# xAI tools — index (server-side agentic tools, function calling, MCP)

**Status:** DOCUMENTED + LIVE_VERIFIED (2026-09-19 with `grok-4.3` on `/v1/responses`: `function`, `web_search`, `x_search`, `code_interpreter`(+alias `code_execution`), `file_search`(+alias `collections_search`), `mcp` called live; `image_generation`, `shell` accepted without being invoked; `tool_search` ACCOUNT_RESTRICTED (alpha); `live_search` RETIRED). Machine-readable: `generated/fragments/tools/xai-tools.json`, `parameters/xai-responses.json` (`tools[]` rows), `streaming-events/xai-inference.json`, `objects/xai-inference-objects.json`.
**Sources:** https://docs.x.ai/developers/tools/overview · …/function-calling · …/web-search · …/x-search · …/code-execution · …/collections-search · …/remote-mcp · …/citations · …/streaming-and-sync · …/tool-usage-details · …/advanced-usage · https://docs.x.ai/developers/pricing#tools-pricing · OpenAPI `ModelTool`, `Tool`
**Last verified:** 2026-09-19

## Exact `type` strings

The Responses deserializer lists (422 error text): `function`, `web_search`, `x_search`, `image_generation`, `collections_search`, `file_search`, `code_execution`, `code_interpreter`, `mcp`, `shell`, `tool_search`. Chat Completions accepts only `function` and `live_search`.

| `type` | Category | xai-sdk helper | Endpoints | Live 2026-09-19 | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| `function` | client | `xai_sdk.chat.tool(...)` | Responses, Chat, Messages (Anthropic shape) | LIVE_VERIFIED (forced, parallel, round trip, stream) | [function-calling](function-calling.md) |
| `web_search` | server | `web_search()` | Responses | LIVE_VERIFIED (`web_search_call` action `open_page`) | [web-search](web-search.md) |
| `x_search` | server | `x_search()` | Responses | LIVE_VERIFIED — items come back as **`custom_tool_call`** (docs: `x_search_call`) | [x-search](x-search.md) |
| `code_interpreter` / alias `code_execution` | server | `code_execution()` | Responses | LIVE_VERIFIED (`code_interpreter_call`, logs stdout) | [code-execution](code-execution.md) |
| `file_search` / alias `collections_search` | server | `collections_search(collection_ids=[…])` | Responses | LIVE_VERIFIED shape (`file_search_call` failed on un-indexed collection) | [collections-search](collections-search.md) |
| `mcp` | mcp | `mcp(server_url, server_label)` | Responses, Speech-to-Speech | LIVE_VERIFIED (DeepWiki `mcp_call`) | [mcp](mcp.md) |
| `image_generation` | server | — | Responses | accepted (not invoked) — images agent | https://docs.x.ai/developers/tools/image-generation |
| `shell` (env `local`) | client | — | Responses | accepted (not invoked) | OpenAPI only |
| `tool_search` + `defer_loading` | hosted | — | Responses | 403 "only available for alpha users" | OpenAPI only |
| *(implicit)* attachment search via `input_file` | server | `xai_sdk.chat.file(...)` | Responses | LIVE_VERIFIED | [../../xai/files.md](../../xai/files.md) |
| *(sub-tools)* `view_image`, `view_x_video`, `search_images` | server | `enable_image_understanding`, `enable_video_understanding`, `enable_image_search` flags | via web_search / x_search | flags accepted | [image-understanding](image-understanding.md) |
| `live_search` (+ `search_parameters`, `web_search_options`) | legacy | — | Chat | **410 RETIRED** | [../../xai/chat-completions.md](../../xai/chat-completions.md) |

## Output item ↔ usage counter ↔ price

| Item type (Responses) | `server_side_tool_usage_details` | xai-sdk category | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| `web_search_call` | `web_search_calls` | SERVER_SIDE_TOOL_WEB_SEARCH (`web_search`, `web_search_with_snippets`, `browse_page`, `open_page`, `open_page_with_find`); IMAGE_SEARCH (`search_images`) | $5 / 1k calls |
| `custom_tool_call` (x_*) | `x_search_calls` | SERVER_SIDE_TOOL_X_SEARCH (`x_user_search`, `x_keyword_search`, `x_semantic_search`, `x_thread_fetch`) | $5 / 1k calls → from 2026-09-21 12:00 PT $5 / 1k posts + $10 / 1k profiles |
| `code_interpreter_call` | `code_interpreter_calls` | SERVER_SIDE_TOOL_CODE_EXECUTION | $5 / 1k |
| `file_search_call` | `file_search_calls` (+ `document_search_calls`) | SERVER_SIDE_TOOL_COLLECTIONS_SEARCH | $2.50 / 1k |
| `mcp_call` | `mcp_calls` | SERVER_SIDE_TOOL_MCP (`{label}.{tool}`) | tokens only |
| `image_generation_call` | `image_generation_calls` | — | Imagine rates |
| (attachment search) | — | attachment_search | $10 / 1k |
| view_image / view_x_video | — | SERVER_SIDE_TOOL_VIEW_IMAGE / VIEW_X_VIDEO | image tokens only |

Only successful executions are billed. `include` values: `web_search_call.action.sources`, `code_interpreter_call.outputs`, `file_search_call.results`, `reasoning.encrypted_content`, `no_inline_citations`. Loop mechanics: [../../xai/tool-loop.md](../../xai/tool-loop.md). Examples: `examples/xai/tools/<tool>/`. Tests: `tests/xai/test_tools.py` (server tools gated by `RUN_EXPENSIVE_TESTS`).