# Tools Reference

> OpenBotX is an AI assistant platform. Tools are Python functions the AI agent can call during conversations. This document provides a complete reference for all built-in tools, their parameters, and access rules.

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- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: tools-only (https://skillmd.com/u/tools-only)
- Updated: 2026-09-29
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tools-only/tools-reference

---

# Tools Reference

OpenBotX is an AI assistant platform. Tools are Python functions the AI agent can call during conversations. This document provides a complete reference for all built-in tools, their parameters, and access rules.

## Overview

All tools are registered in `openbotx/tools/`. The `ToolRegistry` manages them and generates OpenAI-compatible function definitions for the LLM. Tools are registered via `build_registry()` in `openbotx/tools/registry.py`, which is called during agent initialization.

The registry:

1. Stores tool instances.
2. Generates OpenAI-compatible function definitions (sent to the LLM).
3. Executes tool calls by name with arguments.
4. Returns string results back to the agent loop.

### Path Resolution

All file-based tools (`read_file`, `write_file`, `edit_file`, `list_dir`, `http_client`) use the `PathResolver` class (`openbotx/helpers/path.py`) for path resolution and directory restriction enforcement.

**How it works:**

1. Relative paths are resolved against the agent's workspace directory.
2. `~` (home directory) is expanded via `Path.expanduser()`.
3. When `tools.general.restrict_to_workspace` is enabled in the config, each agent is restricted to its own **workspace directory** and the shared **public directory**. Any path outside these directories raises a `PermissionError`.
4. When `tools.general.restrict_to_workspace` is disabled, all paths on the filesystem are accessible.

```python
class PathResolver:
    def __init__(self, workspace: Path | None = None, allowed_dirs: list[Path] | None = None):
        ...

    @property
    def is_restricted(self) -> bool:
        """Returns True when directory restrictions are active."""
        return self._allowed_dirs is not None

    def resolve(self, path: str) -> Path:
        """Resolve a path string to an absolute Path, enforcing allowed directories."""
        # 1. expand ~, resolve relative to workspace
        # 2. if allowed_dirs is set, verify path is inside one of them
        # 3. raise PermissionError if outside allowed directories
        ...
```

`ProjectContext.create_resolver(agent_cfg)` creates a `PathResolver` per agent. This is called inside `build_registry()` during tool registration:

```python
# In ProjectContext (openbotx/config/project.py):
def create_resolver(self, agent_cfg: AgentConfig) -> PathResolver:
    workspace = agent_cfg.resolve_workspace(self.project_path)
    allowed_dirs = (
        [workspace, self.public_dir]
        if self.tools.general.restrict_to_workspace
        else None
    )
    return PathResolver(workspace=workspace, allowed_dirs=allowed_dirs)
```

The resolver is created internally by `build_registry()` and passed to all file-based tools.

### Agent-Specific Tool Whitelisting

Each agent can optionally define a `tools` list in its configuration. When set, only tools whose `name` appears in this list are registered for that agent. Tools not in the whitelist are silently skipped during `build_registry()`. When the list is empty (default), all tools are registered.

```yaml
agents:
  crypto:
    tools: [read_file, write_file, exec, web_search, web_fetch, http_client, rss_reader, browser, message, spawn, cron, memory_save, memory_read, memory_search]
```

---

## Built-in Tools

### File Operations

**Source:** `openbotx/tools/filesystem.py`

All file tools receive a `PathResolver` instance at construction. When `tools.general.restrict_to_workspace` is enabled, operations are sandboxed to the agent's workspace directory and the shared public directory.

#### read_file

Read the contents of a file. Supports line-based pagination for large files.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| `path` | string | Yes | File path, relative to workspace or absolute. |
| `offset` | integer | No | Line number to start reading from (1-based). Use to continue truncated reads. |
| `limit` | integer | No | Maximum number of lines to read. Defaults to entire file. |

**Output limit:** Each read returns up to **50 KB** of content. When a file exceeds this limit, the output includes the line range shown and the `offset` value needed to continue reading the next chunk. The agent can call `read_file` multiple times with increasing offsets to read the full file.

#### write_file

Create or overwrite a file. Creates parent directories automatically.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| `path` | string | Yes | File path, relative to workspace or absolute. |
| `content` | string | Yes | The content to write. |

#### edit_file

Search and replace within a file. The `old_text` must match exactly once. If it appears multiple times, the tool returns a warning asking for more context to make it unique. If not found, it shows a best-match diff with the closest similar text.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| `path` | string | Yes | File path, relative to workspace or absolute. |
| `old_text` | string | Yes | The exact text to find. |
| `new_text` | string | Yes | The replacement text. |

#### list_dir

List the contents of a directory. Items are prefixed with `[dir]` or `[file]`.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| `path` | string | Yes | Directory path, relative to workspace or absolute. |

---

### Shell

**Source:** `openbotx/tools/shell.py`

#### exec

Execute a shell command.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| `command` | string | Yes | The shell command to execute. |

The command runs with a configurable timeout (`tools.exec.timeout`, default 60 seconds). When `tools.general.restrict_to_workspace` is enabled (detected via `PathResolver.is_restricted`), the working directory is locked to the workspace.

**Output limit:** Output larger than **200 KB** is truncated using tail-based truncation — only the last 200 KB of output is kept, prefixed with a warning: `[Output truncated: showing last 200000 of N chars]`. This preserves the most recent output (where errors and results typically appear) while discarding older output.

---

### Web

**Source:** `openbotx/tools/web.py`

#### web_search

Search the web using the Brave Search API.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| `query` | string | Yes | The search query. |
| `count` | integer | No | Number of results to return (1-10). |

Requires a Brave Search API key to be configured via a credential (`tools.web_search.credential` in `config.yml`).

#### web_fetch

Fetch and extract content from a URL.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| `url` | string | Yes | The URL to fetch. |
| `max_chars` | integer | No | Max characters to return (minimum: 100, default: 50000). |

Uses `readability-lxml` for content extraction.

---

### Communication

**Source:** `openbotx/tools/message.py`

#### message

Send a message to the user via the current channel.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| `content` | string | Yes | The message content. |

Only available to the main agent (not subagents).

---

### Background Tasks

**Source:** `openbotx/tools/spawn.py`

#### spawn

Launch a subagent for independent background tasks.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| `task` | string | Yes | Description of the task for the subagent. |
| `label` | string | No | Optional short label for the task. |

Only available to the main agent. Creates a child task on the task board.

---

### Scheduling

**Source:** `openbotx/tools/cron.py`

#### cron

Schedule reminders and recurring tasks.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| `action` | string | Yes | One of `add`, `list`, or `remove`. |
| `message` | string | Conditional | The message or task description (required for `add`). |
| `every_seconds` | integer | Conditional | Interval in seconds for recurring tasks. |
| `cron_expr` | string | Conditional | Cron expression (e.g. `0 9 * * *`). |
| `tz` | string | No | IANA timezone for cron expressions. |
| `at` | string | Conditional | ISO datetime for one-time execution. |
| `job_id` | string | Conditional | Job ID (required for `remove`). |

Only available to the main agent.

---

### Memory

**Source:** `openbotx/tools/memory_tool.py`

#### memory_save

Save conversation history and updated long-term memory. Used during memory consolidation.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| `history_entry` | string | Yes | Summary of recent conversation for HISTORY.md. |
| `updated_memory` | string | Yes | Updated long-term memory content for MEMORY.md. |

#### memory_read

Read memory files on demand.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| `file` | string | Yes | Which file to read: `memory` for MEMORY.md, `history` for HISTORY.md. |
| `max_lines` | integer | No | Max lines to return from the end (default: all). Useful for HISTORY.md. |

#### memory_search

Search across memory and history files for specific information.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| `query` | string | Yes | Search term (case-insensitive substring match). |

Returns matching lines with 1 line of context before/after, prefixed with the source file and line number.

---

### Browser

**Source:** `openbotx/tools/browser.py`
**CDP Library:** `openbotx/cdp/` (vendored from [python-cdp](https://github.com/niccokunzmann/python-cdp))

#### browser

Chrome automation via the Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP). Requires Google Chrome installed on the host system.

**Architecture:** A singleton `_ChromeInstance` manages the Chrome process (launched with `--remote-debugging-port=9222` and a persistent profile at `~/.openbotx/chrome-profile`). Each `BrowserTool` instance gets its own tab via `target.create_target`, enabling concurrent use by the main agent and subagents. The Chrome process starts lazily on the first tool call and is terminated on server shutdown.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| `action` | string | Yes | One of: `navigate`, `snapshot`, `screenshot`, `click`, `type`, `press`, `inspect`, `evaluate`, `wait`. |
| `url` | string | Conditional | URL to navigate to. Required for `navigate`. |
| `selector` | string | Conditional | CSS selector. Required for `click` and `type`. |
| `text` | string | Conditional | Text to type. Required for `type`. |
| `key` | string | Conditional | Key name to press. Required for `press`. Available: Enter, Tab, Escape, Backspace, Delete, ArrowUp, ArrowDown, ArrowLeft, ArrowRight, Home, End, Space. |
| `script` | string | Conditional | JavaScript expression. Required for `evaluate`. |
| `seconds` | integer | No | Seconds to wait (default: 2). Used by `wait`. |
| `max_chars` | integer | No | Max characters for snapshot (default: 50000). |
| `headless` | boolean | No | Run browser in headless mode (default: false). |

**Actions:**

| Action | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `navigate` | Navigate to a URL via `cdp.page.navigate`. Waits 2 seconds for page load. |
| `snapshot` | Extract visible text content (`document.body.innerText`). Truncated to `max_chars`. |
| `screenshot` | Capture a PNG screenshot via `cdp.page.capture_screenshot`. |
| `click` | Click an element by CSS selector. Uses pure CDP: resolves element to `RemoteObjectId`, scrolls into view, gets content quads for coordinates, then dispatches mouse events (mouseMoved → mousePressed → mouseReleased). |
| `type` | Click to focus an element, then type text character-by-character via CDP key events (`dispatch_key_event`). |
| `press` | Press a special key (Enter, Tab, Escape, etc.) via CDP key events with correct virtual key codes. |
| `inspect` | Discover interactive elements on the page (links, buttons, inputs, etc.). Returns up to 50 visible elements with their CSS selectors, element type, and label text. |
| `evaluate` | Run arbitrary JavaScript and return the result. |
| `wait` | Wait for a specified number of seconds. |

**Click mechanism:** The `_click` method uses a multi-step pure CDP approach:

1. **Resolve** — `runtime.evaluate` to get a `RemoteObjectId` handle for the CSS selector.
2. **Scroll** — `dom.scroll_into_view_if_needed` to ensure the element is in the viewport.
3. **Position** — `dom.get_content_quads` to get the element's bounding quad, then compute the center point.
4. **Click** — Dispatch CDP mouse events at the coordinates (mouseMoved → mousePressed → mouseReleased).

---

### HTTP Client

**Source:** `openbotx/tools/http_client.py`

#### http_client

Full HTTP client with download, upload, and authentication support. Uses a `PathResolver` for file path resolution and `CredentialConfig` for authentication via credentials.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| `method` | string | Yes | HTTP method: `GET`, `POST`, `PUT`, `DELETE`, `PATCH`, `HEAD`, or `OPTIONS`. |
| `url` | string | Yes | The request URL. |
| `headers` | object | No | HTTP headers as key-value pairs. |
| `body` | string | No | The request body. |
| `content_type` | string | No | Body content type: `json` (default), `form`, `text`, or `xml`. Maps to the appropriate `Content-Type` header. |
| `auth` | string | No | Credential name from config. Automatically applies authentication headers (OAuth 1.0a, Basic, or Bearer) based on the credential's type. |
| `timeout` | integer | No | Request timeout in seconds (default: 30). |
| `follow_redirects` | boolean | No | Follow HTTP redirects (default: true). |
| `download_path` | string | No | Save the response body to this file path instead of returning it. Path is resolved via `PathResolver`. |
| `upload_file` | string | No | Path to a file to upload as multipart form data. Path is resolved via `PathResolver`. |
| `upload_field` | string | No | Form field name for the uploaded file (default: `file`). |

**Content type mapping:**

| `content_type` value | `Content-Type` header |
|---------------------|----------------------|
| `json` | `application/json` |
| `form` | `application/x-www-form-urlencoded` |
| `text` | `text/plain` |
| `xml` | `application/xml` |

**Response format:** Returns JSON with `status`, `headers`, `body`, and `truncated` fields. Response bodies larger than **50,000 characters** (50 KB) are truncated.

**Download mode:** When `download_path` is set, the file is saved and the response returns `status`, `path`, `size`, and `content_type` instead of the body.

**Upload mode:** When `upload_file` is set, the file is sent as multipart form data. The MIME type is auto-detected from the file extension. Additional form fields can be passed as JSON in the `body` parameter.

**Authentication:** When `auth` is set, the tool looks up the named credential from `credentials` in the config and applies the appropriate `Authorization` header. The http_client automatically has access to all credentials with compatible types (oauth1, basic, simple):

| Auth type | Credential fields | Header format |
|-----------|---------------------|---------------|
| `oauth1` | `consumer_key`, `consumer_secret`, `access_token`, `access_token_secret` | `OAuth oauth_consumer_key="...", ...` (HMAC-SHA1) |
| `basic` | `username`, `password` | `Basic base64(username:password)` |
| `simple` | `key` | `Bearer {key}` |

Config example:
```yaml
credentials:
  twitter:
    type: oauth1
    consumer_key: ${TWITTER_CONSUMER_KEY}
    consumer_secret: ${TWITTER_CONSUMER_SECRET}
    access_token: ${TWITTER_ACCESS_TOKEN}
    access_token_secret: ${TWITTER_ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET}
  my_api:
    type: simple
    key: ${MY_API_TOKEN}
```

---

### RSS Reader

**Source:** `openbotx/tools/rss.py`

#### rss_reader

Read RSS and Atom feeds and return the latest entries.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| `url` | string | Yes | RSS/Atom feed URL. |
| `count` | integer | No | Maximum entries to return (default: 10, max: 50). |

Supports both RSS 2.0 and Atom feed formats. Automatically detects the format by trying RSS first, then Atom. HTML tags are stripped from summary fields.

**Response format:** Returns JSON with `url`, `count`, and `entries` array. Each entry has `title`, `link`, `published`, and `summary` fields.

---

### Image Generation

**Source:** `openbotx/tools/image.py`

#### generate_image

Generate images using AI models.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| `prompt` | string | Yes | Description of the image to generate or edit. |
| `filename` | string | Yes | Output filename for the generated image. |
| `reference_images` | array | No | List of storage paths to reference images for image-to-image editing. |

Requires image generation configuration. The `image.model` field uses the same `provider/model` format as agents (e.g. `openai/dall-e-3`). Only registered when the model's provider prefix matches a configured provider with a valid credential.

---

## Tool Access by Agent Type

Not all tools are available to every agent type. The main agent has full access, while subagents have a focused subset. Additionally, individual agents can restrict their tool set via the `tools` whitelist in their configuration.

| Tool | Main Agent | Subagent |
|------|------------|----------|
| `read_file` | Yes | Yes |
| `write_file` | Yes | Yes |
| `edit_file` | Yes | Yes |
| `list_dir` | Yes | Yes |
| `exec` | Yes | Yes |
| `web_search` | Yes | Yes |
| `web_fetch` | Yes | Yes |
| `http_client` | Yes | Yes |
| `rss_reader` | Yes | Yes |
| `browser` | Yes | Yes |
| `generate_image` | Yes | Yes* |
| `message` | Yes | No |
| `spawn` | Yes | No |
| `cron` | Yes | No |
| `memory_save` | Yes | No |
| `memory_read` | Yes | No |
| `memory_search` | Yes | No |

\* `generate_image` and `browser` are available to subagents only when their dependencies are satisfied (Chrome installed for browser, image API key configured for generate_image).

Subagents have access to file operations, shell execution, web tools, the HTTP client, RSS reader, browser automation, and image generation. Tools that interact with the user (`message`), manage other agents (`spawn`), schedule tasks (`cron`), or access memory (`memory_save`, `memory_read`, `memory_search`) are restricted to the main agent.

Both main agents and subagents share the same `PathResolver` instance, so they have identical directory access restrictions.