feat(AI Agent Node): Make tools optional when using OpenAI model with Tools agent (#11212)

packages/@n8n/nodes-langchain/nodes/agents/Agent/Agent.node.ts

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import type {
 	INodeTypeDescription,
 	INodeProperties,
 } from 'n8n-workflow';
-import { promptTypeOptions, textInput } from '../../../utils/descriptions';
+
 import { conversationalAgentProperties } from './agents/ConversationalAgent/description';
 import { conversationalAgentExecute } from './agents/ConversationalAgent/execute';
 import { openAiFunctionsAgentProperties } from './agents/OpenAiFunctionsAgent/description';
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import { sqlAgentAgentProperties } from './agents/SqlAgent/description';
 import { sqlAgentAgentExecute } from './agents/SqlAgent/execute';
 import { toolsAgentProperties } from './agents/ToolsAgent/description';
 import { toolsAgentExecute } from './agents/ToolsAgent/execute';
+import { promptTypeOptions, textInput } from '../../../utils/descriptions';
 
 // Function used in the inputs expression to figure out which inputs to
 // display based on the agent type
@@ -351,6 +352,23 @@ export class Agent implements INodeType {
 					},
 				},
 			},
+			{
+				displayName: 'For more reliable structured output parsing, consider using the Tools agent',
+				name: 'notice',
+				type: 'notice',
+				default: '',
+				displayOptions: {
+					show: {
+						hasOutputParser: [true],
+						agent: [
+							'conversationalAgent',
+							'reActAgent',
+							'planAndExecuteAgent',
+							'openAiFunctionsAgent',
+						],
+					},
+				},
+			},
 			{
 				displayName: 'Require Specific Output Format',
 				name: 'hasOutputParser',
@@ -372,6 +390,7 @@ export class Agent implements INodeType {
 				displayOptions: {
 					show: {
 						hasOutputParser: [true],
+						agent: ['toolsAgent'],
 					},
 				},
 			},

packages/@n8n/nodes-langchain/nodes/agents/Agent/agents/ToolsAgent/execute.ts

@@ -294,14 +294,6 @@ export async function toolsAgentExecute(this: IExecuteFunctions): Promise<INodeE
 				throw new NodeOperationError(this.getNode(), 'The ‘text‘ parameter is empty.');
 			}
 
-			// OpenAI doesn't allow empty tools array so we will provide a more user-friendly error message
-			if (model.lc_namespace.includes('openai') && tools.length === 0) {
-				throw new NodeOperationError(
-					this.getNode(),
-					"Please connect at least one tool. If you don't need any, try the conversational agent instead",
-				);
-			}
-
 			const response = await executor.invoke({
 				input,
 				system_message: options.systemMessage ?? SYSTEM_MESSAGE,