Context Providers

agno.context exposes a uniform API for plugging an external source into an agent as a natural-language tool.

A ContextProvider owns two things:

query(question) / aquery(question) — natural-language access; returns an Answer.
get_tools() — the tool surface the calling agent sees. By default, this is a single query_<id> tool (plus update_<id> for writable providers) that routes through a scoped sub-agent.

Providers that hold async resources (MCP sessions, watched inboxes, etc.) also implement asetup() / aclose(). Callers should bracket their use with these so the resource's lifetime is owned by a single task — typically wired into the application lifespan.

Providers ship in this package:

Provider	Source	Tools
`FilesystemContextProvider`	Local directory tree	`query_<id>` (read-only `FileTools` sub-agent)
`WorkspaceContextProvider`	Local project workspace	`query_<id>` (read-only `Workspace` sub-agent with project-aware excludes)
`WebContextProvider` + `ExaMCPBackend`	Web via Exa's public MCP server (keyless / keyed)	`query_<id>` (search + fetch sub-agent)
`WebContextProvider` + `ExaBackend`	Web via Exa's direct SDK	`query_<id>` (search + fetch sub-agent)
`WebContextProvider` + `ParallelBackend`	Web via Parallel's beta API	`query_<id>` (search + fetch sub-agent)
`WebContextProvider` + `ParallelMCPBackend`	Web via Parallel's public MCP server (keyless / keyed)	`query_<id>` (search + fetch sub-agent)
`DatabaseContextProvider`	Any SQL database (SQLAlchemy)	`query_<id>`, `update_<id>` (separate read/write sub-agents)
`SlackContextProvider`	A Slack workspace	`query_<id>`, `update_<id>` (separate read/write sub-agents; writer only gets `send_message` + the lookup tools it needs)
`MCPContextProvider`	One MCP server	`query_<id>` (sub-agent over the server's tools) or flat tools in `mode=tools`
`GDriveContextProvider`	Google Drive via service account	`query_<id>` (list / search / read sub-agent; all-drives aware)
`WikiContextProvider` + `FileSystemBackend`	A directory of markdown files	`query_<id>`, `update_<id>` (separate read/write sub-agents over `Workspace` tools)
`WikiContextProvider` + `GitBackend`	A clone of a git repo (PAT auth)	`query_<id>`, `update_<id>`; writes auto-commit, rebase, and push
`WikiContextProvider` + `web=ContextBackend`	Wiki + web ingestion (e.g. `ExaMCPBackend`)	Write sub-agent gains web search/fetch so `update_<id>("add this paper")` fetches and digests in one hop

All read+write providers (WikiContextProvider, DatabaseContextProvider, SlackContextProvider) accept read=True, write=True flags. Set write=False for a read-only surface (e.g. a code-managed voice wiki, an analytics-only DB), or read=False for a write-only sink. Both False raises.

Cookbooks

File	What it shows
`00_filesystem.py`	Browse local files via `FilesystemContextProvider`
`01_web_exa.py`	Web research via Exa's direct SDK (needs `EXA_API_KEY`)
`02_web_exa_mcp.py`	Web research via Exa's keyless public MCP endpoint
`03_web_parallel.py`	Web research via Parallel's beta API
`04_database_read_write.py`	Read + write a SQLite DB; end-to-end round trip
`05_slack.py`	Slack workspace: read channels (always) + optional post via `SLACK_WRITE_CHANNEL`
`06_mcp_server.py`	Wrap an MCP server; explicit `asetup` / `aclose` lifecycle
`07_google_drive.py`	Google Drive via a service account; reads a shared Doc
`08_multi_provider.py`	Three providers on one agent; names compose cleanly
`09_web_plus_slack.py`	Compositional: Slack topics feed per-topic web searches
`10_custom_provider.py`	Subclass `ContextProvider` for your own source
`11_web_parallel_mcp.py`	Web research via Parallel's public MCP endpoint (keyless; `PARALLEL_API_KEY` raises the ceiling)
`12_engineering_briefing.py`	Slack topics + codebase workspace + Parallel web into an engineering-sync briefing
`13_workspace.py`	Browse a repository root via `WorkspaceContextProvider` without virtualenv / scratch noise
`14_wiki_filesystem.py`	Read + write a local markdown wiki via `WikiContextProvider(backend=FileSystemBackend(...))`
`15_wiki_git.py`	Same provider against a real git remote; auto-commits and pushes (env-gated on `WIKI_REPO_URL` / `WIKI_GITHUB_TOKEN`)
`16_wiki_with_web.py`	Wiki + Exa MCP web backend; "add this paper" fetches the URL, digests it, and files it in one update call
`17_wiki_dual.py`	Two `WikiContextProvider` instances on one agent — `company_knowledge` (full) + `company_voice` (`write=False`)

Run

bash

# Self-contained (no external service)
OPENAI_API_KEY=... .venvs/demo/bin/python cookbook/12_context/00_filesystem.py
OPENAI_API_KEY=... .venvs/demo/bin/python cookbook/12_context/04_database_read_write.py
OPENAI_API_KEY=... .venvs/demo/bin/python cookbook/12_context/10_custom_provider.py
OPENAI_API_KEY=... .venvs/demo/bin/python cookbook/12_context/13_workspace.py
OPENAI_API_KEY=... .venvs/demo/bin/python cookbook/12_context/14_wiki_filesystem.py
OPENAI_API_KEY=... .venvs/demo/bin/python cookbook/12_context/16_wiki_with_web.py
OPENAI_API_KEY=... .venvs/demo/bin/python cookbook/12_context/17_wiki_dual.py

# Wiki against a real git repo (PAT auth; pushes commits)
OPENAI_API_KEY=... \
    WIKI_REPO_URL=https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>.git \
    WIKI_GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_... \
    .venvs/demo/bin/python cookbook/12_context/15_wiki_git.py

# Exa SDK (keyed) — higher throughput
OPENAI_API_KEY=... EXA_API_KEY=... .venvs/demo/bin/python cookbook/12_context/01_web_exa.py

# Keyless Exa MCP — no signup required
OPENAI_API_KEY=... .venvs/demo/bin/python cookbook/12_context/02_web_exa_mcp.py

# Keyless Parallel MCP — no signup required; set PARALLEL_API_KEY for higher limits
OPENAI_API_KEY=... .venvs/demo/bin/python cookbook/12_context/11_web_parallel_mcp.py

# Parallel SDK
OPENAI_API_KEY=... PARALLEL_API_KEY=... .venvs/demo/bin/python cookbook/12_context/03_web_parallel.py

# Slack bot token (xoxb-...); set SLACK_WRITE_CHANNEL=#channel to also demo posting
OPENAI_API_KEY=... SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-... .venvs/demo/bin/python cookbook/12_context/05_slack.py

# `uvx` on PATH (ships with `uv`) — the MCP time server is downloaded on first run
OPENAI_API_KEY=... .venvs/demo/bin/python cookbook/12_context/06_mcp_server.py

# Google service-account JSON with at least one folder shared to its email
OPENAI_API_KEY=... GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE=/path/to/sa.json \
    .venvs/demo/bin/python cookbook/12_context/07_google_drive.py

# Multi-provider (fs + web + db) — web uses Exa MCP, so no EXA key required
OPENAI_API_KEY=... .venvs/demo/bin/python cookbook/12_context/08_multi_provider.py

# Compositional demo (Slack topics -> per-topic Parallel web searches)
OPENAI_API_KEY=... PARALLEL_API_KEY=... SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-... \
    .venvs/demo/bin/python cookbook/12_context/09_web_plus_slack.py

# Advanced briefing demo (Slack topics -> codebase workspace -> Parallel web)
OPENAI_API_KEY=... PARALLEL_API_KEY=... SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-... \
    .venvs/demo/bin/python cookbook/12_context/12_engineering_briefing.py