tools

Language reference / tools

Meaning and placement

→ permits

Allowed nika:/mcp: tool ids · globs ok.

Property	Declaration
Requirement	Optional in this object
Schema location	`/properties/permits/properties/tools`
type	`"array"`

In the same object: env · exec · fs · net Schema source (use the pointer above)

agent

Whitelist · DEFAULT-DENY (no tools if absent) · gitignore-style globs · ! negation.

Property	Declaration
Requirement	Optional in this object
Schema location	`/$defs/agent/properties/tools`
type	`"array"`

In the same object: images · max_tokens_total · max_turns · model · prompt · schema · skills · system · temperature Schema source (use the pointer above)

In a source template

Excerpt from templates/agent-loop.nika, source lines 45–54. This is a fragment, not a runnable workflow.

illustration

permits:                            # the blast radius · default-deny once present
  # Exactly what the body invokes: `nika:assert` (the confirm task) plus the
  # two the agent may call. No `fs:` — see the note on `tools:` below.
  tools: ["nika:assert", "nika:done", "nika:jq"]

tasks:
  plan:
    infer:
      prompt: "Break '${{ inputs.goal }}' into at most 4 concrete steps."   # SLOT
      # SLOT: the spend ceiling for the planning call. Size it for the SEAT,

Templates containing this field

Template	Source
`templates/agent-loop.nika`	Line 48
`templates/aggregate-by-key.nika`	Line 21
`templates/api-upload-and-create.nika`	Line 52
`templates/bounded-batch.nika`	Line 20
`templates/chain.nika`	Line 37
`templates/classify-and-route.nika`	Line 73
`templates/corpus-qa.nika`	Line 28
`templates/deduplicate-records.nika`	Line 21
`templates/docker-report.nika`	Line 38
`templates/document-to-fields.nika`	Line 34
`templates/etl-state.nika`	Line 55
`templates/fanout.nika`	Line 67
`templates/gate-and-act.nika`	Line 33
`templates/human-gated-ship.nika`	Line 62
`templates/media-asset-pack.nika`	Line 38
`templates/parallel-review.nika`	Line 47
`templates/project-public-fields.nika`	Line 22
`templates/recover-optional-file.nika`	Line 16
`templates/snapshot-diff.nika`	Line 20
`templates/validate-records.nika`	Line 19
`templates/website-brief.nika`	Line 39

These are literal key occurrences in the source files, not an execution or conformance claim. How to instantiate a template.

Contract and implementation

This page projects the named specification revision. Check released engine status and the validation workflow before running a file. An optional field is not evidence that every engine supports every value. Canonical identity: language:word:tools. Spec revision: 5c40ba456c53. How documentation stays connected.

YAML

Language fields

CLI & errors

Data catalogs

Workspace

Documentation system

Tool contracts

Meaning and placement

→ permits

agent

In a source template

Templates containing this field

Contract and implementation

​Meaning and placement

​→ permits

​agent

​In a source template

​Templates containing this field

​Contract and implementation

Meaning and placement

→ permits

agent

In a source template

Templates containing this field

Contract and implementation