How OpenClaw agents take actions beyond just generating text
Tool use (also called function calling) is the mechanism by which an OpenClaw agent can take real actions — reading files, browsing websites, running commands, calling APIs, sending messages — rather than just generating text responses. Tools are what transform a chatbot into an autonomous agent.
The LLM is given a list of available tools with descriptions and parameter schemas. When the agent decides a tool is needed, it generates a structured tool call with the appropriate parameters. OpenClaw executes the tool, captures the output, and feeds it back to the LLM as context for the next reasoning step. This is the 'act' phase of the agent loop.
The range and reliability of available tools directly determines what your agent can actually accomplish. An agent with read/write file tools can manage documents. One with web browsing tools can research. One with API tools can integrate with any service. OpenClaw's skill marketplace provides pre-built tools for common use cases.
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