Tools in Julep extend your agents’ capabilities by allowing them to interact with external services and perform specific functions. There are several types of tools available:

​
Tool Types

  1. User-defined Functions: Custom functions that you implement
  2. System Tools: Built-in tools for interacting with Julep’s APIs
  3. Integrations: Pre-built integrations with third-party services
  4. Direct API Calls: Make HTTP requests to external APIs

​
User-defined Functions

Create custom tools that your agents can use:

// Create a custom function tool
const tool = await client.agents.tools.create(agentId, {
  name: 'calculate_discount',
  description: 'Calculate the final price after applying a discount',
  type: 'function',
  function: {
    parameters: {
      type: 'object',
      properties: {
        original_price: {
          type: 'number',
          description: 'Original price before discount'
        },
        discount_percentage: {
          type: 'number',
          description: 'Discount percentage (0-100)'
        }
      },
      required: ['original_price', 'discount_percentage']
    }
  }
});

​
System Tools

Use built-in tools to interact with Julep’s APIs:

// Add a system tool for listing agents
const systemTool = await client.agents.tools.create(agentId, {
  name: 'list_agent_docs',
  description: 'List all documents for the given agent',
  type: 'system',
  system: {
    resource: 'agent',
    subresource: 'doc',
    operation: 'list'
  }
});

​
Built-in Integrations

Julep provides several pre-built integrations:

​
Brave Search Integration

// Add Brave Search integration
const braveSearch = await client.agents.tools.create(agentId, {
  name: 'web_search',
  description: 'Search the web for information',
  integration: {
    provider: 'brave',
    method: 'search',
    setup: {
      brave_api_key: process.env.BRAVE_API_KEY
    }
  }
});

​
Email Integration

// Add email integration
const emailTool = await client.agents.tools.create(agentId, {
  name: 'send_email',
  description: 'Send an email',
  integration: {
    provider: 'email',
    setup: {
      host: 'smtp.example.com',
      port: 587,
      user: process.env.EMAIL_USER,
      password: process.env.EMAIL_PASSWORD
    }
  }
});

​
Weather Integration

// Add weather integration
const weatherTool = await client.agents.tools.create(agentId, {
  name: 'check_weather',
  description: 'Get weather information',
  integration: {
    provider: 'weather',
    setup: {
      openweathermap_api_key: process.env.OPENWEATHER_API_KEY
    }
  }
});

​
Wikipedia Integration

// Add Wikipedia integration
const wikiTool = await client.agents.tools.create(agentId, {
  name: 'wiki_search',
  description: 'Search Wikipedia articles',
  integration: {
    provider: 'wikipedia'
  }
});

​
Direct API Calls

Make direct HTTP requests to external APIs:

// Add a direct API call tool
const apiTool = await client.agents.tools.create(agentId, {
  name: 'github_stars',
  description: 'Get GitHub repository stars',
  type: 'api_call',
  api_call: {
    method: 'GET',
    url: 'https://api.github.com/repos/{{owner}}/{{repo}}',
    headers: {
      Authorization: 'Bearer {{github_token}}'
    }
  }
});

​
Using Tools in Tasks

Once tools are added to an agent, they can be used in tasks:

const task = await client.tasks.create(agentId, {
  name: 'Research Task',
  description: 'Research a topic using multiple tools',
  main: [
    // Use web search
    {
      tool: 'web_search',
      arguments: {
        query: '{{_.topic}}'
      }
    },
    
    // Use Wikipedia
    {
      tool: 'wiki_search',
      arguments: {
        query: '{{_.topic}}'
      }
    },
    
    // Send results via email
    {
      tool: 'send_email',
      arguments: {
        to: '{{_.email}}',
        subject: 'Research Results: {{_.topic}}',
        body: '{{_.results}}'
      }
    }
  ]
});

​
Tool Management

// List tools for an agent
const tools = await client.agents.tools.list(agentId);

// Get a specific tool
const tool = await client.agents.tools.get(agentId, toolId);

// Update a tool
const updatedTool = await client.agents.tools.update(agentId, toolId, {
  description: 'Updated tool description'
});

// Delete a tool
await client.agents.tools.delete(agentId, toolId);

​
Error Handling

try {
  const tool = await client.agents.tools.create(agentId, {
    name: 'web_search',
    integration: {
      provider: 'brave',
      setup: {
        brave_api_key: process.env.BRAVE_API_KEY
      }
    }
  });
} catch (error) {
  if (error.name === 'ValidationError') {
    console.error('Invalid tool configuration:', error.message);
  } else if (error.name === 'IntegrationError') {
    console.error('Integration setup failed:', error.message);
  } else {
    console.error('Unexpected error:', error);
  }
}

​
Next Steps

Advanced Usage

Learn advanced patterns and best practices

API Reference

View the complete API reference

Examples

See real-world examples

Common Patterns

Learn common integration patterns