Tools

Tool Basics

Understand how tools give Overseer supervised access to external capabilities.

Overview

Tools are where hallucinations become expensive, so Overseer treats them as controlled capabilities instead of magical extensions.

Operator Note

Overseer works best when each layer stays explicit: the orchestrator routes, supervisors execute, tools return evidence, and traces show what actually happened.

Getting Started

Start with the built-in tools, then add custom tools only when you can define their inputs, outputs, and safety expectations clearly.

Configuration

Use explicit safety levels, intent checks, and test runs before assigning a tool to a broad supervisor.

Examples

tool.json

{
  "name": "charting",
  "safety_level": "medium",
  "required_intent": "generate chart output from provided data",
  "timeout_ms": 30000
}

Next Steps

Continue with Tool Security or head back to the documentation home.