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Tooling Module Overview

docs/user_guide/en/modules/tooling/README.md

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Tooling Module Overview

DevAll currently exposes two tool binding modes for agent nodes:

  1. Function Tooling – call in-repo Python functions from functions/function_calling/, with JSON Schema auto-generated from type hints.
  2. MCP Tooling – connect to external services that implement the Model Context Protocol, including FastMCP, Claude Desktop, or any MCP-compatible tool stack.

All tooling configs hang off AgentConfig.tooling:

yaml
nodes:
  - id: solve
    type: agent
    config:
      provider: openai
      model: gpt-4o-mini
      prompt_template: solver
      tooling:
        type: function
        config:
          tools:
            - name: describe_available_files
            - name: load_file
          auto_load: true
          timeout: 20

1. Lifecycle

  1. Parse – ToolingConfig selects FunctionToolConfig, McpRemoteConfig, or McpLocalConfig based on type. Field definitions live in entity/configs/tooling.py.
  2. Runtime – When the LLM chooses a tool, the executor injects _context (attachment store, workspace paths, etc.) for Function tools or forwards the request through MCP.
  3. Completion – Tool outputs are appended to the agent message stream and, when relevant, registered as attachments (e.g., load_file).

2. Documentation Map

  • function.md – Function Tooling config, context injection, best practices.
  • function_catalog.md – Built-in function list with usage notes.
  • mcp.md – MCP Tooling config, auto-launch, FastMCP example, security guidance.

3. Quick Comparison

DimensionFunctionMCP
DeploymentIn-process Python functions shipped with the backend.Remote: call an HTTP MCP endpoint. Local: launch a process and talk over stdio.
SchemasDerived from annotations + ParamMeta.Provided by the MCP server's JSON Schema.
Context_context provides attachments + workspace helpers automatically.Depends on the MCP server implementation.
Typical useFile I/O, local scripts, internal APIs.Third-party tool suites, browsers, database agents.

4. Security Notes

  • Function Tooling runs inside the backend process, so keep functions least-privileged and avoid executing arbitrary shell commands without validation.
  • MCP Tooling now has explicit remote (HTTP) and local (stdio) modes. Remote only needs an existing server URL; Local launches your binary, so constrain the command/env vars and rely on wait_for_log + timeouts to detect readiness.
  • Tools that mutate attachments or code_workspace/ should respect the lifecycle described in the Attachment guide (Chinese for now) to avoid leaking artifacts.