headline](/tools-canvas.png)

## Reuse what you build [#reuse-what-you-build]

Every tool you build is saved automatically to the **Tools** tab of the
**Library** panel. Place it in any project with a click or a drag. In a team
workspace, everyone in the workspace can use it.

Tools also work inside [recipes](https://docs.fuser.studio/docs/recipes.md), so a recipe can resize,
caption, or analyze what its models produce.

## What tools can't do [#what-tools-cant-do]

Tools work on what you give them. They can't create new images, video,
speech, or music from scratch, edit or export 3D models, or reach websites.
If you ask for one of these, the node explains why in a short note and keeps
your request so you can rephrase it. For new media, use a generator node.

## What's Next? [#whats-next]

  - [Building a tool](https://docs.fuser.studio/docs/tools/creating.md): Describe a tool and watch it build, step by step.

  - [Inputs and controls](https://docs.fuser.studio/docs/tools/inputs-and-controls.md): Wire in media, type text, and adjust sliders, dropdowns, and switches.

  - [Running tools](https://docs.fuser.studio/docs/tools/running.md): Live updates, Cloud runs, and keeping your results.

  - [Tools library](https://docs.fuser.studio/docs/tools/library.md): Find, place, and archive the tools you've built.