Support optional arguments in tool calls

README.md

@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ This library offers:
 
 First install the package.
 ```bash
-pip install agents
+pip install smolagents
 ```
 Then define your agent, give it the tools it needs and run it!
 ```py

docs/source/_config.py

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 # docstyle-ignore
 INSTALL_CONTENT = """
-# Transformers installation
+# Installation
-! pip install agents
+! pip install smolagents
 # To install from source instead of the last release, comment the command above and uncomment the following one.
-# ! pip install git+https://github.com/huggingface/agents.git
+# ! pip install git+https://github.com/huggingface/smolagents.git
 """
 
 notebook_first_cells = [{"type": "code", "content": INSTALL_CONTENT}]

examples/tool_calling_agent_from_any_llm.py

@@ -1,19 +1,21 @@
 from smolagents.agents import ToolCallingAgent
 from smolagents import tool, HfApiModel, TransformersModel, LiteLLMModel
+from typing import Optional
 
 # Choose which LLM engine to use!
-model = HfApiModel("meta-llama/Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct")
+# model = HfApiModel("meta-llama/Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct")
-model = TransformersModel("meta-llama/Llama-3.2-2B-Instruct")
+# model = TransformersModel("meta-llama/Llama-3.2-2B-Instruct")
 model = LiteLLMModel("gpt-4o")
 
 @tool
-def get_weather(location: str) -> str:
+def get_weather(location: str, celsius: Optional[bool] = False) -> str:
     """
     Get weather in the next days at given location.
     Secretly this tool does not care about the location, it hates the weather everywhere.
 
     Args:
         location: the location
+        celsius: the temperature
     """
     return "The weather is UNGODLY with torrential rains and temperatures below -10°C"
 

src/smolagents/default_tools.py

@@ -172,6 +172,7 @@ class GoogleSearchTool(Tool):
         "filter_year": {
             "type": "integer",
             "description": "Optionally restrict results to a certain year",
+            "nullable": True,
         },
     }
     output_type = "string"
@@ -209,9 +210,14 @@ class GoogleSearchTool(Tool):
             raise ValueError(response.json())
 
         if "organic_results" not in results.keys():
-            raise Exception(
+            if filter_year is not None:
-                f"'organic_results' key not found for query: '{query}'. Use a less restrictive query."
+                raise Exception(
-            )
+                    f"'organic_results' key not found for query: '{query}' with filtering on year={filter_year}. Use a less restrictive query or do not filter on year."
+                )
+            else:
+                raise Exception(
+                    f"'organic_results' key not found for query: '{query}'. Use a less restrictive query."
+                )
         if len(results["organic_results"]) == 0:
             year_filter_message = (
                 f" with filter year={filter_year}" if filter_year is not None else ""

src/smolagents/models.py

@@ -67,9 +67,12 @@ tool_role_conversions = {
 
 def get_json_schema(tool: Tool) -> Dict:
     properties = deepcopy(tool.inputs)
-    for value in properties.values():
+    required = []
+    for key, value in properties.items():
         if value["type"] == "any":
             value["type"] = "string"
+        if not ("nullable" in value and value["nullable"]):
+            required.append(key)
     return {
         "type": "function",
         "function": {
@@ -78,7 +81,7 @@ def get_json_schema(tool: Tool) -> Dict:
             "parameters": {
                 "type": "object",
                 "properties": properties,
-                "required": list(tool.inputs.keys()),
+                "required": required,
             },
         },
     }

src/smolagents/prompts.py

@@ -260,10 +260,8 @@ Task: "Which city has the highest population: Guangzhou or Shanghai?"
 Thought: I need to get the populations for both cities and compare them: I will use the tool `search` to get the population of both cities.
 Code:
 ```py
-population_guangzhou = search("Guangzhou population")
+for city in ["Guangzhou", "Shanghai"]:
-print("Population Guangzhou:", population_guangzhou)
+    print(f"Population {city}:", search(f"{city} population")
-population_shanghai = search("Shanghai population")
-print("Population Shanghai:", population_shanghai)
 ```<end_code>
 Observation:
 Population Guangzhou: ['Guangzhou has a population of 15 million inhabitants as of 2021.']
@@ -278,11 +276,13 @@ final_answer("Shanghai")
 ---
 Task: "What is the current age of the pope, raised to the power 0.36?"
 
-Thought: I will use the tool `wiki` to get the age of the pope, then raise it to the power 0.36.
+Thought: I will use the tool `wiki` to get the age of the pope, and confirm that with a web search.
 Code:
 ```py
-pope_age = wiki(query="current pope age")
+pope_age_wiki = wiki(query="current pope age")
-print("Pope age:", pope_age)
+print("Pope age as per wikipedia:", pope_age_wiki)
+pope_age_search = web_search(query="current pope age")
+print("Pope age as per google search:", pope_age_search)
 ```<end_code>
 Observation:
 Pope age: "The pope Francis is currently 85 years old."

src/smolagents/tool_validation.py

@@ -85,7 +85,6 @@ class MethodChecker(ast.NodeVisitor):
         self.generic_visit(node)
 
     def visit_Attribute(self, node):
-        # Skip self.something
         if not (isinstance(node.value, ast.Name) and node.value.id == "self"):
             self.generic_visit(node)
 

src/smolagents/tools.py

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ import torch
 import textwrap
 from functools import lru_cache, wraps
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import Callable, Dict, List, Optional, Union
+from typing import Callable, Dict, List, Optional, Union, get_type_hints
 from huggingface_hub import (
     create_repo,
     get_collection,
@@ -42,6 +42,8 @@ from transformers.utils import (
     is_accelerate_available,
     is_torch_available,
 )
+from transformers.utils.chat_template_utils import _parse_type_hint
+
 from transformers.dynamic_module_utils import get_imports
 from transformers import AutoProcessor
 
@@ -95,17 +97,27 @@ def setup_default_tools():
     return default_tools
 
 
-def validate_after_init(cls, do_validate_forward: bool = True):
+def validate_after_init(cls):
     original_init = cls.__init__
 
     @wraps(original_init)
     def new_init(self, *args, **kwargs):
         original_init(self, *args, **kwargs)
-        self.validate_arguments(do_validate_forward=do_validate_forward)
+        self.validate_arguments()
 
     cls.__init__ = new_init
     return cls
 
+def _convert_type_hints_to_json_schema(func: Callable) -> Dict:
+    type_hints = get_type_hints(func)
+    signature = inspect.signature(func)
+    properties = {}
+    for param_name, param_type in type_hints.items():
+        if param_name != "return":
+            properties[param_name] = _parse_type_hint(param_type)
+            if signature.parameters[param_name].default != inspect.Parameter.empty:
+                properties[param_name]["nullable"] = True
+    return properties
 
 AUTHORIZED_TYPES = [
     "string",
@@ -145,7 +157,7 @@ class Tool:
 
     name: str
     description: str
-    inputs: Dict[str, Dict[str, Union[str, type]]]
+    inputs: Dict[str, Dict[str, Union[str, type, bool]]]
     output_type: str
 
     def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
@@ -153,9 +165,9 @@ class Tool:
 
     def __init_subclass__(cls, **kwargs):
         super().__init_subclass__(**kwargs)
-        validate_after_init(cls, do_validate_forward=False)
+        validate_after_init(cls)
 
-    def validate_arguments(self, do_validate_forward: bool = True):
+    def validate_arguments(self):
         required_attributes = {
             "description": str,
             "name": str,
@@ -184,12 +196,21 @@ class Tool:
                 )
 
         assert getattr(self, "output_type", None) in AUTHORIZED_TYPES
-        if do_validate_forward:
+
-            signature = inspect.signature(self.forward)
+        # Validate forward function signature
-            if not set(signature.parameters.keys()) == set(self.inputs.keys()):
+        signature = inspect.signature(self.forward)
-                raise Exception(
+
-                    "Tool's 'forward' method should take 'self' as its first argument, then its next arguments should match the keys of tool attribute 'inputs'."
+        if not set(signature.parameters.keys()) == set(self.inputs.keys()):
-                )
+            raise Exception(
+                "Tool's 'forward' method should take 'self' as its first argument, then its next arguments should match the keys of tool attribute 'inputs'."
+            )
+
+        json_schema = _convert_type_hints_to_json_schema(self.forward)
+        for key, value in self.inputs.items():
+            if "nullable" in value:
+                assert (key in json_schema and "nullable" in json_schema[key]), f"Nullable argument '{key}' in inputs should have key 'nullable' set to True in function signature."
+            if key in json_schema and "nullable" in json_schema[key]:
+                assert "nullable" in value, f"Nullable argument '{key}' in function signature should have key 'nullable' set to True in inputs."
 
     def forward(self, *args, **kwargs):
         return NotImplementedError("Write this method in your subclass of `Tool`.")
@@ -877,9 +898,6 @@ def tool(tool_function: Callable) -> Tool:
             "Tool return type not found: make sure your function has a return type hint!"
         )
 
-    if parameters["return"]["type"] == "object":
-        parameters["return"]["type"] = "any"
-
     class SimpleTool(Tool):
         def __init__(self, name, description, inputs, output_type, function):
             self.name = name
@@ -898,11 +916,10 @@ def tool(tool_function: Callable) -> Tool:
     )
     original_signature = inspect.signature(tool_function)
     new_parameters = [
-        inspect.Parameter("self", inspect.Parameter.POSITIONAL_OR_KEYWORD)
+        inspect.Parameter("self", inspect.Parameter.POSITIONAL_ONLY)
     ] + list(original_signature.parameters.values())
     new_signature = original_signature.replace(parameters=new_parameters)
     simple_tool.forward.__signature__ = new_signature
-    # SimpleTool.__name__ = "".join([el.title() for el in parameters["name"].split("_")])
     return simple_tool
 
 

tests/test_final_answer.py

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ from smolagents.types import AGENT_TYPE_MAPPING
 
 from smolagents.default_tools import FinalAnswerTool
 
-from .test_tools_common import ToolTesterMixin
+from .test_tools import ToolTesterMixin
 
 
 if is_torch_available():

tests/test_python_interpreter.py

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ from smolagents.local_python_executor import (
     evaluate_python_code,
 )
 
-from .test_tools_common import ToolTesterMixin
+from .test_tools import ToolTesterMixin
 
 
 # Fake function we will use as tool

tests/test_search.py

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import unittest
 
 from smolagents import load_tool
 
-from .test_tools_common import ToolTesterMixin
+from .test_tools import ToolTesterMixin
 
 
 class DuckDuckGoSearchToolTester(unittest.TestCase, ToolTesterMixin):

tests/test_tools.py

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 import unittest
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import Dict, Union
+from typing import Dict, Union, Optional
 
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
@@ -126,9 +126,9 @@ class ToolTests(unittest.TestCase):
                     "description": "the task category (such as text-classification, depth-estimation, etc)",
                 }
             }
-            output_type = "integer"
+            output_type = "string"
 
-            def forward(self, task):
+            def forward(self, task: str) -> str:
                 return "best model"
 
         tool = HFModelDownloadsTool()
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ class ToolTests(unittest.TestCase):
             name = "specific"
             description = "test description"
             inputs = {
-                "input_str": {"type": "string", "description": "input description"}
+                "string_input": {"type": "string", "description": "input description"}
             }
             output_type = "string"
 
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ class ToolTests(unittest.TestCase):
                 super().__init__(self)
                 self.url = "none"
 
-            def forward(self, string_input):
+            def forward(self, string_input: str) -> str:
                 return self.url + string_input
 
         fail_tool = FailTool("dummy_url")
@@ -241,46 +241,127 @@ class ToolTests(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def test_saving_tool_allows_no_imports_from_outside_methods(self):
         # Test that using imports from outside functions fails
-        from numpy import random
+        import numpy as np
 
-        class FailTool2(Tool):
+        class FailTool(Tool):
             name = "specific"
             description = "test description"
             inputs = {
-                "input_str": {"type": "string", "description": "input description"}
+                "string_input": {"type": "string", "description": "input description"}
             }
             output_type = "string"
 
             def useless_method(self):
-                self.client = random.random()
+                self.client = np.random.random()
                 return ""
 
             def forward(self, string_input):
                 return self.useless_method() + string_input
 
-        fail_tool_2 = FailTool2()
+        fail_tool = FailTool()
         with pytest.raises(Exception) as e:
-            fail_tool_2.save("output")
+            fail_tool.save("output")
-        assert "random" in str(e)
+        assert "'np' is undefined" in str(e)
 
         # Test that putting these imports inside functions works
-
+        class SuccessTool(Tool):
-        class FailTool3(Tool):
             name = "specific"
             description = "test description"
             inputs = {
-                "input_str": {"type": "string", "description": "input description"}
+                "string_input": {"type": "string", "description": "input description"}
             }
             output_type = "string"
 
             def useless_method(self):
-                from numpy import random
+                import numpy as np
 
-                self.client = random.random()
+                self.client = np.random.random()
                 return ""
 
             def forward(self, string_input):
                 return self.useless_method() + string_input
 
-        fail_tool_3 = FailTool3()
+        success_tool = SuccessTool()
-        fail_tool_3.save("output")
+        success_tool.save("output")
+
+    def test_tool_missing_class_attributes_raises_error(self):
+        with pytest.raises(Exception) as e:
+            class GetWeatherTool(Tool):
+                name = "get_weather"
+                description = "Get weather in the next days at given location."
+                inputs = {
+                    "location": {"type": "string", "description": "the location"},
+                    "celsius": {"type": "string", "description": "the temperature type"}
+                }
+
+                def forward(self, location: str, celsius: Optional[bool] = False) -> str:
+                    return "The weather is UNGODLY with torrential rains and temperatures below -10°C"
+                
+            tool = GetWeatherTool()
+        assert "You must set an attribute output_type" in str(e)
+
+    def test_tool_from_decorator_optional_args(self):
+        @tool
+        def get_weather(location: str, celsius: Optional[bool] = False) -> str:
+            """
+            Get weather in the next days at given location.
+            Secretly this tool does not care about the location, it hates the weather everywhere.
+
+            Args:
+                location: the location
+                celsius: the temperature type
+            """
+            return "The weather is UNGODLY with torrential rains and temperatures below -10°C"
+        
+        assert "nullable" in get_weather.inputs["celsius"]
+        assert get_weather.inputs["celsius"]["nullable"] == True
+        assert "nullable" not in get_weather.inputs["location"]
+
+    def test_tool_mismatching_nullable_args_raises_error(self):
+        with pytest.raises(Exception) as e:
+            class GetWeatherTool(Tool):
+                name = "get_weather"
+                description = "Get weather in the next days at given location."
+                inputs = {
+                    "location": {"type": "string", "description": "the location"},
+                    "celsius": {"type": "string", "description": "the temperature type"}
+                }
+                output_type = "string"
+
+                def forward(self, location: str, celsius: Optional[bool] = False) -> str:
+                    return "The weather is UNGODLY with torrential rains and temperatures below -10°C"
+                
+            tool = GetWeatherTool()
+        assert "Nullable" in str(e)
+
+        with pytest.raises(Exception) as e:
+            class GetWeatherTool2(Tool):
+                name = "get_weather"
+                description = "Get weather in the next days at given location."
+                inputs = {
+                    "location": {"type": "string", "description": "the location"},
+                    "celsius": {"type": "string", "description": "the temperature type"}
+                }
+                output_type = "string"
+
+                def forward(self, location: str, celsius: bool = False) -> str:
+                    return "The weather is UNGODLY with torrential rains and temperatures below -10°C"
+                
+            tool = GetWeatherTool2()
+        assert "Nullable" in str(e)
+
+        with pytest.raises(Exception) as e:
+            class GetWeatherTool3(Tool):
+                name = "get_weather"
+                description = "Get weather in the next days at given location."
+                inputs = {
+                    "location": {"type": "string", "description": "the location"},
+                    "celsius": {"type": "string", "description": "the temperature type", "nullable": True}
+                }
+                output_type = "string"
+
+                def forward(self, location, celsius: str) -> str:
+                    return "The weather is UNGODLY with torrential rains and temperatures below -10°C"
+                
+            tool = GetWeatherTool3()
+        assert "Nullable" in str(e)