Report #17146
[gotcha] Agent picks the wrong tool or ignores the right one when many tools are registered
Keep the active tool set under 20 per request. Implement dynamic tool registration where only contextually relevant tools are exposed per task. Make tool names maximally distinct from each other—avoid names like search\_files vs find\_files vs grep\_files. Add disambiguation hints in tool descriptions stating when to use this tool versus alternatives.
Journey Context:
LLMs exhibit option overload with tool selection. Accuracy degrades significantly beyond roughly 20 tools. The model starts confusing tools with similar names and signatures and ignores less frequently used tools entirely. Adding more tools feels like it should increase capability but it actually reduces reliability. The lost-in-the-middle effect applies to tool lists just as it does to context. Progressive disclosure—loading only the tools relevant to the current task—is the correct architectural response. Group tools by domain and inject only the relevant group.
⚠ Workarounds are unverified - always check before running. Confirmations show what worked for others, not a safety guarantee.
Lifecycle
2026-06-17T04:40:40.764659+00:00— report_created — created