# What is the difference between tools and resources in the context of APIs?

**URL:** <https://community.deeplearning.ai/t/what-is-the-difference-between-tools-and-resources-in-the-context-of-apis/819016>\
**Category:** MCP: Build Rich-Context AI Apps with Anthropic\
**Tags:** conceptual-question\
**Created:** [May 21, 2025, 7:01am UTC](https://community.deeplearning.ai/t/what-is-the-difference-between-tools-and-resources-in-the-context-of-apis/819016 "2025-05-21T07:01:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![yagneshicp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@yagneshicp](https://community.deeplearning.ai/u/yagneshicp)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2025, 7:01am UTC](https://community.deeplearning.ai/t/what-is-the-difference-between-tools-and-resources-in-the-context-of-apis/819016/1 "2025-05-21T07:01:06Z")

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![Screenshot from 2025-05-21 12-30-18](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/dlai/original/3X/3/1/315fa3ff153faf1700fd84260ef2d2bc78264e5f.jpeg)  
In this part, it is written that API responses are resources. We all know that API calling is part of a tool. So what’s the fundamental difference between tools and resources here? Thanks.

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**Author:** ![TMosh](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/dlai/user_avatar/community.deeplearning.ai/tmosh/32/9321_2.png) [@TMosh](https://community.deeplearning.ai/u/TMosh)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2025, 5:59pm UTC](https://community.deeplearning.ai/t/what-is-the-difference-between-tools-and-resources-in-the-context-of-apis/819016/2 "2025-05-21T17:59:26Z")

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Maybe consider it like this (in broad terms):  
Resources = Data  
Tools = Methods to access the data.

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**Author:** ![steve\_davis](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/dlai/user_avatar/community.deeplearning.ai/steve_davis/32/126893_2.png) [@steve\_davis](https://community.deeplearning.ai/u/steve_davis)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 7:19am UTC](https://community.deeplearning.ai/t/what-is-the-difference-between-tools-and-resources-in-the-context-of-apis/819016/3 "2026-04-15T07:19:32Z")

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Tools in the context of APIs mean functionalities that can be performed through APIs, like initiating workflows, executing queries, or conducting operations. Whereas, resources denote data objects exposed by the APIs, which include but are not limited to user information, files, or database records. The use of tools is done to create, read, update, or delete resources. SoftSpell is an example of such platforms as they utilize AI-driven tools interacting with API resources.