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codex/codex-rs/tools/README.md
Michael Bolin 258ba436f1 codex-tools: extract discoverable tool models (#16254)
## Why

`#16193` moved the pure `tool_search` and `tool_suggest` spec builders
into `codex-tools`, but `codex-core` still owned the shared
discoverable-tool model that those builders and the `tool_suggest`
runtime both depend on. This change continues the migration by moving
that reusable model boundary out of `codex-core` as well, so the
discovery/suggestion stack uses one shared set of types and
`core/src/tools` no longer needs its own `discoverable.rs` module.

## What changed

- Moved `DiscoverableTool`, `DiscoverablePluginInfo`, and
`filter_tool_suggest_discoverable_tools_for_client()` into
`codex-rs/tools/src/tool_discovery.rs` alongside the extracted
discovery/suggestion spec builders.
- Added `codex-app-server-protocol` as a `codex-tools` dependency so the
shared discoverable-tool model can own the connector-side `AppInfo`
variant directly.
- Updated `core/src/tools/handlers/tool_suggest.rs`,
`core/src/tools/spec.rs`, `core/src/tools/router.rs`,
`core/src/connectors.rs`, and `core/src/codex.rs` to consume the shared
`codex-tools` model instead of the old core-local declarations.
- Changed `core/src/plugins/discoverable.rs` to return
`DiscoverablePluginInfo` directly, moved the pure client-filter coverage
into `tool_discovery_tests.rs`, and deleted the old
`core/src/tools/discoverable.rs` module.
- Updated `codex-rs/tools/README.md` so the crate boundary documents
that `codex-tools` now owns the discoverable-tool models in addition to
the discovery/suggestion spec builders.

## Test plan

- `cargo test -p codex-tools`
- `CARGO_TARGET_DIR=/tmp/codex-core-discoverable-model cargo test -p
codex-core --lib tools::handlers::tool_suggest::`
- `CARGO_TARGET_DIR=/tmp/codex-core-discoverable-model cargo test -p
codex-core --lib tools::spec::`
- `CARGO_TARGET_DIR=/tmp/codex-core-discoverable-model cargo test -p
codex-core --lib plugins::discoverable::`
- `just bazel-lock-check`
- `just argument-comment-lint`

## References

- #16193
- #16154
- #15923
- #15928
- #15944
- #15953
- #16031
- #16047
- #16129
- #16132
- #16138
- #16141
2026-03-30 10:48:49 -07:00

3.6 KiB

codex-tools

codex-tools is intended to become the home for tool-related code that is shared across multiple crates and does not need to stay coupled to codex-core.

Today this crate is intentionally small. It currently owns the shared tool schema and Responses API tool primitives that no longer need to live in core/src/tools/spec.rs or core/src/client_common.rs:

  • JsonSchema
  • AdditionalProperties
  • ToolDefinition
  • ToolSpec
  • ConfiguredToolSpec
  • ResponsesApiTool
  • FreeformTool
  • FreeformToolFormat
  • ToolSearchOutputTool
  • ResponsesApiWebSearchFilters
  • ResponsesApiWebSearchUserLocation
  • ResponsesApiNamespace
  • ResponsesApiNamespaceTool
  • code-mode ToolSpec adapters and exec / wait spec builders
  • JS REPL spec builders
  • MCP resource, list_dir, and test_sync_tool spec builders
  • local host tool spec builders for shell/exec/request-permissions/view-image
  • collaboration and agent-job ToolSpec builders for spawn/send/wait/close, request_user_input, and CSV fanout/reporting
  • discoverable-tool models, client filtering, and ToolSpec builders for tool_search and tool_suggest
  • parse_tool_input_schema()
  • parse_dynamic_tool()
  • parse_mcp_tool()
  • create_tools_json_for_responses_api()
  • mcp_call_tool_result_output_schema()
  • tool_definition_to_responses_api_tool()
  • dynamic_tool_to_responses_api_tool()
  • mcp_tool_to_responses_api_tool()
  • mcp_tool_to_deferred_responses_api_tool()
  • augment_tool_spec_for_code_mode()
  • tool_spec_to_code_mode_tool_definition()

That extraction is the first step in a longer migration. The goal is not to move all of core/src/tools into this crate in one shot. Instead, the plan is to peel off reusable pieces in reviewable increments while keeping compatibility-sensitive orchestration in codex-core until the surrounding boundaries are ready.

Vision

Over time, this crate should hold tool-facing primitives that are shared by multiple consumers, for example:

  • schema and spec data models
  • tool input/output parsing helpers
  • tool metadata and compatibility shims that do not depend on codex-core
  • other narrowly scoped utility code that multiple crates need

The corresponding non-goals are just as important:

  • do not move codex-core orchestration here prematurely
  • do not pull Session / TurnContext / approval flow / runtime execution logic into this crate unless those dependencies have first been split into stable shared interfaces
  • do not turn this crate into a grab-bag for unrelated helper code

Migration approach

The expected migration shape is:

  1. Move low-coupling tool primitives here.
  2. Switch non-core consumers to depend on codex-tools directly.
  3. Leave compatibility-sensitive adapters in codex-core while downstream call sites are updated.
  4. Only extract higher-level tool infrastructure after the crate boundaries are clear and independently testable.

That means it is normal for codex-core to temporarily re-export types or helpers from codex-tools during the transition.

Crate conventions

This crate should start with stricter structure than core/src/tools so it stays easy to grow:

  • src/lib.rs should remain exports-only.
  • Business logic should live in named module files such as foo.rs.
  • Unit tests for foo.rs should live in a sibling foo_tests.rs.
  • The implementation file should wire tests with:
#[cfg(test)]
#[path = "foo_tests.rs"]
mod tests;

If this crate starts accumulating code that needs runtime state from codex-core, that is a sign to revisit the extraction boundary before adding more here.