Tools don't seem to work?

[geoidesic]

Hi all. I can't get Continue to do anything... instead of calling any tools it just outputs json, e.g.:

Certainly, let's try again to list the contents of the dsrc/qewd directory.

{"name": "ls", "arguments": {"dirPath": "dsrc/qewd"}}```

[bdougie]

This lacks some details that would be helpful, but I am assuming you are using a qwen model or similar that does has a non-standard tool calling set up.

Capabilities reference

Valid capabilities are tool_use and image_input; adding tool_use advertises native tool support, while omitting it (or using []) lets Continue rely on system message tools for Agent mode. [Model capabilities guide]

So, the practical suggestion:

If a model’s native tools are broken/incompatible and you want system message tools:
Configure the model without tool_use in capabilities (or set capabilities: []), and Agent mode will use system message tools automatically. [Qwen3-coder tools discussion; FAQs – tools not working]

[bdougie]

I was putting some content together around this and sharing more on the System Tool Messages, this is context on how tool calling works for models. There is a note on how to force tool calling.

https://docs.continue.dev/ide-extensions/agent/model-setup#how-system-message-tools-work