Bot Default Tools

Bot platform adapters now ship in the praisonai-bot package. praisonai bot serve still works exactly as documented here; for a standalone install see praisonai-bot Migration.

Bot default tools provide instant superpowers to every bot deployment, automatically injecting 20+ safe and useful tools when agents have no explicit tool configuration.

from praisonaiagents import Agent

agent = Agent(
    name="Assistant",
    instructions="Help users with files, web search, and scheduling.",
)

The user messages the bot with no custom tools= list; PraisonAI injects file, web, memory, and schedule tools automatically.

Injected Tools

Optional: browser (`--browser`)

Add a local Chromium via --browser — see Bot Browser Automation.

The browser tool is not in the auto-inject set (opt-in only) because it requires praisonai-browser[playwright] and downloads Chromium.

Quick Start

Zero-Config Bot

from praisonaiagents import Agent
from praisonai.bots import TelegramBot

agent = Agent(
    name="Assistant",
    instructions="You help users. Use any tool you need."
)

# No tools= passed — bot auto-injects safe defaults
TelegramBot(token="YOUR_TOKEN", agent=agent).start()

Custom Tool Selection

from praisonaiagents import BotConfig

config = BotConfig(
    token="YOUR_TOKEN",
    default_tools=["search_web", "read_file", "todo_add"],  # override list
    auto_approve_tools=True,  # default True for bots
)

bot = TelegramBot(config=config, agent=agent)

How It Works

Smart defaults activate when:

Condition	Behavior	Result
Agent has no tools	Auto-inject defaults	Full 20+ tool suite
Agent has tools=[]	Respect explicit empty	No tools injected
Agent has tools=[…]	Keep existing tools	No injection
No workspace configured	Filter destructive tools	Safe subset only

Configuration Options

Complete Default Tools List

Tool	Category	Safe without workspace?	Notes
`search_web`	Web	✅	Search the internet
`web_crawl`	Web	✅	Crawl and extract web content
`store_memory`	Memory	✅	Store information in memory
`search_memory`	Memory	✅	Search stored memories
`store_learning`	Learning	✅	Store learned knowledge
`search_learning`	Learning	✅	Search learned knowledge
`schedule_add`	Scheduling	✅	Add scheduled tasks
`schedule_list`	Scheduling	✅	List scheduled tasks
`schedule_remove`	Scheduling	✅	Remove scheduled tasks
`clarify`	Clarification	✅	Ask clarifying questions
`read_file`	Files	✅ (read-only)	NEW — Read files from workspace
`write_file`	Files	⚠️ requires workspace	NEW — Write files to workspace
`edit_file`	Files	⚠️ requires workspace	NEW — Edit files with find/replace
`list_files`	Files	✅	NEW — List directory contents
`search_files`	Files	✅	NEW — Search for patterns in files
`todo_add`	Planning	✅	NEW — Add tasks to todo list
`todo_list`	Planning	✅	NEW — List todo items
`todo_update`	Planning	✅	NEW — Update todo status/content
`skills_list`	Skills	✅	NEW — List available skills
`skill_view`	Skills	✅	NEW — View skill details
`skill_manage`	Skills	⚠️ requires workspace	NEW — Create/edit/delete skills

Opt-In Tools (not auto-injected)

These tools are functional but require explicit opt-in:

Tool	Reason	How to Enable
`delegate_task`	Spawns a sub-agent for a specific task — medium-risk, requires approval — opt in per bot	Add to `default_tools` manually, e.g. `default_tools=[..., "delegate_task"]`. See Delegate Task Tool.
`session_search`	Cross-session conversation recall — opt in per bot	Add to `default_tools` manually, e.g. `default_tools=[..., "session_search"]`. See Cross-Session Recall.

Smart Defaults Configuration

from praisonaiagents import BotConfig

# Disable auto-injection completely
config = BotConfig(
    token="YOUR_TOKEN",
    default_tools=[],  # explicit empty list
)

# Custom safe subset
config = BotConfig(
    token="YOUR_TOKEN", 
    default_tools=[
        "search_web", "store_memory", "todo_add",
        "read_file", "skills_list"
    ]
)

# Full suite (same as default when workspace configured)
config = BotConfig(
    token="YOUR_TOKEN",
    workspace_dir="./bot-workspace",  # enables destructive tools
    default_tools=None,  # use full defaults
)

Tool Approval Settings

# Auto-approve all tool calls (default for bots)
config = BotConfig(
    auto_approve_tools=True,  # ← Default: True for chat bots
)

# Require manual approval (useful for development)
config = BotConfig(
    auto_approve_tools=False,  # Agents show confirmation prompts
)

Setting channels.<platform>.allow_shell: true on a gateway channel additionally injects execute_command into the agent’s tool list, lifts the tool from the deny-list, and appends a one-line permission grant to agent.instructions. On shell-enabled channels with routing rules, routed agents inherit execute_command too — the shell setup is re-applied per routed agent, cloned and cached per (channel, agent). On externally-bound gateways or channels with a group_policy, auto_approve_shell: true is downgraded to require approval unless auto_approve_shell_acknowledge_exposed: true opts in — see Bot Shell Execution → Exposure-aware auto-approval.

Common Patterns

Workspace-Aware Filtering

# Without workspace: safe tools only
config = BotConfig(
    token="YOUR_TOKEN",
    # No workspace_dir set
    # Result: write_file, edit_file, skill_manage filtered out
)

# With workspace: full tool suite
config = BotConfig(
    token="YOUR_TOKEN",
    workspace_dir="./safe-sandbox",
    # Result: all 20+ tools available
)

Development vs Production

# Development: explicit tool control
agent = Agent(
    name="Dev Bot",
    tools=["search_web", "read_file"]  # explicit list prevents defaults
)

# Production: trust smart defaults  
agent = Agent(
    name="Prod Bot", 
    instructions="Help users with anything"
    # No tools= → auto-injection activates
)

Tool Categories by Use Case

# Minimal web assistant
config = BotConfig(default_tools=[
    "search_web", "web_crawl", "store_memory", "search_memory"
])

# File-focused assistant  
config = BotConfig(default_tools=[
    "read_file", "write_file", "edit_file", "list_files", "search_files"
])

# Learning assistant
config = BotConfig(default_tools=[
    "store_learning", "search_learning", "skills_list", "skill_view", "skill_manage"
])

# Gateway / long-lived assistant
config = BotConfig(default_tools=[
    "store_memory", "search_memory",
    "session_search",  # recall past conversations
])

Best Practices

Trust Smart Defaults

In most cases, let the bot auto-inject tools rather than specifying manually. Smart defaults adapt based on workspace configuration and provide the safest possible tool suite.

Workspace Security

Destructive file tools (write_file, edit_file, skill_manage) are automatically filtered out unless a workspace is configured. This ensures bots are safe by construction.

Development Testing

Use auto_approve_tools=False during development to see exactly which tools your bot is calling. Switch to auto_approve_tools=True for production deployments.

Explicit Override

To disable auto-injection, pass an explicit empty list: Agent(tools=[]). Passing no tools parameter triggers smart defaults.

Troubleshooting

My bot only has a few tools, not the 20+ listed here

If your bot is missing most default tools (only sees a small fallback set), upgrade to the version that includes PR #2004. A regression caused ToolResolver to be imported from the wrong module, which silently dropped the full default toolset and left only a small hardcoded fallback.Verify the fix is active by checking that imports resolve from praisonai.tool_resolver, not praisonaiagents.tools.

Workspace

How workspace containment enables safe file tools

BotOS

Multi-platform bot orchestration concepts

Getting Started

Install

Core Concepts

Guides

Features

Models

Databases

Observability

Memory

Telemetry & Analytics

Knowledge

RAG

Persistence

Tools

Other Features

Developers

Configuration

Best Practices

Getting Started (No Code)

Injected Tools

Optional: browser (`--browser`)

Quick Start

How It Works

Configuration Options

Complete Default Tools List

Opt-In Tools (not auto-injected)

Smart Defaults Configuration

Tool Approval Settings

Common Patterns

Workspace-Aware Filtering

Development vs Production

Tool Categories by Use Case

Best Practices

Troubleshooting

Workspace

BotOS

​Injected Tools

​Optional: browser (--browser)

​Quick Start

​How It Works

​Configuration Options

​Complete Default Tools List

​Opt-In Tools (not auto-injected)

​Smart Defaults Configuration

​Tool Approval Settings

​Common Patterns

​Workspace-Aware Filtering

​Development vs Production

​Tool Categories by Use Case

​Best Practices

​Troubleshooting

​Related

Workspace

BotOS

Injected Tools

Optional: browser (`--browser`)

Quick Start

How It Works

Configuration Options

Complete Default Tools List

Opt-In Tools (not auto-injected)

Smart Defaults Configuration

Tool Approval Settings

Common Patterns

Workspace-Aware Filtering

Development vs Production

Tool Categories by Use Case

Best Practices

Troubleshooting

Related