Bot Father: LangChain Tools Guide

Quick Start

When creating a new connector bot via Bot Father, you'll now be asked three additional questions about LangChain task features:

1. Enable Built-in Tools

Question: "Would you like to enable built-in tools (calculator, websearch, datetime, weather, etc.) for this bot?"

Options:

• Yes, enable tools - Activates AI agent mode with access to built-in tools

• No, just simple chat - Keeps simple chat mode (default)

2. Tools Whitelist (only if tools enabled)

Question: "Which specific tools would you like to enable?"

Quick Reply Options:

• Enable all tools - Makes all 8 tools available

• Calculator & Web Search - Enables only calculator and websearch

• Calculator, Web, DateTime - Enables calculator, websearch, and datetime

Manual Entry: You can also type a custom JSON array:

["calculator", "websearch", "datetime", "weather"]

3. Conversation History Limit

Question: "How many conversation turns would you like to include in the context?"

Quick Reply Options:

• 10 turns (recommended) - Balances context and performance

• 20 turns - More context for complex conversations

• Unlimited (-1) - All conversation history (may impact performance)

Manual Entry: Type any number:

• -1 = unlimited history

• 0 = no history

• 10-20 = recommended range

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Available Built-in Tools

Tool	Identifier	Description	Example Use Case
Calculator	calculator	Safe math evaluation (sandboxed)	"What's 15% tip on $84.50?"
Date/Time	datetime	Get current date, time, timezone	"What time is it in Tokyo?"
Web Search	websearch	Search the web (Wikipedia, news)	"What's the weather forecast today?"
Data Formatter	dataformatter	Format JSON, CSV, XML	"Convert this JSON to CSV"
Web Scraper	webscraper	Extract content from web pages (SSRF-protected)	"Get the content from example.com"
Text Summarizer	textsummarizer	Summarize long text	"Summarize this article"
PDF Reader	pdfreader	Extract text from PDF URLs (SSRF-protected)	"Read this PDF file"
Weather	weather	Get weather information	"What's the weather in Paris?"

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Tool Configuration (Server-Side)

Some tools require API keys or external configuration to function. These are configured via Environment Variables or application.properties on the EDDI server, not in the bot configuration.

Web Search Tool

By default, the tool uses DuckDuckGo (HTML scraping), which requires no configuration.

To use Google Custom Search (more reliable/structured), configure these properties:

# In application.properties
eddi.tools.websearch.provider=google
eddi.tools.websearch.google.api-key=YOUR_GOOGLE_API_KEY
eddi.tools.websearch.google.cx=YOUR_CUSTOM_SEARCH_ENGINE_ID

Docker Environment Variables:

• EDDI_TOOLS_WEBSEARCH_PROVIDER=google

• EDDI_TOOLS_WEBSEARCH_GOOGLE_API_KEY=...

• EDDI_TOOLS_WEBSEARCH_GOOGLE_CX=...

Weather Tool

The weather tool uses OpenWeatherMap. You must provide an API key:

# In application.properties
eddi.tools.weather.openweathermap.api-key=YOUR_OWM_API_KEY

Docker Environment Variables:

• EDDI_TOOLS_WEATHER_OPENWEATHERMAP_API_KEY=...

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Configuration Examples

Example 1: Customer Support Bot with Tools

{
  "enableBuiltInTools": true,
  "builtInToolsWhitelist": ["calculator", "websearch", "datetime"],
  "conversationHistoryLimit": 15
}

Use Case: Customer support bot that can calculate discounts, search for product info, and provide time-based responses.

Example 2: Simple Chat Bot (No Tools)

{
  "enableBuiltInTools": false,
  "builtInToolsWhitelist": [],
  "conversationHistoryLimit": 10
}

Use Case: Basic chat bot for general conversation without external tool access.

Example 3: Research Assistant with All Tools

{
  "enableBuiltInTools": true,
  "builtInToolsWhitelist": [],
  "conversationHistoryLimit": 20
}

Use Case: Research assistant with access to all tools and extended conversation memory.

Example 4: Math Tutor (Calculator Only)

{
  "enableBuiltInTools": true,
  "builtInToolsWhitelist": ["calculator"],
  "conversationHistoryLimit": 10
}

Use Case: Math tutor that can perform calculations but doesn't need web access.

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Tool Execution Pipeline

All tool invocations flow through a unified pipeline that provides enterprise-grade controls. These settings can be added to the langchain.json task configuration:

Setting	Type	Default	Description
enableRateLimiting	boolean	true	Token-bucket rate limiting per tool
defaultRateLimit	int	100	Default calls/minute for each tool
toolRateLimits	map	{}	Per-tool overrides, e.g. {"websearch": 30}
enableToolCaching	boolean	true	Cache identical tool calls
enableCostTracking	boolean	true	Track cost per conversation
maxBudgetPerConversation	number	unlimited	Maximum spend per conversation

Example: Restrict web search rate and set a budget

{
  "enableBuiltInTools": true,
  "builtInToolsWhitelist": ["calculator", "websearch"],
  "enableRateLimiting": true,
  "defaultRateLimit": 100,
  "toolRateLimits": { "websearch": 20 },
  "enableCostTracking": true,
  "maxBudgetPerConversation": 2.0
}

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Security

Tools that accept URLs (PDF Reader, Web Scraper) are protected against SSRF (Server-Side Request Forgery):

• Only http:// and https:// URLs accepted

• Private / internal IP ranges blocked (127.x, 10.x, 192.168.x, 172.16-31.x)

• Cloud metadata endpoints blocked (169.254.169.254, metadata.google.internal)

• Internal hostnames rejected (localhost, *.local, *.internal)

The Calculator tool uses a sandboxed recursive-descent parser — no script engine, no code injection risk.

See the Security documentation for full details.

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Best Practices

When to Enable Tools

✅ Enable tools when:

• Bot needs to perform calculations

• Bot should search for current information

• Bot needs to access external data

• You want agentic behavior (autonomous tool use)

❌ Keep tools disabled when:

• Simple conversational bot

• Controlled, predictable responses needed

• Security/privacy concerns about external access

• Cost optimization (tools may increase API costs)

Choosing History Limit

• Short conversations (0-5 turns): Use for FAQ bots or single-turn interactions

• Medium conversations (10-15 turns): Recommended for most use cases

• Long conversations (20+ turns): Use for complex problem-solving or tutoring

• Unlimited (-1): Only for special cases; may cause performance issues

Tools Whitelist Strategy

1. Start specific: Begin with only the tools you need

2. Add gradually: Enable more tools as requirements grow

3. Monitor usage: Check which tools are actually being used

4. Security first: Only enable tools that match your security requirements

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Provider Support

All LLM providers in Bot Father now support these features:

Provider	Tools Support	History Limit	Notes
OpenAI	✅	✅	Best tool calling support
Anthropic/Claude	✅	✅	Requires includeFirstBotMessage: false
Gemini	✅	✅	Google AI Studio
Gemini Vertex	✅	✅	Google Cloud Vertex AI
Hugging Face	✅	✅	Model-dependent
Ollama	✅	✅	Local models
Jlama	✅	✅	Local Java-based models

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Troubleshooting

Tools Not Working

Problem: Bot doesn't use tools even when enabled Solution:

1. Verify enableBuiltInTools is set to true

2. Check the system message encourages tool use

3. Ensure the LLM model supports tool calling

4. Try with explicit tool-related prompts

Too Many Tools Enabled

Problem: Bot is using unexpected tools Solution:

1. Use builtInToolsWhitelist to restrict tools

2. Adjust system message to guide tool usage

3. Review conversation logs to see tool invocations

Performance Issues

Problem: Bot is slow or timing out Solution:

1. Reduce conversationHistoryLimit (try 5-10)

2. Reduce number of enabled tools

3. Increase API timeout in parameters

4. Use faster LLM model

Context Length Errors

Problem: "Context length exceeded" errors Solution:

1. Lower conversationHistoryLimit

2. Use model with larger context window

3. Summarize conversation history periodically

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API Configuration Reference

When Bot Father creates the langchain configuration, it generates:

{
  "tasks": [{
    "actions": ["send_message"],
    "id": "model-id",
    "type": "provider-type",
    "description": "Integration description",
    "parameters": {
      "systemMessage": "Your bot's system prompt",
      "addToOutput": "true",
      "apiKey": "your-api-key",
      "modelName": "model-name",
      "timeout": "15000",
      "temperature": "0.7",
      "logRequests": "true",
      "logResponses": "true"
    },
    "enableBuiltInTools": true,
    "builtInToolsWhitelist": ["calculator", "websearch"],
    "conversationHistoryLimit": 10
  }]
}

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Next Steps

1. Create a test bot using Bot Father with tools enabled

2. Experiment with different tool combinations

3. Monitor bot behavior and tool usage

4. Optimize configuration based on actual usage

5. Review the LangChain Integration Documentation for advanced features

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Related Documentation

• LangChain Integration - Complete LangChain task documentation

• Security - SSRF protection, sandboxed evaluation, tool hardening

• Bot Father Deep Dive - Bot Father architecture

• Behavior Rules - Understanding behavior rules

• Output Configuration - Configuring bot outputs

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Last Updated: March 2026 EDDI Version: 5.6.0 Bot Father Version: 3.0.1