What are tools?
Tools are how Assist acts. Each one is a code-reviewed function that does one thing, such as scanning a disk, flushing the DNS cache or resetting an Okta password. Everything Assist does, on the device or in a connected cloud system, goes through a tool. Skills decide what to do and when; tools do the work. The AI picks which tool to call and with what inputs, but it can’t write commands or scripts, or do anything outside the tool list.- Read-only counterparts. Tools that change something usually have a read-only partner, such as
get_*_info, so skills can diagnose without changing anything. - Questions are tools too. When Assist asks the employee to approve, choose or fill in a form, that pause is a tool, so it’s checked and recorded like any other step.
Skill and tool library
Browse every tool’s source and metadata on GitHub.
Tool metadata
Each tool declares its own metadata, and the guardrails enforce it on every run:
For example,
kill_process is medium risk, destructive, needs consent and supports preview, so Assist always shows a preview and waits for approval before it runs. The tool’s metadata sets this, so neither the skill author nor the AI can skip it.
Inputs are checked against a strict schema before any tool runs, and tools refuse protected targets, such as system processes, whatever the plan says.
Why deterministic tools?
Many AI agents act by writing and running scripts. Assist doesn’t:- Reviewed once, trusted every time. Every tool is reviewed and tested before it ships. A generated script is new, unreviewed code on every run.
- No path from prompt to shell. The AI can only choose from the tool list, so even a manipulated model can’t run arbitrary code.
- Checks set in advance. Risk levels only work when every possible action is known ahead of time.
- A clear audit trail. The record names exactly which tool ran and with what inputs.
- Predictable failures. Tools return known errors that skills are written to handle.