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.

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Worked example

See the idea in context

assistant = agent('message:string -> reply:string', {
    'functionDiscovery': True,
    'functions': [{
        'namespace': 'kb',
        'title': 'Knowledge Base',
        'selectionCriteria': 'Use for policy or documentation lookup.',
        'functions': [search],
    }],
})

Run itIn your own project

pip install axllm

from axllm import ai, ax

llm = ai('openai', api_key=os.environ['OPENAI_API_KEY'])
classify = ax('review:string -> sentiment:class "positive, negative, neutral"')

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 -- python src/examples/python/short-agents/tools-agent.py

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