Unit 5 · Build an agent that can use tools

Give an agent many tools without overload

You group large tool catalogs and load their details only when relevant. The agent begins with a compact index instead of carrying every tool description.

9 focused minutesNot started

Worked example

See the idea in context

var assistant = Ax.agent("message:string -> reply:string", Map.of(
    "functionDiscovery", true,
    "functions", List.of(Map.of(
        "namespace", "kb",
        "title", "Knowledge Base",
        "selectionCriteria", "Use for policy or documentation lookup.",
        "functions", List.of(search)
    ))
));

Run itIn your own project

// Gradle (build.gradle):
implementation 'dev.axllm:ax:24.0.15'
// Maven (pom.xml):
<dependency>
  <groupId>dev.axllm</groupId>
  <artifactId>ax</artifactId>
  <version>24.0.15</version>
</dependency>

import dev.axllm.ax.Ax;
import java.util.Map;

public class QuickStart {
  public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
    var llm = Ax.ai("openai", Map.of("apiKey", System.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY")));
    var classify = Ax.ax("review:string -> sentiment:class \"positive, negative, neutral\"");
    var result = classify.forward(llm, Map.of(
      "review", "Useful and boring in the best way."
    ));

    System.out.println("sentiment: " + result.get("sentiment"));
  }
}

Set OPENAI_APIKEY in your environment before running provider-backed code.

In the ax repo

From a clone of the ax repo:

npm run example -- java src/examples/java/short-agents/ToolsAgentExample.java

Active practice

Show that you can use it

Answer 2 in a row to learn this · attempt 1

Keep exploring

See the idea in context

Show that you can use it

Source-backed follow-up