> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://rasa.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction to Actions

> Learn how to enable your assistant to perform actions in Rasa Studio

**Custom Actions** expand the capabilities of your assistant, enabling it to handle dynamic tasks and interact with real-world systems.
With custom actions, your assistant can connect to external services like APIs, databases, or implement custom logic, making it versatile enough to address a wide range of use cases.

## How to Use Custom Actions in Rasa Studio

Custom actions can be added directly to your assistant’s flow by using the **Custom Action** step.
Learn more about how to [create Custom Actions here](/docs/studio/build/actions/create-a-custom-action).

If you haven't already, you’ll need to first connect your assistant to an action server. Here’s what you need to know:

#### [Local Testing Guide](/docs/studio/build/actions/local-testing)

Ideal for developers quickly testing a new custom action during local development.

#### [Action Server Guide](/docs/reference/integrations/action-server/introduction)

Best suited for team collaboration for testing deployed custom actions in a shared environment.

Once your action server is configured, you can test your assistant with [**Try Your Assistant**](/docs/studio/test/try-your-assistant). This helps ensure your custom actions work as intended before moving to production.

<Note>
  Learn more about the role of custom actions and how they fit into the broader assistant architecture in the [Action Server Overview](/docs/reference/integrations/action-server/introduction).
</Note>


## Related topics

- [Introduction to Rasa Action Server](/docs/reference/integrations/action-server/introduction.md)
- [Introduction](/docs/studio/test/introduction.md)
- [Introduction to Flows](/docs/studio/build/flow-building/introduction.md)
- [Introduction to the Rasa Platform](/docs/learn/platform-introduction.md)
- [Authorization](/docs/reference/api/studio/api-authorization.md)