docs: todo__ tools are unavailable in llm nodes (validation error); use agent nodes with auto_continue children for driven work

Dark-Alex-17 committed 2026-09-15 11:40:48 -06:00
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@@ -702,16 +702,27 @@ list; an unknown entry is a startup error.
Coyote's built-in function families are not all governed by the `tools:`
whitelist the same way:
- **`user__*` and `todo__*` require explicit opt-in.** Inside an `llm` node
these interactive/turn-control builtins are only offered to the model if
the node's `tools:` list names them (e.g. `tools: [user__select]`). A node
that doesn't list them never sees them. This is deliberate: graph nodes
usually run headless, and a structured-output node calling `user__select`
("Ready to finalize?") suspends the node as an escalation instead of
producing its output. The graph validator warns when a node with an
`output_schema` explicitly opts into `user__*` tools. Approval gates are
unaffected — use a [`approval` node](#approval) for human sign-off, not an
`llm` node with user tools.
- **`user__*` requires explicit opt-in.** Inside an `llm` node the
interactive builtins are only offered to the model if the node's `tools:`
list names them (e.g. `tools: [user__select]`). A node that doesn't list
them never sees them. This is deliberate: graph nodes usually run headless,
and a structured-output node calling `user__select` ("Ready to finalize?")
suspends the node as an escalation instead of producing its output. The
graph validator warns when a node with an `output_schema` explicitly opts
into `user__*` tools. Approval gates are unaffected — use a
[`approval` node](#approval) for human sign-off, not an `llm` node with
user tools.
- **`todo__*` is unavailable in `llm` nodes entirely**. Listing a todo tool
in a node's `tools:` is a validation **error**. The todo system drives chat
turn loops (`auto_continue`): the usage prompt, the incomplete-item check
at turn end, and the continuation nudge all live at the agent turn
boundary. An `llm` node has no turn boundary. Its continuation is owned
by the node's tool-call loop, `max_iterations`, and graph edges. So a
node-local todo list would never be driven to completion and its writes
would leak into agent/session state. For driven multi-step work inside a
graph, use an [`agent` node](#agent) whose agent sets
`auto_continue: true`: spawned children get a fresh todo list and are
pushed to completion normally.
- **`agent__*`, `memory__*`, `job__*`, `skill__*`, and RAG builtins stay
implicitly available** (subject to their usual gates: `can_spawn_agents`
for spawning, the skill policy for skills, and so on) regardless of the