Calculator¶

The Calculator tool evaluates mathematical expressions safely and returns the numeric result. It gives agents the ability to perform accurate arithmetic without relying on the LLM's inherently unreliable math capabilities.

Property	Value
Component Type	`calculator`
Category	Sub-component (Tool)
Display Name	Calculator

Ports¶

Inputs¶

Port	Data Type	Required	Description
`expression`	STRING	No	Mathematical expression to evaluate

The expression input is provided by the agent's LLM at invocation time.

Outputs¶

Port	Data Type	Description
`result`	STRING	The numeric result as a string

Configuration¶

The Calculator tool has no configuration options. It works out of the box with no extra_config needed.

Usage¶

Add a Calculator node from the Node Palette
Connect it to an agent node via the green diamond tools handle

The agent's LLM can then call the calculator tool with any supported mathematical expression.

Supported operators¶

Operator	Description	Example
`+`	Addition	`2 + 3`
`-`	Subtraction	`10 - 4`
`*`	Multiplication	`6 * 7`
`/`	Division	`15 / 4`
`//`	Floor division	`15 // 4`
`%`	Modulo (remainder)	`17 % 5`
`**`	Exponentiation	`2 ** 10`
`-` (unary)	Negation	`-5`
`+` (unary)	Positive	`+5`

Parentheses are supported for grouping: (2 + 3) * 4.

Safety¶

The calculator uses Python's ast module to parse expressions into an abstract syntax tree, then evaluates only numeric constants and the operators listed above. It does not use eval() and cannot execute arbitrary code. Function calls, variable references, string operations, and all other Python syntax are rejected.

Example¶

An agent helping with a financial calculation:

calculator("(1500 * 12) + (500 * 0.08)")

Returns:

18040.0

A more complex expression:

calculator("2 ** 32 - 1")

Returns:

4294967295

flowchart LR
    T[Chat Trigger] --> A[Agent]
    M[AI Model] -.->|model| A
    C[Calculator] -.->|tool| A

When to use Calculator

LLMs frequently make arithmetic errors, especially with large numbers, decimals, or multi-step calculations. Connect a Calculator tool whenever your agent needs to perform math -- even simple operations -- to ensure accurate results.

Numeric types

The calculator handles both integers and floating-point numbers. Division (/) always returns a float. Floor division (//) returns an integer when both operands are integers.