tools-and-sources.md

Tools and Sources

Some tools and data sources are enabled by being listed in the workflow and in each agent's tools list. They are disabled by omitting them from those lists (you can leave or remove the function definition in functions; if nothing references it, it won't be used).

Disabling a Tool

Example: disabling the paper search tool

To disable the paper search tool (for example, to avoid Serper/API usage or to restrict agents to web search only), remove paper_search_tool from every tools list that references it. For example, in config_cli_default.yml you would:

1. Remove paper_search_tool from intent_classifier.tools (orchestration node).
2. Remove paper_search_tool from deep_research_agent.tools.
3. Optionally comment out or remove the paper_search_tool function block in functions so the config is clearer.

Before (paper search enabled):

functions:
  intent_classifier:
    _type: intent_classifier
    tools:
      - web_search_tool
      - paper_search_tool

  deep_research_agent:
    _type: deep_research_agent
    tools:
      - paper_search_tool
      - advanced_web_search_tool

After (paper search disabled):

functions:
  intent_classifier:
    _type: intent_classifier
    tools:
      - web_search_tool

  deep_research_agent:
    _type: deep_research_agent
    tools:
      - advanced_web_search_tool

The same idea applies to any other tool or data source: include it in the relevant tools lists to enable it, remove it to disable it.

Adding New Tools or Data Sources

For guidance on implementing and registering new tools or data sources, refer to:

• Adding a Tool -- How to create and register a new tool with the NeMo Agent Toolkit.
• Adding a Data Source -- How to add a new data source or knowledge layer backend.