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PatternsTools & Utilities
Tool Execution
Tool Execution
Connect AI agents with external APIs and services. Demonstrates tool calling with weather data, error handling, and visual feedback.
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Problems solved
Technical challenges this implementation handles out of the box.
- Render AI SDK tool invocations with dedicated tool UI parts
- Show tool input, output, and status during streaming
- Demonstrate tool calling inside an AI Elements chat shell
Use cases
Products and workflows this pattern is designed to support.
- Tool-calling chat demos
- Debugging UIs for tool arguments and results
- Product tours of AI Elements Tool
- Assistants that surface tool activity inline
Setup
Requirements, wiring steps, and what this pattern adds to your project.
Getting started
Pick how you want to pull this pattern in. Then wire env vars and routes the same way.
- 1
Install from the preview toolbar
Copy the install command above and run it in your project — Pro patterns include a short-lived token.
- 2
Add environment variables to .env.local
OPENAI_API_KEY
- 3
Point client fetches at your API routes
Replace preview `/view/.../api/...` paths with `/api/...` in the installed files.
- 4
Customize the agent and tool files
Adapt prompts, tools, and stop conditions for your product — Copy for AI in the toolbar helps seed that work.
- 5
Run your dev server and open the pattern route
Install dependencies if needed, then start the app and verify responses.
Environment variables
OPENAI_API_KEYGet key
Capabilities
AI SDK APIs
streamTexttoolconvertToModelMessagesProviders
OpenAI
Files added
6 filesapp/ai-elements-tool/page.tsxapp/ai-elements-tool/layout.tsxlib/request-utils.tscomponents/tool-demo.tsxapp/api/chat/route.tsREADME.md
Dependencies
11 totalnpm packages
6AISDKshadcn/uiNext.jsReactstreamdownZod
Registry components
buttontooltipmessage-scrollermessagebubble
Critical files
chat/route.tsAPI route demonstrating inline tool definition with execute function. Defines a fetch_weather_data tool with zod schema and mock execute function. Shows the pattern for tools with immediate execution.
Requirements
- Complexity
- Beginner
- Setup time
- ~15 minutes
- Node
- 24+
- Memory
- 512MB
Upstash Redis
