How do I get a tool on my local machine into my workflow?

We would recommend against using a local tools as this would break the portability of your workflow and prevent you from sharing it. You should instead consider wrapping your tool as a web service, or using a beanshell processor.

If you absolutely need to use a local tool, then you can consider using the APIConsumer if it is a java based tool for which you have the source code, or use a Local Service Execute cmd-line app to invoke your local tool as if from a command prompt.