"매 LLM의 외부 capability 의 invoke". Tool use (function calling) 매 LLM 이 external API/code/DB 의 structured call 하는 패러다임. 2023 OpenAI function calling → 2024 parallel tools → 2025 MCP standard → 2026 매 every agent 의 backbone. 매 quality 매 tool 정의의 crisp / parallel call / error handling / cache strategy 에 의해 결정.
매 핵심
매 핵심 mechanics
Schema — 매 JSON Schema 로 tool input 정의 — 매 model 이 fill.
Choice — auto / tool (forced) / none.
Parallel — 매 single turn 에 multiple tool calls (Claude / GPT-4o+).
Iterative loop — 매 tool result 의 feed back → continue → repeat.
매 design principles
Crisp descriptions — 매 tool description 매 "use this when X, not when Y" 명시.
Few well-named tools > 매 many overlapping — 매 selection error rate 의 reduce.
Idempotent / safe — 매 retry-safe — 매 LLM 매 retry 함.
Structured errors — 매 tool error 매 LLM 이 recover 할 수 있게 actionable.
매 modern (2025-2026)
MCP (Model Context Protocol) — 매 Anthropic 이 2024-11 release. 매 client/server tool sharing standard. 매 Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf 모두 support.
Tool result caching — 매 expensive tool (DB query, web fetch) 매 cache + hash check.
Tool budget — 매 agent 의 max-call limit 의 prevent runaway.
매 응용
Code agents (file ops, shell, search).
Customer support (ticket, KB, account API).
Data analysis (SQL, plot, fetch).
💻 패턴
Anthropic tool definition
tools=[{"name":"get_weather","description":"Get current weather. Use ONLY for weather; do not use for forecasts beyond 24h.","input_schema":{"type":"object","properties":{"location":{"type":"string","description":"City, country (e.g. 'Seoul, KR')"},"unit":{"type":"string","enum":["c","f"],"default":"c"},},"required":["location"],},}]resp=client.messages.create(model="claude-opus-4-7",max_tokens=2000,tools=tools,messages=[{"role":"user","content":"Weather in Seoul?"}],)
Parallel tool execution
importasyncioasyncdefrun_tool(call):returnawaitTOOLS[call.name](**call.input)# 매 LLM이 매 multiple tool_use blocks 의 emitcalls=[bforbinresp.contentifb.type=="tool_use"]results=awaitasyncio.gather(*(run_tool(c)forcincalls))# 매 모든 result 의 single user message 로 feed back
defsearch_db(query:str):try:return{"ok":True,"rows":db.execute(query).fetchall()}exceptSQLErrorase:return{"ok":False,"error":str(e),"hint":"Check column names; use `\\d table` to inspect."}
resp=client.messages.create(model="claude-opus-4-7",tools=tools,# 매 tools 의 cacheablesystem=[{"type":"text","text":SYSTEM,"cache_control":{"type":"ephemeral"}}],messages=messages,)
MCP server (Python)
frommcp.server.fastmcpimportFastMCPmcp=FastMCP("my-tools")@mcp.tool()defquery_orders(customer_id:str)->list[dict]:"""Return recent orders for a customer."""returndb.fetch_orders(customer_id)if__name__=="__main__":mcp.run()
매 결정 기준
상황
Approach
Few tools, in-app
Direct SDK tools
Many shared tools across apps
MCP server
Latency-critical
Pre-fetch / parallel tools
Expensive tools
Cache by input hash
Untrusted LLM output
Validate + sandbox tool exec
Long agent loop
Tool budget + checkpoint
기본값: 매 5-15 well-named tools, parallel calling enabled, structured errors, prompt caching on system + tool definitions.
언제: 매 external state / capability 의 필요한 모든 LLM app — search, DB, email, code exec, API call.
언제 X: 매 pure text generation (summary, translate) — 매 tool 매 unnecessary.
❌ 안티패턴
Vague tool names: "do_thing" — 매 LLM 매 selection 의 fail.
Too many tools: 매 30+ tool 매 confuse — 매 group / route.
No retry on transient error: 매 502 / timeout 매 transient — 매 retry-safe + LLM 의 hint.
Streaming tool output to user mid-call: 매 tool result 매 internal — final assistant text 만 user 에.
No max-turn limit: 매 infinite loop 의 risk.
🧪 검증 / 중복
Verified (Anthropic tool use docs, OpenAI function calling, MCP spec 2024-11, parallel tool calling).
신뢰도 A.
🕓 Changelog
날짜
변경
2026-05-08
Phase 1
2026-05-10
Manual cleanup — modern tool use + MCP + caching patterns