| Routine type | Use it when | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Clay-managed functions | You want Clay-provided enrichment or research for common jobs | Available |
| Custom functions | You already have Clay logic you want to call from agents, the CLI, MCP, or the API | Available |
| Workflows (Alpha) | You want to create, edit, run, inspect, or batch-run Clay logic from the plugin or CLI | Alpha |
Workflows are in Alpha. They overlap with functions in what they can execute, but differ in how you build and
manage them.
How routines are called
Routines can be called from the Clay plugin, CLI, MCP, or direct API integrations.| Surface | What it is good for |
|---|---|
| Clay plugin | Agent workflows in Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor |
| CLI | JSON-first runs, batch runs, workflow testing, and debugging |
| MCP | Agent access to Clay objects and routines |
| API | Backend services, internal tools, queue workers, custom UIs, and product workflows |
First pattern
- Use Searches to find a list of companies or people.
- Use a Clay-managed function to enrich the results.
- Send the structured output to your CRM, warehouse, app, or agent.
Run a search, then enrich with a function
See the basic search-plus-function flow.