[PR #22408] [MERGED] fix: filter out internal tool methods starting with underscore #26665

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GiteaMirror · 2026-04-20T06:38:14-05:00

GiteaMirror commented

2026-04-20 06:38:14 -05:00

📋 Pull Request Information

Original PR: https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/pull/22408
Author: @Fu-Jie
Created: 3/8/2026
Status: ✅ Merged
Merged: 3/8/2026
Merged by: @tjbck

Base: dev ← Head: fix/filter-internal-tool-methods-final

📝 Commits (1)

2aefb4c fix: filter out internal tool methods starting with underscore

📊 Changes

1 file changed (+2 additions, -2 deletions)

View changed files

📝 backend/open_webui/utils/tools.py (+2 -2)

📄 Description

Pull Request Checklist

Target branch: dev
Description: Filter out internal methods starting with _ in Tools to prevent exposure to LLM.
Changelog: Entry added below.
Testing: Verified with a comprehensive testing script verify_with_logs.py (details below).
Agentic AI Code: This PR was prepared by an AI assistant but has been fully reviewed and manually verified by the user.
Code review: Self-reviewed.
Title Prefix: fix

Changelog Entry

Description

Currently, the tool extraction logic in backend/open_webui/utils/tools.py only filters out dunder methods (__), causing internal helper/protected methods (starting with a single underscore _) to be exposed as callable Tools to the LLM.

This PR updates the filtering to exclude all methods starting with _, adhering to standard Python conventions.

Fixed

Filter out internal/protected methods (starting with _) from being extracted as Tools in backend/open_webui/utils/tools.py.

Important

Note for Existing Tools: Tool specifications (Specs) are generated and stored in the database at the time of creation or update. For tools that existed prior to this fix, their stored specs may still contain the internal methods.
Solution: Simply click "Save" or "Update" on the existing tool in the UI to trigger a re‑parsing, which will successfully remove the internal methods from the tool interface.

Additional Information

Rationale

Tool Complexity: As tool implementations grow in complexity, developers naturally need to decompose logic into multiple internal helper methods. Without this fix, every internal function is exposed as a separate tool to the LLM.
Token Efficiency: Exposing unnecessary internal functions pollutes the tool list sent to the model, leading to higher token consumption.
LLM Performance & Accuracy: A cluttered tool list increases cognitive load on the LLM, making it more prone to errors or "hallucinating" by calling internal implementation details instead of the intended public tools.
Python Convention: In Python, a leading underscore _ is the definitive convention for marking protected/internal methods. These should not be part of the object's public tool interface.

Verification Logic

The following complete script was used to verify the fix:

import inspect
import logging
from typing import Callable

# Configure logging to show the filtering process
logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO, format="%(levelname)s: %(message)s")
log = logging.getLogger(__name__)

def get_functions_from_tool(tool: object) -> list[Callable]:
    functions = []
    for func_name in dir(tool):
        attr = getattr(tool, func_name)
        if callable(attr) and not inspect.isclass(attr):
            if func_name.startswith("_"):
                log.info(f"  [FILTERED] Skipping internal method: {func_name}")
            else:
                log.info(f"  [ACCEPTED] Extracting public method: {func_name}")
                functions.append(attr)
    return functions

class Tool:
    def get_weather(self, city: str):
        return self._fetch_data(f"weather/{city}")

    def get_forecast(self, city: str):
        return self._fetch_data(f"forecast/{city}")

    def _fetch_data(self, endpoint: str):
        return {"status": "success"}

# Execution
toolkit = Tool()
extracted_functions = get_functions_from_tool(toolkit)
print(f"Results: {[f.__name__ for f in extracted_functions]}")

Verification Logs

INFO: Extracting functions from tool: Tool
INFO: [FILTERED] Skipping internal method: __init__
INFO: [FILTERED] Skipping internal method: _fetch_data
INFO: [ACCEPTED] Extracting public method: get_forecast
INFO: [ACCEPTED] Extracting public method: get_weather
...
Final Extracted Tools: ['get_forecast', 'get_weather']
✅ VERIFICATION SUCCESS: Only public methods were extracted.

Contributor License Agreement

By submitting this pull request, I confirm that I have read and fully agree to the Contributor License Agreement (CLA), and I am providing my contributions under its terms.

Note

Deleting the CLA section will lead to immediate closure of your PR and it will not be merged in.

_{🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.}

## 📋 Pull Request Information **Original PR:** https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/pull/22408 **Author:** [@Fu-Jie](https://github.com/Fu-Jie) **Created:** 3/8/2026 **Status:** ✅ Merged **Merged:** 3/8/2026 **Merged by:** [@tjbck](https://github.com/tjbck) **Base:** `dev` ← **Head:** `fix/filter-internal-tool-methods-final` --- ### 📝 Commits (1) - [`2aefb4c`](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/commit/2aefb4cf25d23ed752095070a89fbaeab412d515) fix: filter out internal tool methods starting with underscore ### 📊 Changes **1 file changed** (+2 additions, -2 deletions) <details> <summary>View changed files</summary> 📝 `backend/open_webui/utils/tools.py` (+2 -2) </details> ### 📄 Description # Pull Request Checklist - [x] **Target branch:** dev - [x] **Description:** Filter out internal methods starting with `_` in Tools to prevent exposure to LLM. - [x] **Changelog:** Entry added below. - [x] **Testing:** Verified with a comprehensive testing script `verify_with_logs.py` (details below). - [x] **Agentic AI Code:** This PR was prepared by an AI assistant but has been fully reviewed and manually verified by the user. - [x] **Code review:** Self-reviewed. - [x] **Title Prefix:** fix # Changelog Entry ### Description Currently, the tool extraction logic in `backend/open_webui/utils/tools.py` only filters out dunder methods (`__`), causing internal helper/protected methods (starting with a single underscore `_`) to be exposed as callable Tools to the LLM. This PR updates the filtering to exclude all methods starting with `_`, adhering to standard Python conventions. ### Fixed - Filter out internal/protected methods (starting with `_`) from being extracted as Tools in `backend/open_webui/utils/tools.py`. > [!IMPORTANT] > **Note for Existing Tools**: Tool specifications (Specs) are generated and stored in the database at the time of creation or update. For tools that existed prior to this fix, their stored specs may still contain the internal methods. > **Solution**: Simply click **"Save"** or **"Update"** on the existing tool in the UI to trigger a re‑parsing, which will successfully remove the internal methods from the tool interface. ### Additional Information #### Rationale - **Tool Complexity**: As tool implementations grow in complexity, developers naturally need to decompose logic into multiple internal helper methods. Without this fix, every internal function is exposed as a separate tool to the LLM. - **Token Efficiency**: Exposing unnecessary internal functions pollutes the tool list sent to the model, leading to higher token consumption. - **LLM Performance & Accuracy**: A cluttered tool list increases cognitive load on the LLM, making it more prone to errors or "hallucinating" by calling internal implementation details instead of the intended public tools. - **Python Convention**: In Python, a leading underscore `_` is the definitive convention for marking protected/internal methods. These should not be part of the object's public tool interface. #### Verification Logic The following complete script was used to verify the fix: ```python import inspect import logging from typing import Callable # Configure logging to show the filtering process logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO, format="%(levelname)s: %(message)s") log = logging.getLogger(__name__) def get_functions_from_tool(tool: object) -> list[Callable]: functions = [] for func_name in dir(tool): attr = getattr(tool, func_name) if callable(attr) and not inspect.isclass(attr): if func_name.startswith("_"): log.info(f" [FILTERED] Skipping internal method: {func_name}") else: log.info(f" [ACCEPTED] Extracting public method: {func_name}") functions.append(attr) return functions class Tool: def get_weather(self, city: str): return self._fetch_data(f"weather/{city}") def get_forecast(self, city: str): return self._fetch_data(f"forecast/{city}") def _fetch_data(self, endpoint: str): return {"status": "success"} # Execution toolkit = Tool() extracted_functions = get_functions_from_tool(toolkit) print(f"Results: {[f.__name__ for f in extracted_functions]}") ``` #### Verification Logs ```text INFO: Extracting functions from tool: Tool INFO: [FILTERED] Skipping internal method: __init__ INFO: [FILTERED] Skipping internal method: _fetch_data INFO: [ACCEPTED] Extracting public method: get_forecast INFO: [ACCEPTED] Extracting public method: get_weather ... Final Extracted Tools: ['get_forecast', 'get_weather'] ✅ VERIFICATION SUCCESS: Only public methods were extracted. ``` ### Contributor License Agreement  - [x] By submitting this pull request, I confirm that I have read and fully agree to the [Contributor License Agreement (CLA)](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/blob/main/CONTRIBUTOR_LICENSE_AGREEMENT), and I am providing my contributions under its terms. > [!NOTE] > Deleting the CLA section will lead to immediate closure of your PR and it will not be merged in. --- <sub>🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.</sub>

GiteaMirror added the pull-request label 2026-04-20 06:38:14 -05:00

GiteaMirror closed this issue

2026-04-20 06:38:16 -05:00

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Reference: github-starred/open-webui#26665