ATR - Agent Tool Registry

Part of Agent OS - Kernel-level governance for AI agents

A type-safe, decentralized tool registry for autonomous agents. Part of the Agent OS ecosystem.

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Why This Exists

Most agent frameworks hardcode tools directly into their runtimes. This creates tight coupling: add a new capability, restart the entire system. Change a function signature, update dozens of agents. Scale by addition leads to fragility.

We built atr because tool registration should not require restarting your infrastructure.

The Agent Tool Registry decouples tool providers from tool consumers. Agents discover capabilities at runtime through a standardized interface. We subtract the dependency between agent logic and tool implementation to add scale.

This is Scale by Subtraction applied to the agent capability layer.

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Installation

pip install agentmesh-tool-registry

For sandboxed execution with Docker:

pip install agentmesh-tool-registry[sandbox]

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Quick Start

Register a tool in 5 lines:

import atr

@atr.register(name="calculator", tags=["math"])
def add(a: int, b: int) -> int:
    """Add two numbers."""
    return a + b

Discover and execute:

tool = atr.get_tool("calculator")
schema = tool.to_openai_function_schema()  # OpenAI-compatible
func = atr.get_callable("calculator")
result = func(a=5, b=3)  # Returns 8

# Or use sandboxed execution (recommended for untrusted code)
from atr import DockerExecutor
docker_exec = DockerExecutor()
result = atr.execute_tool("calculator", {"a": 5, "b": 3}, executor=docker_exec)

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Sandboxed Execution

NEW: ATR now supports sandboxed execution using Docker containers. This is essential for running untrusted or agent-generated code safely.

Why Sandboxed Execution?

SDLC agents and LLMs may generate Python or Bash scripts that you cannot safely run directly on your host machine. Sandboxed execution provides:

• Isolation: Code runs in ephemeral containers, completely isolated from your host
• Security: No network access, memory limits, automatic cleanup
• Safety: Protects against malicious code, resource exhaustion, and unintended side effects

Usage

import atr
from atr import DockerExecutor

# Register a tool
@atr.register(name="processor", tags=["data"])
def process_data(numbers: list) -> int:
    """Process data safely in a sandbox."""
    return sum(numbers)

# Option 1: Direct execution (NOT sandboxed - trusted code only)
result = atr.execute_tool("processor", {"numbers": [1, 2, 3, 4]})

# Option 2: Sandboxed execution (RECOMMENDED for untrusted code)
docker_exec = DockerExecutor()
result = atr.execute_tool(
    "processor",
    {"numbers": [1, 2, 3, 4]},
    executor=docker_exec,
    timeout=30
)

Execution Modes

Feature	LocalExecutor	DockerExecutor
Speed	Fast	Slower
Security	No isolation	Full isolation
Network	Full access	Disabled
Use Case	Trusted code	Untrusted code

See examples/sandbox_demo.py for complete examples.

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Architecture

atr sits in Layer 2 (Infrastructure) of the Agent OS stack.

Responsibility: Tool registration, discovery, and schema generation.
Not responsible for: Tool execution (handled by the Agent Control Plane).

Design

• Registry: In-memory dictionary-based lookup (local or distributed).
• Decorator: @atr.register() extracts type signatures and validates strict typing.
• Spec: Pydantic schema enforcing inputs, outputs, side effects, and metadata.
• Schema Export: Converts to OpenAI, Anthropic, and other LLM function-calling formats.

The registry stores specifications, not callables. Execution happens in the control plane with proper error handling and observability.

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The Ecosystem Map

ATR is one component in a modular Agent OS. Each layer solves a specific problem:

Primitives (Layer 1)

• caas - Context-as-a-Service: Manages agent memory and state.
• cmvk - Context Verification Kit: Cryptographic verification of context integrity.
• emk - Episodic Memory Kit: Long-term memory storage and retrieval.

Infrastructure (Layer 2)

• iatp - Inter-Agent Trust Protocol: Secure message authentication.
• amb - Agent Message Bus: Decoupled event transport.
• atr - Agent Tool Registry: Tool discovery and schema generation (you are here).

Framework (Layer 3)

• agent-control-plane - The Core: Agent orchestration and lifecycle management.
• scak - Self-Correction Agent Kit: Automated error recovery and learning.

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Citation

If you use ATR in research, please cite:

@software{atr2024,
  title={ATR: Agent Tool Registry},
  author={Siddique, Imran},
  year={2024},
  url={https://github.com/microsoft/agent-governance-toolkit},
  note={Part of the Agent OS ecosystem}
}

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License

MIT License - See LICENSE for details.

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Repository: https://github.com/microsoft/agent-governance-toolkit
Documentation: https://github.com/microsoft/agent-governance-toolkit#readme
Issues: https://github.com/microsoft/agent-governance-toolkit/issues