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Response Transforms

Response transforms are applied to tool outputs after execution. They reshape or compress the data before it reaches the AI — reducing token usage, lowering cost, and improving response quality.

Available Transforms​

JSON to CSV​

Converts JSON array responses to CSV format. JSON arrays are verbose; CSV is compact. For tools that return lists of records (CRM contacts, database rows, spreadsheet data), this can cut token usage significantly.

Example — convert a Salesforce contact list to CSV:

"Add a JSON to CSV transform to my Salesforce list_contacts tool"

Before:

[
  { "id": "001", "name": "Alice", "email": "alice@example.com" },
  { "id": "002", "name": "Bob", "email": "bob@example.com" }
]

After:

id,name,email
001,Alice,alice@example.com
002,Bob,bob@example.com

Remove Fields​

Strips specified fields from every response. Use this to cut noise — internal IDs, audit timestamps, system metadata — that the AI doesn't need and that waste tokens.

Example — remove metadata from HubSpot responses:

"Remove the created_at, updated_at, portal_id, and _links fields from all HubSpot responses"

{ "remove": ["created_at", "updated_at", "portal_id", "_links"] }

Retain Fields​

Keeps only the fields you specify, discarding everything else. More aggressive than Remove Fields — use this when a response is large and you only need a handful of fields.

Example — keep only what matters from a Salesforce opportunity:

"Retain only id, name, amount, stage, and close_date from Salesforce opportunity responses"

{ "retain": ["id", "name", "amount", "stage", "close_date"] }

Retain Fields is especially useful for wide objects (Salesforce, HubSpot, database rows) where responses can contain 50+ fields but the agent only needs 5.

How to configure​

Ask the Configurator Agent:

"Add a JSON to CSV transform to my PostgreSQL query tool"

"Strip metadata fields from all Linear issue responses"

"Only keep name, email, and company from HubSpot contact responses"

Or configure via the Civic UI: open your toolkit → select the MCP server → Guardrails → Response → Add Transform.

Transforms can be stacked — for example, Retain Fields followed by JSON to CSV will first narrow the fields, then convert to CSV format.