feat: improve error handling in _interpolate_only method

- Add comprehensive docstring with examples
- Add error handling for edge cases
- Add test cases for error scenarios

Co-Authored-By: Joe Moura <joao@crewai.com>

src/crewai/agents/agent_builder/base_agent.py

@@ -315,13 +315,44 @@ class BaseAgent(ABC, BaseModel):
         return copied_agent
 
     def _interpolate_only(self, input_string: str, inputs: Dict[str, Any]) -> str:
-        """Interpolate placeholders (e.g., {key}) in a string while leaving JSON untouched."""
+        """Interpolate placeholders in a string while preserving JSON-like structures.
-        escaped_string = input_string.replace("{", "{{").replace("}", "}}")
 
-        for key in inputs.keys():
+        Args:
-            escaped_string = escaped_string.replace(f"{{{{{key}}}}}", f"{{{key}}}")
+            input_string (str): The string containing placeholders to interpolate.
+            inputs (Dict[str, Any]): Dictionary of values for interpolation.
 
-        return escaped_string.format(**inputs)
+        Returns:
+            str: The interpolated string with JSON structures preserved.
+
+        Example:
+            >>> _interpolate_only("Name: {name}, Config: {'key': 'value'}", {"name": "John"})
+            "Name: John, Config: {'key': 'value'}"
+
+        Raises:
+            ValueError: If input_string is None or empty, or if inputs is empty
+            KeyError: If a required template variable is missing from inputs
+        """
+        if not input_string:
+            raise ValueError("Input string cannot be None or empty")
+        if not inputs:
+            raise ValueError("Inputs dictionary cannot be empty")
+
+        try:
+            # First check if all required variables are present
+            required_vars = [
+                var.split("}")[0] for var in input_string.split("{")[1:]
+                if "}" in var
+            ]
+            for var in required_vars:
+                if var not in inputs:
+                    raise KeyError(f"Missing required template variable: {var}")
+
+            escaped_string = input_string.replace("{", "{{").replace("}", "}}")
+            for key in inputs.keys():
+                escaped_string = escaped_string.replace(f"{{{{{key}}}}}", f"{{{key}}}")
+            return escaped_string.format(**inputs)
+        except ValueError as e:
+            raise ValueError(f"Error during string interpolation: {str(e)}") from e
 
     def interpolate_inputs(self, inputs: Dict[str, Any]) -> None:
         """Interpolate inputs into the agent description and backstory."""

tests/agent_test.py

@@ -1383,6 +1383,25 @@ def test_interpolate_inputs_with_tool_description():
     })
     assert "Tool Arguments: {'arg': {'description': 'test arg', 'type': 'str'}}" in agent.backstory
 
+def test_interpolate_only_error_handling():
+    agent = Agent(
+        role="{topic} specialist",
+        goal="Figure {goal} out",
+        backstory="I am the master of {role}",
+    )
+    
+    # Test empty input string
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Input string cannot be None or empty"):
+        agent._interpolate_only("", {"topic": "AI"})
+        
+    # Test empty inputs dictionary
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Inputs dictionary cannot be empty"):
+        agent._interpolate_only("test {topic}", {})
+        
+    # Test missing template variable
+    with pytest.raises(KeyError, match="Missing required template variable"):
+        agent._interpolate_only("test {missing}", {"topic": "AI"})
+
 def test_agent_with_all_llm_attributes():
     agent = Agent(
         role="test role",