Files
crewAI/lib/crewai/tests/tools/test_tool_failure.py
Joao Moura 279c57fba3 feat(tools): surface tool failures instead of reporting them as success
A tool can finish without raising and still fail to do what it was asked.
Slack answers HTTP 200 with `{"ok": false, "error": "channel_not_found"}`;
an MCP server sets `isError`; a CrewAI AMP action returns
`API request failed: ...`. In every case the call "worked", so the error
text reached the agent as an ordinary result, the agent narrated the
problem in prose, and the run was recorded as a success.

Concretely: five failed `slackbot_send_message` calls each rendered as
"Tool Execution Completed", the task passed, and the crew passed -- with
the only evidence being a sentence in the final answer. Nothing
downstream could tell the difference, and an agent that keeps going on a
step that silently did nothing builds the rest of its work on it.

Give that outcome a type and a reaction:

- `ToolFailure` -- what a tool returns instead of an error string. The
  agent still reads prose via `as_agent_message()`, so model behavior is
  unchanged; the framework now knows the call failed.
- `ToolFailurePolicy` -- `ignore` (previous behavior), `warn` (default:
  record + emit, keep going), `raise` (abort with
  `ToolExecutionFailedError`). Resolved most-specific-first: tool, task,
  agent, crew.
- `ToolFailureDetectedEvent` -- emitted before a `raise` aborts, so
  subscribers always observe the failure. `ToolUsageFinishedEvent` also
  carries a `failure` field so a trace UI can mark the call failed
  without correlating two events.
- `tool_failures` on `TaskOutput`, `CrewOutput` and `LiteAgentOutput`,
  plus `has_tool_failures`, so consumers never parse a string.

Detection is strictly declarative -- no string sniffing, so a tool that
legitimately returns text about an error is never misread as failing.
Failures come from a returned `ToolFailure`, a raised exception, MCP
`isError`, a spent `max_usage_count`, or an unknown tool.

Wired into all four tool-execution paths (the ReAct path and the three
native function-calling implementations). Sources updated to report
structurally: `MCPClient.call_tool_result()` preserves `isError` that
`call_tool()` dropped, and `CrewAIPlatformActionTool` returns a
`ToolFailure` for non-2xx and for caught exceptions.

Two latent bugs fixed along the way: `ToolUsage` assumed every agent has
a `fingerprint` (LiteAgent does not), and policy resolution now tolerates
malformed values rather than letting telemetry take down a tool call.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01ETacm2dMASfpMAYUiDu5YG
2026-07-28 23:02:59 -07:00

445 lines
15 KiB
Python

"""Tests for structured tool-failure signalling and the per-agent policy."""
from typing import Any
import pytest
from crewai import Agent, Crew, Task
from crewai.events.event_bus import crewai_event_bus
from crewai.events.types.tool_usage_events import (
ToolFailureDetectedEvent,
ToolUsageFinishedEvent,
)
from crewai.llm import LLM
from crewai.tools import BaseTool
from crewai.tools.tool_failure import (
ToolExecutionFailedError,
ToolFailure,
ToolFailurePolicy,
ToolFailureReason,
ToolFailureRecord,
detect_tool_failure,
failure_from_exception,
resolve_tool_failure_policy,
)
class SlackTool(BaseTool):
"""Mirrors an upstream API that answers 200 with an error body."""
name: str = "slackbot_send_message"
description: str = "Post a message to a Slack channel."
def _run(self, channel: str) -> Any:
return ToolFailure(
message=f"Slack rejected the message to {channel}",
code="channel_not_found",
)
class WorkingTool(BaseTool):
name: str = "echo"
description: str = "Echo the input back."
def _run(self, text: str) -> Any:
return f"echoed: {text}"
class ScriptedLLM(LLM):
"""Emits a fixed sequence of ReAct steps without touching a provider."""
def __new__(cls, *args: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> "ScriptedLLM":
return object.__new__(cls)
def __init__(self, steps: list[str]) -> None:
super().__init__(model="gpt-4o")
self._steps = steps
self._index = 0
def call(self, messages, tools=None, callbacks=None, available_functions=None, **kw): # noqa: ANN001, ANN003
step = self._steps[min(self._index, len(self._steps) - 1)]
self._index += 1
return step
def supports_function_calling(self) -> bool:
return False
def _slack_steps() -> list[str]:
return [
"Thought: posting\n"
"Action: slackbot_send_message\n"
'Action Input: {"channel": "#joao-message"}',
"Thought: it failed\nFinal Answer: I could not post the message.",
]
def _build_crew(policy: ToolFailurePolicy | None = None, **task_kwargs: Any):
agent_kwargs: dict[str, Any] = {
"role": "Slack Messenger",
"goal": "post a message",
"backstory": "b",
"llm": ScriptedLLM(_slack_steps()),
"tools": [SlackTool()],
}
if policy is not None:
agent_kwargs["tool_failure_policy"] = policy
agent = Agent(**agent_kwargs)
task = Task(
description="post to slack",
expected_output="confirmation",
agent=agent,
**task_kwargs,
)
return Crew(agents=[agent], tasks=[task]), agent
class TestToolFailureModel:
def test_as_agent_message_includes_code(self) -> None:
failure = ToolFailure(message="nope", code="channel_not_found")
assert failure.as_agent_message() == "nope (code: channel_not_found)"
def test_as_agent_message_without_code(self) -> None:
assert ToolFailure(message="nope").as_agent_message() == "nope"
def test_default_reason_is_tool_reported(self) -> None:
assert ToolFailure(message="x").reason is ToolFailureReason.TOOL_REPORTED
def test_detection_is_declarative_only(self) -> None:
"""A string that merely looks like an error is not a failure."""
assert detect_tool_failure("Error: something went wrong") is None
assert detect_tool_failure({"ok": False}) is None
assert detect_tool_failure(ToolFailure(message="x")) is not None
def test_failure_from_exception(self) -> None:
failure = failure_from_exception(ValueError("bad input"))
assert failure.reason is ToolFailureReason.EXCEPTION
assert failure.code == "ValueError"
assert "bad input" in failure.message
def test_record_summary_mentions_tool_and_task(self) -> None:
record = ToolFailureRecord(
tool_name="slackbot_send_message",
failure=ToolFailure(message="nope", code="channel_not_found"),
task_name="post to slack",
)
summary = record.summary()
assert "slackbot_send_message" in summary
assert "post to slack" in summary
assert "channel_not_found" in summary
class TestPolicyResolution:
def test_defaults_to_warn(self) -> None:
assert resolve_tool_failure_policy() is ToolFailurePolicy.WARN
def test_agent_policy_used_when_no_narrower_scope(self) -> None:
agent = Agent(
role="r",
goal="g",
backstory="b",
tool_failure_policy=ToolFailurePolicy.RAISE,
)
assert resolve_tool_failure_policy(agent=agent) is ToolFailurePolicy.RAISE
def test_task_overrides_agent(self) -> None:
agent = Agent(
role="r",
goal="g",
backstory="b",
tool_failure_policy=ToolFailurePolicy.WARN,
)
task = Task(
description="d",
expected_output="e",
tool_failure_policy=ToolFailurePolicy.RAISE,
)
resolved = resolve_tool_failure_policy(agent=agent, task=task)
assert resolved is ToolFailurePolicy.RAISE
def test_unset_task_policy_falls_through_to_agent(self) -> None:
agent = Agent(
role="r",
goal="g",
backstory="b",
tool_failure_policy=ToolFailurePolicy.IGNORE,
)
task = Task(description="d", expected_output="e")
resolved = resolve_tool_failure_policy(agent=agent, task=task)
assert resolved is ToolFailurePolicy.IGNORE
def test_invalid_policy_is_ignored_rather_than_raising(self) -> None:
"""A bad policy value must never take down a tool call."""
class Bogus:
tool_failure_policy = "not-a-policy"
assert resolve_tool_failure_policy(agent=Bogus()) is ToolFailurePolicy.WARN
def test_invalid_policy_falls_through_to_next_scope(self) -> None:
class Bogus:
tool_failure_policy = object()
agent = Agent(
role="r",
goal="g",
backstory="b",
tool_failure_policy=ToolFailurePolicy.IGNORE,
)
resolved = resolve_tool_failure_policy(tool=Bogus(), agent=agent)
assert resolved is ToolFailurePolicy.IGNORE
def test_tool_overrides_everything(self) -> None:
class StrictTool(WorkingTool):
tool_failure_policy: ToolFailurePolicy = ToolFailurePolicy.RAISE
agent = Agent(
role="r",
goal="g",
backstory="b",
tool_failure_policy=ToolFailurePolicy.IGNORE,
)
resolved = resolve_tool_failure_policy(tool=StrictTool(), agent=agent)
assert resolved is ToolFailurePolicy.RAISE
class TestAgentDefault:
def test_agent_defaults_to_warn(self) -> None:
agent = Agent(role="r", goal="g", backstory="b")
assert agent.tool_failure_policy is ToolFailurePolicy.WARN
def test_task_policy_defaults_to_none_so_it_inherits(self) -> None:
assert Task(description="d", expected_output="e").tool_failure_policy is None
class TestEndToEndPolicies:
def test_warn_records_and_emits_without_stopping(self) -> None:
crew, agent = _build_crew(ToolFailurePolicy.WARN)
events: list[ToolFailureDetectedEvent] = []
with crewai_event_bus.scoped_handlers():
@crewai_event_bus.on(ToolFailureDetectedEvent)
def _(source: Any, event: ToolFailureDetectedEvent) -> None:
events.append(event)
result = crew.kickoff()
assert len(events) == 1
assert events[0].tool_name == "slackbot_send_message"
assert events[0].failure.code == "channel_not_found"
assert events[0].policy is ToolFailurePolicy.WARN
assert result.has_tool_failures
assert len(result.tool_failures) == 1
assert result.tool_failures[0].failure.code == "channel_not_found"
assert result.tasks_output[0].has_tool_failures
def test_ignore_restores_previous_behaviour(self) -> None:
crew, _ = _build_crew(ToolFailurePolicy.IGNORE)
events: list[ToolFailureDetectedEvent] = []
with crewai_event_bus.scoped_handlers():
@crewai_event_bus.on(ToolFailureDetectedEvent)
def _(source: Any, event: ToolFailureDetectedEvent) -> None:
events.append(event)
result = crew.kickoff()
assert events == []
assert not result.has_tool_failures
assert result.tool_failures == []
def test_raise_aborts_the_run(self) -> None:
crew, _ = _build_crew(ToolFailurePolicy.RAISE)
with pytest.raises(ToolExecutionFailedError) as exc_info:
crew.kickoff()
record = exc_info.value.record
assert record.tool_name == "slackbot_send_message"
assert record.failure.code == "channel_not_found"
def test_event_is_emitted_before_raise(self) -> None:
"""Subscribers must observe the failure even on an aborting run."""
crew, _ = _build_crew(ToolFailurePolicy.RAISE)
events: list[ToolFailureDetectedEvent] = []
with crewai_event_bus.scoped_handlers():
@crewai_event_bus.on(ToolFailureDetectedEvent)
def _(source: Any, event: ToolFailureDetectedEvent) -> None:
events.append(event)
with pytest.raises(ToolExecutionFailedError):
crew.kickoff()
assert len(events) == 1
def test_task_policy_overrides_agent_end_to_end(self) -> None:
crew, _ = _build_crew(
ToolFailurePolicy.WARN,
tool_failure_policy=ToolFailurePolicy.RAISE,
)
with pytest.raises(ToolExecutionFailedError):
crew.kickoff()
def test_default_agent_warns(self) -> None:
"""No explicit policy anywhere still records the failure."""
crew, _ = _build_crew()
result = crew.kickoff()
assert result.has_tool_failures
def test_finished_event_carries_the_failure(self) -> None:
crew, _ = _build_crew(ToolFailurePolicy.WARN)
finished: list[ToolUsageFinishedEvent] = []
with crewai_event_bus.scoped_handlers():
@crewai_event_bus.on(ToolUsageFinishedEvent)
def _(source: Any, event: ToolUsageFinishedEvent) -> None:
finished.append(event)
crew.kickoff()
slack_events = [e for e in finished if e.tool_name == "slackbot_send_message"]
assert slack_events
assert slack_events[0].failure is not None
assert slack_events[0].failure.code == "channel_not_found"
def test_agent_sees_the_failure_message_as_plain_text(self) -> None:
"""Model-facing behavior is unchanged: it still reads prose."""
crew, _ = _build_crew(ToolFailurePolicy.WARN)
result = crew.kickoff()
tool_messages = [
m
for m in result.tasks_output[0].messages
if "Slack rejected the message" in str(m.get("content", ""))
]
assert tool_messages
class TestMCPIsErrorPlumbing:
"""An MCP server flags a failed tool with isError on a 200 response."""
@staticmethod
def _tool(is_error: bool) -> Any:
from unittest.mock import AsyncMock
from crewai.mcp.client import _MCPToolResult
from crewai.tools.mcp_native_tool import MCPNativeTool
client = AsyncMock()
client.connect = AsyncMock()
client.disconnect = AsyncMock()
client.call_tool_result = AsyncMock(
return_value=_MCPToolResult("channel not found", is_error)
)
return MCPNativeTool(
client_factory=lambda: client,
tool_name="post",
tool_schema={"description": "post a message"},
server_name="slack",
)
def test_is_error_becomes_a_tool_failure(self) -> None:
result = self._tool(is_error=True).run()
assert isinstance(result, ToolFailure)
assert result.reason is ToolFailureReason.MCP_ERROR
assert result.message == "channel not found"
assert result.details["server"] == "slack"
def test_successful_call_still_returns_plain_text(self) -> None:
assert self._tool(is_error=False).run() == "channel not found"
class TestPlatformActionTool:
"""CrewAI AMP agentic-app actions -- the Slack case from the bug report."""
@staticmethod
def _tool() -> Any:
from crewai_tools.tools.crewai_platform_tools.crewai_platform_action_tool import ( # noqa: E501
CrewAIPlatformActionTool,
)
return CrewAIPlatformActionTool(
description="Send a Slack message",
action_name="slackbot_send_message",
action_schema={
"function": {
"name": "slackbot_send_message",
"parameters": {
"properties": {"channel": {"type": "string"}},
"required": [],
},
}
},
)
def test_non_ok_response_becomes_a_tool_failure(self, monkeypatch) -> None: # noqa: ANN001
from unittest.mock import Mock
import crewai_tools.tools.crewai_platform_tools.crewai_platform_action_tool as mod
response = Mock()
response.ok = False
response.status_code = 500
response.json.return_value = {
"error": "Failed to execute action: Slack API error: channel_not_found"
}
monkeypatch.setattr(mod.requests, "post", Mock(return_value=response))
monkeypatch.setenv("CREWAI_PLATFORM_INTEGRATION_TOKEN", "t")
result = self._tool()._run(channel="#joao-message")
assert isinstance(result, ToolFailure)
assert "channel_not_found" in result.message
assert result.retryable is True
def test_ok_response_still_returns_json(self, monkeypatch) -> None: # noqa: ANN001
from unittest.mock import Mock
import crewai_tools.tools.crewai_platform_tools.crewai_platform_action_tool as mod
response = Mock()
response.ok = True
response.json.return_value = {"ts": "1234.5678"}
monkeypatch.setattr(mod.requests, "post", Mock(return_value=response))
monkeypatch.setenv("CREWAI_PLATFORM_INTEGRATION_TOKEN", "t")
result = self._tool()._run(channel="#general")
assert not isinstance(result, ToolFailure)
assert "1234.5678" in result
class TestSuccessfulToolsUnaffected:
def test_no_failure_recorded_for_a_working_tool(self) -> None:
agent = Agent(
role="Echoer",
goal="echo",
backstory="b",
llm=ScriptedLLM(
[
'Thought: echo\nAction: echo\nAction Input: {"text": "hi"}',
"Thought: done\nFinal Answer: echoed: hi",
]
),
tools=[WorkingTool()],
)
task = Task(description="echo hi", expected_output="hi", agent=agent)
result = Crew(agents=[agent], tasks=[task]).kickoff()
assert not result.has_tool_failures
assert result.tool_failures == []
def test_failures_reset_between_executions(self) -> None:
crew, agent = _build_crew(ToolFailurePolicy.WARN)
crew.kickoff()
assert len(agent.last_tool_failures) == 1
agent.llm = ScriptedLLM(_slack_steps())
crew.kickoff()
assert len(agent.last_tool_failures) == 1, "records must not accumulate"