Configure Agents

Configure Progressive Tool Disclosure

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Progressive tool disclosure limits the tool schemas placed in the model’s initial context. Each supported agent keeps its native discovery mechanism and configuration schema.

Compare Agent Behavior

The keys, tool names, and result limits are not interchangeable across agents.

AgentNemoClaw-generated mechanismDefault resultsMaximum results
OpenClawtools.toolSearch.mode: "tools" with searchDefaultLimit and maxSearchLimit820
Hermestools.tool_search.enabled: "on" with search_default_limit and max_search_limit520
Deep Agents CodeNemoClaw ProgressiveToolDisclosureMiddleware and the search_tools model toolUp to 2020

Progressive disclosure changes model context, not authorization. Final tool calls still use the agent’s normal execution, policy, approval, and hook paths.

OpenClaw uses mode: "tools" to select its structured bridge instead of the JavaScript-based tool_search_code bridge. A model-specific toolSearch: false override disables Tool Search entirely.

NemoClaw’s generated default exposes tool_search, tool_describe, and tool_call through structured Tool Search. Managed Nemotron Super and Ultra routes retain model-specific toolSearch: false safeguards and use direct structured tool calling until a live structured-search trajectory clears the replacement.

In the model-specific manifest contract, false disables Tool Search while true selects OpenClaw’s default code mode. Neither boolean selects structured mode.

Hermes uses its native tool-search bridge when enabled: "on" and the session has at least one deferrable MCP or non-core plugin tool. Hermes core tools remain directly visible.

Deep Agents Code activates its middleware after at least one MCP tool loads successfully. It initially exposes search_tools and the core filesystem, shell, user-input, and todo tools.

Each search returns up to 20 name-sorted tools whose names or descriptions match case-insensitively. The graph thread retains up to 64 discovered named tools. Search output is limited to 8 KiB, individual descriptions to 256 characters, individual tool-name representations to 120 bytes, individual named schemas to 16 KiB, and the discovered schemas visible in one model request to 128 KiB.

Named tools that exceed the name or schema limits are not discoverable, while core tools remain visible. When a broad query exceeds a result or state limit, search_tools reports omitted matches so the model can refine the query.

Provider-native definitions without a callable name remain visible because the middleware cannot search or checkpoint them by name. Main-agent and local-subagent discoveries use separate middleware instances.

Use Direct Disclosure

Use direct disclosure when you want to present every registered tool to the model.

$nemohermes onboard --tool-disclosure direct

You can also set NEMOCLAW_TOOL_DISCLOSURE=direct before onboarding.

For an existing sandbox with managed MCP servers, rebuild with the direct setting.

$nemohermes <name> rebuild --tool-disclosure direct

The transactional rebuild preserves MCP providers and adapter state while changing the disclosure mode. An explicit direct selection is authoritative. Model-specific safety settings can disable progressive search for a model, but cannot re-enable it over the direct selection.