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fix(agents): stop agents at max_tool_calls / max_iterations - #2365

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Somay-kousis:fix/agent-tool-call-limit

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@Somay-kousis Somay-kousis commented Oct 16, 2026 •

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Description

max_tool_calls (ReAct) and max_iterations (Tool Calling, Responses API) let an agent that keeps calling tools run N+1 of them. The cap was only LangGraph's recursion_limit=(N + 1) * 2, and no recursion_limit can both allow N calls plus a final answer and block call N+1 (each call costs two steps; both need 2N+2).

The graphs now count tool calls themselves:

  • ReActAgentGraph(max_tool_calls=...): counts state.tool_responses, which starts empty on every invocation.
  • ToolCallAgentGraph(max_iterations=...): new state field tool_iterations, incremented in tool_node. messages can't be used because it carries chat history.
  • In conditional_edge, when the agent asks for another tool and the count has reached the cap, the graph raises GraphRecursionError. Each workflow already handles that error, so the result at the limit is the same as before: Tool Calling returns "could not produce a final answer within N iterations", ReAct streaming yields its limit message, ReAct single_fn re-raises, Responses API returns its generic error.
  • Tool Calling stream_fn now holds a turn's tool-call chunks and sends them on the tool node's update (it also streams graph updates), so calls the graph never runs, such as the one rejected at the limit, are dropped. Without that, the client would get the tool call the graph rejects at the limit. ReAct streaming only sends text after Final Answer:, so it never sent the rejected request.
  • Wired through react_agent, per_user_react_agent, tool_calling_agent and responses_api_agent. The cap defaults to None (no cap) for other callers. recursion_limit is unchanged and stays as a backstop; the three comments that said it stops the second tool call now say what it does.

Choices I made, happy to change either:

  • Parallel tool calls count as one round. With parallel_tool_calls, one model turn can ask for several tools; they run together and count once, as on develop. The docs say "tool calls", so if you want each call counted, the round that would cross the cap needs a rule for the calls left over (drop them, or run none).
  • A ReAct call to a tool that doesn't exist counts. It goes through tool_node and appends an error to tool_responses, and it used recursion budget on develop too.

Tests (all fail on develop with N+1 calls, except the guards):

  • test_react.py: never exceeds max_tool_calls (N = 1, 2, 5) via single_fn, stream_fn and the per-user agent; guard: N calls then a final answer still returns the answer
  • test_tool_calling.py: never exceeds max_iterations via single_fn and stream_fn, and the stream carries only the tool calls that ran; same guards for streaming and not
  • test_responses_api_agent.py: never exceeds max_iterations, and the error names max_iterations

Removing the cap from any one of the four workflows makes its tests fail (checked each). nvidia_nat_langchain/tests: 791 passed, 13 skipped. yapf and ruff pass.

Closes #2364

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Summary by CodeRabbit

  • New Features
    • ReAct, tool-calling, and Responses API agents support configurable limits on tool calls or iterations.
    • Agents can use the full allowed number of tool calls and still return a final answer. If another call is needed, the run reports a recursion-limit error.
  • Bug Fixes
    • Streaming tool-call updates are delivered after calls run and only for calls that were executed.

max_tool_calls / max_iterations = N must allow exactly N tool calls; the never-exceed cases run N+1 on develop.

Signed-off-by: Somay-kousis <[email protected]>
recursion_limit=(N+1)*2 cannot both allow N tool calls plus a final answer and block call N+1, so the ReAct and Tool Calling graphs now count tool calls per invocation and raise GraphRecursionError before call N+1. Each workflow keeps its existing handling of that error.

Signed-off-by: Somay-kousis <[email protected]>
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Somay-kousis requested a review from a team as a code owner October 16, 2026 18:31
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Walkthrough

ReAct and ToolCallAgentGraph workflows now pass configured tool-call limits to their graphs. The graphs raise GraphRecursionError when another tool call is requested after the limit. Tests cover streaming and non-streaming execution, including final answers after the allowed calls.

Changes

Tool-call limit enforcement

Layer / File(s) Summary
ReAct limit enforcement
packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/src/nat/plugins/langchain/agent/react_agent/*, packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/tests/agent/test_react.py
ReAct graph construction passes config.max_tool_calls. The graph raises GraphRecursionError when the tool-response count reaches the limit and no final answer exists. Tests cover standard and per-user workflows, streaming and non-streaming execution, and final answers after the allowed calls.
ToolCallAgentGraph iteration limits and streaming
packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/src/nat/plugins/langchain/agent/tool_calling_agent/*, packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/src/nat/plugins/langchain/agent/responses_api_agent/register.py, packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/tests/agent/test_tool_calling.py, packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/tests/agent/test_responses_api_agent.py
ToolCallAgentGraph tracks tool-node runs and raises GraphRecursionError when another tool call is requested after the configured limit. Tool Calling and Responses API workflows pass their configured limits. Streaming holds tool-call chunks until a tool update confirms execution. Tests cover limits, streamed tool-call IDs, and final answers after the allowed calls.

Priority: ➖ Normal

Estimated code review effort: 3 (Moderate) | ~20 minutes

Change: Bug fix · Severity of issue fixed: Medium

Merge Risk: ⚪ Minimal · up to c600c

No actionable issue remains established for this change. It is ready to merge after normal checks.

Pre-merge checks: Passed 4 · Failed 1

Failed Failed checks: 1 warning

Check name Status Explanation Resolution
Docstring Coverage Warning Docstring coverage is 39.53% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 43 functions across 9 files. Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.
Passed Passed checks: 4 passed
Check name Status Explanation
Linked Issues check Passed Issue #2364 requires ReAct max_tool_calls and Tool Calling or Responses API max_iterations to block the next tool round while allowing the configured calls followed by a final answer. The changes …
Out of Scope Changes check Passed The changes remain within Issue #2364. The streaming update is required to suppress tool-call chunks for tool requests that the limit rejects. Comments and automated tests support the limit fix. No un…
Description Check Passed Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check Passed The title is concise, descriptive, under 72 characters, and clearly states that agents stop at the configured max_tool_calls or max_iterations limits.
Full details: Linked Issues check

Explanation

Issue #2364 requires ReAct max_tool_calls and Tool Calling or Responses API max_iterations to block the next tool round while allowing the configured calls followed by a final answer. The changes add counters and pre-tool checks in both graph types, pass limits through all four workflows, preserve GraphRecursionError handling, and add tests for single, streaming, per-user, Responses API, and final-answer cases.

Full details: Out of Scope Changes check

Explanation

The changes remain within Issue #2364. The streaming update is required to suppress tool-call chunks for tool requests that the limit rejects. Comments and automated tests support the limit fix. No unrelated product behavior is shown in the reviewed changes.

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Actionable comments posted: 2

🧹 Nitpick comments: 1
packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/tests/agent/test_tool_calling.py: 1

866-869: 📐 Maintainability & Code Quality | 🔵 Trivial | ⚡ Quick win

Type the scripted model overrides. Both new model classes define bind_tools and _generate without parameter or return type hints.

  • packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/tests/agent/test_tool_calling.py#L866-L869: annotate both ScriptedToolCallLLM methods.
  • packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/tests/agent/test_responses_api_agent.py#L161-L164: annotate both AlwaysToolCallLLM methods.
    As per path instructions, “Python methods should use type hints for all parameters and return values.”
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Review comment at
@packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/tests/agent/test_tool_calling.py around lines 866
- 869:
Add parameter and return type hints to bind_tools and _generate in
ScriptedToolCallLLM at
packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/tests/agent/test_tool_calling.py, lines 866-869,
and to the corresponding methods in AlwaysToolCallLLM at
packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/tests/agent/test_responses_api_agent.py, lines
161-164.

Source: Path instructions


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Inline comments:
Review comments at
@packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/src/nat/plugins/langchain/agent/tool_calling_agent/agent.py:
- Line 385: Update the max_iterations decision in the agent graph and the
streaming path in register.py so tool-call deltas are buffered or suppressed
until the graph approves the request; never emit a tool call rejected at the
iteration limit. Add a streaming assertion that checks tool-call deltas as well
as text output and server-side call counts.

Review comments at
@packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/tests/agent/test_responses_api_agent.py:
- Around line 180-182: Update the test using responses_api_agent_workflow to
enable verbose mode and assert that the result of single_fn identifies
max_iterations as the cause of failure, while retaining the assertion that calls
reached the configured limit.

---

Nitpick comments:
Review comments at
@packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/tests/agent/test_tool_calling.py:
- Around line 866-869: Add parameter and return type hints to bind_tools and
_generate in ScriptedToolCallLLM at
packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/tests/agent/test_tool_calling.py, lines 866-869,
and to the corresponding methods in AlwaysToolCallLLM at
packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/tests/agent/test_responses_api_agent.py, lines
161-164.

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  • packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/src/nat/plugins/langchain/agent/react_agent/agent.py
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  • packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/tests/agent/test_react.py
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The scripted model now streams like a real one, so the tests see the tool-call deltas the client gets. The Responses API test checks the limit is what stopped the agent.

Signed-off-by: Somay-kousis <[email protected]>
At max_iterations the graph rejects the next tool request after the model has streamed it, so the Tool Calling stream_fn now sends a turn's tool-call chunks once the tool node has run, and drops them when the limit stops the run.

Signed-off-by: Somay-kousis <[email protected]>
@Somay-kousis Somay-kousis changed the title fix(agents): stop agents before the tool call past max_tool_calls / max_iterations fix(agents): stop agents at max_tool_calls / max_iterations Oct 16, 2026
@willkill07 willkill07 added bug Something isn't working non-breaking Non-breaking change labels Oct 17, 2026
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/ok to test fc10849

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Actionable comments posted: 1


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@packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/src/nat/plugins/langchain/agent/tool_calling_agent/register.py:
- Around line 300-302: Update the `held_tool_call_chunks` flush so buffered
chunks are yielded only after confirming the corresponding tool node ran;
discard them when `ToolCallAgentGraph.conditional_edge` ends the graph without
executing that node.

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  • packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/src/nat/plugins/langchain/agent/react_agent/agent.py
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  • packages/nvidia_nat_langchain/src/nat/plugins/langchain/agent/responses_api_agent/register.py
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… runs

A tool call that ran must reach the client even if the next model request fails before its first token, and tool-call chunks for a call the graph never runs must not.

Signed-off-by: Somay-kousis <[email protected]>
Stream graph updates alongside messages and send a turn's held tool-call chunks on the tool node's update, instead of on the next model chunk or at the end of the run. Chunks for calls the tool node never runs are dropped.

Signed-off-by: Somay-kousis <[email protected]>
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/ok to test c600c30

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/merge

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rapids-bot Bot merged commit 2581a4d into NVIDIA:develop Oct 18, 2026
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rapids-bot Bot pushed a commit that referenced this pull request Oct 18, 2026
`per_user_react_agent_workflow` built `ReActAgentGraph` without `raise_on_parsing_failure` and `use_native_tool_calling`, though `PerUserReActAgentWorkflowConfig` inherits both from `ReActAgentWorkflowConfig`. Setting either had no effect: native tool calls were never bound to the LLM, and a parsing failure always raised. Both are now passed from the config, as `react_agent` does.

Tests in `tests/agent/test_react.py`, each run for `react_agent` and `per_user_react_agent`:
- `raise_on_parsing_failure: false` returns the parsing error as the answer
- `use_native_tool_calling: true` runs the model's structured tool call and returns the final answer

The `per_user_react_agent` cases fail on develop; the `react_agent` cases pass and keep both paths in step. `nvidia_nat_langchain/tests`: 766 passed, 13 skipped. yapf and ruff pass.

This touches the same `ReActAgentGraph(...)` call as #2365 (which adds `max_tool_calls`) on different lines; the two merge cleanly.

Closes #2366

## By Submitting this PR I confirm:
- I am familiar with the [Contributing Guidelines](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NeMo-Agent-Toolkit/blob/develop/docs/source/resources/contributing/index.md).
- We require that all contributors "sign-off" on their commits. This certifies that the contribution is your original work, or you have rights to submit it under the same license, or a compatible license.
  - Any contribution which contains commits that are not Signed-Off will not be accepted.
- When the PR is ready for review, new or existing tests cover these changes.
- When the PR is ready for review, the documentation is up to date with these changes.




## Summary by CodeRabbit

* **New Features**
  * Per-user ReAct workflows now honor configuration for handling unparseable model output and using native tool calling. When enabled, structured tool calls can invoke configured tools, while parsing behavior follows the selected setting. This brings per-user workflows in line with the corresponding options available in standard ReAct workflows.

Authors:
  - Somay kousis (https://github.com/Somay-kousis)

Approvers:
  - Will Killian (https://github.com/willkill07)

URL: #2367
rapids-bot Bot pushed a commit that referenced this pull request Oct 23, 2026
When no `Final Answer:` marker was streamed, ReAct's `stream_fn` fell back to the text it had buffered across every agent turn. After a tool call, a direct answer was streamed behind the earlier `Thought:`, `Action:` and `Action Input:` text, and with `raise_on_parsing_failure: false` a parsing failure streamed the raw reply instead of the parsing error. `single_fn` returns the agent node's `final_answer` in both cases.

`stream_fn` now streams with `stream_mode=["messages", "updates"]`, as the tool-calling agent's `stream_fn` already does, keeps the `final_answer` from the agent node's update, and yields it in that fallback. Token streaming after a `Final Answer:` marker is unchanged, and the buffered text is still the fallback when the graph sets no answer.

Behavior change for streaming clients: in those two cases they now get the same text as `single_fn`, including the parsing error that `react-agent.md:96` describes, instead of the raw reply.

Tests in `tests/agent/test_react.py`:
- A parametrized test runs the same scripted replies through `single_fn` and `stream_fn` and requires the same answer: a direct answer (also wrapped in `<think>`), a tool call then a direct answer, and a parsing failure on the first turn and after a tool call. The last three fail on develop; the first two pass there and guard the fallback.
- The `_stream_fn` tests that mock `graph.astream` now yield `("messages", (chunk, metadata))` pairs, the shape `astream` yields for a list of stream modes. Only the mocks' event shape changed; their assertions are unchanged.
- `_run_react_agent` (from #2365) takes `raise_on_parsing_failure`, with the default unchanged.

`nvidia_nat_langchain` tests: 827 passed, 13 skipped on Python 3.11, 3.12 and 3.13. yapf and ruff pass.

Follow-up to #2380, which left this out of scope.

Closes #2432

## By Submitting this PR I confirm:
- I am familiar with the [Contributing Guidelines](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NeMo-Agent-Toolkit/blob/develop/docs/source/resources/contributing/index.md).
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## Summary by CodeRabbit

* **Bug Fixes**
  * Improved streamed agent responses when they don’t include a “Final Answer” marker. The completed answer is now returned when available, with buffered text used as a fallback, helping streamed results match single-response answers across direct replies, tool calls, and parsing failures.

Authors:
  - Hesam Shams (https://github.com/hesam-shams)

Approvers:
  - Will Killian (https://github.com/willkill07)

URL: #2433
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[BUG] Agents run one tool call past max_tool_calls / max_iterations

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