Unit 9 · Connect to external tools and data

Handle long-running MCP work

Modern servers may return a task from an ordinary tool call, which Ax can auto-await or expose for input, cancellation, and observation. Legacy task-draft APIs remain compatibility-only.

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Worked example

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const outcome = await client.callToolOutcome(name, input);
if (outcome.kind === 'task') await client.waitForTask(outcome.task.taskId);

Run itIn your own project

npm install @ax-llm/ax

import { ai, ax } from '@ax-llm/ax';

const llm = ai({ name: 'openai', apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_APIKEY! });
const classify = ax('review:string -> sentiment:class "positive, negative, neutral"');

const result = await classify.forward(llm, {
  review: 'Useful and boring in the best way.',
});

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 -- typescript src/examples/typescript/mcp/native-mcp-tools.ts

Active practice

Show that you can use it

Answer 2 in a row to learn this · attempt 1

Keep exploring

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