Avoid empty chat tool outputs

Author: Aphroq

src/agents/models/chatcmpl_converter.py

@@ -468,6 +468,7 @@ def items_to_messages(
         preserve_tool_output_all_content: bool = False,
         base_url: str | None = None,
         should_replay_reasoning_content: ShouldReplayReasoningContent | None = None,
+        strict_feature_validation: bool = False,
     ) -> list[ChatCompletionMessageParam]:
         """
         Convert a sequence of 'Item' objects into a list of ChatCompletionMessageParam.
@@ -493,6 +494,8 @@ def items_to_messages(
             should_replay_reasoning_content: Optional hook that decides whether a
                 reasoning item should be replayed into the next assistant message as
                 `reasoning_content`.
+            strict_feature_validation: Whether to raise a UserError for Responses-only
+                features that Chat Completions cannot faithfully represent.
 
         Rules:
         - EasyInputMessage or InputMessage (role=user) => ChatCompletionUserMessageParam
@@ -748,6 +751,13 @@ def ensure_assistant_message() -> ChatCompletionAssistantMessageParam:
                             for c in all_output_content
                             if c.get("type") == "text"
                         ]
+                        if not tool_result_content and all_output_content:
+                            if strict_feature_validation:
+                                raise UserError(
+                                    "Chat Completions tool outputs cannot contain only non-text "
+                                    "content unless preserve_tool_output_all_content=True"
+                                )
+                            tool_result_content = "[non-text tool output omitted]"
                 msg: ChatCompletionToolMessageParam = {
                     "role": "tool",
                     "tool_call_id": func_output["call_id"],

src/agents/models/multi_provider.py

@@ -109,8 +109,8 @@ def __init__(
                 responses API.
             openai_strict_feature_validation: Whether OpenAI Chat Completions models should raise
                 a UserError when callers pass Responses-only features such as previous_response_id,
-                conversation_id, or prompt. Defaults to False, which preserves the previous
-                ignore-and-warn behavior.
+                conversation_id, prompt, or non-text-only tool outputs. Defaults to False, which
+                preserves the default compatibility behavior.
             openai_websocket_base_url: The websocket base URL to use for the OpenAI provider.
                 If not provided, the provider will use `OPENAI_WEBSOCKET_BASE_URL` when set.
             openai_prefix_mode: Controls how ``openai/...`` model strings are interpreted.

src/agents/models/openai_chatcompletions.py

@@ -412,6 +412,7 @@ async def _fetch_response(
             model=self.model,
             base_url=str(self._client.base_url),
             should_replay_reasoning_content=self.should_replay_reasoning_content,
+            strict_feature_validation=self._strict_feature_validation,
         )
 
         if system_instructions:

src/agents/models/openai_provider.py

@@ -74,8 +74,8 @@ def __init__(
                 API.
             strict_feature_validation: Whether Chat Completions models should raise a UserError
                 when callers pass Responses-only features such as previous_response_id,
-                conversation_id, or prompt. Defaults to False, which preserves the previous
-                ignore-and-warn behavior.
+                conversation_id, prompt, or non-text-only tool outputs. Defaults to False, which
+                preserves the default compatibility behavior.
             agent_registration: Optional agent registration configuration.
             responses_websocket_options: Optional low-level websocket keepalive options for the
                 OpenAI Responses websocket transport.

tests/models/test_openai_chatcompletions_converter.py

@@ -356,6 +356,98 @@ def test_items_to_messages_with_function_output_item():
     assert tool_msg["content"] == func_output_item["output"]
 
 
+def test_items_to_messages_with_non_text_only_function_output_uses_placeholder_by_default():
+    """Default conversion should keep running without sending an empty tool message."""
+    func_output_item: FunctionCallOutput = {
+        "type": "function_call_output",
+        "call_id": "somecall",
+        "output": [
+            {
+                "type": "input_image",
+                "image_url": "https://example.com/image.png",
+            }
+        ],
+    }
+
+    messages = Converter.items_to_messages([func_output_item])
+
+    assert len(messages) == 1
+    tool_msg = messages[0]
+    assert tool_msg["role"] == "tool"
+    assert tool_msg["tool_call_id"] == func_output_item["call_id"]
+    assert tool_msg["content"] == "[non-text tool output omitted]"
+
+
+def test_items_to_messages_with_non_text_only_function_output_raises_in_strict_mode():
+    """Strict validation should fail explicitly instead of silently losing the output."""
+    func_output_item: FunctionCallOutput = {
+        "type": "function_call_output",
+        "call_id": "somecall",
+        "output": [
+            {
+                "type": "input_image",
+                "image_url": "https://example.com/image.png",
+            }
+        ],
+    }
+
+    with pytest.raises(UserError, match="cannot contain only non-text content"):
+        Converter.items_to_messages([func_output_item], strict_feature_validation=True)
+
+
+def test_items_to_messages_with_mixed_function_output_keeps_text_by_default():
+    """Default conversion should preserve text parts and omit unsupported non-text parts."""
+    func_output_item: FunctionCallOutput = {
+        "type": "function_call_output",
+        "call_id": "somecall",
+        "output": [
+            {"type": "input_text", "text": "visible text"},
+            {
+                "type": "input_image",
+                "image_url": "https://example.com/image.png",
+            },
+        ],
+    }
+
+    messages = Converter.items_to_messages([func_output_item])
+
+    assert len(messages) == 1
+    tool_msg = messages[0]
+    assert tool_msg["role"] == "tool"
+    assert tool_msg["tool_call_id"] == func_output_item["call_id"]
+    assert tool_msg["content"] == [{"type": "text", "text": "visible text"}]
+
+
+def test_items_to_messages_can_preserve_non_text_function_output() -> None:
+    """Compatible providers can opt in to preserving non-text tool output."""
+    func_output_item: FunctionCallOutput = {
+        "type": "function_call_output",
+        "call_id": "somecall",
+        "output": [
+            {
+                "type": "input_image",
+                "image_url": "https://example.com/image.png",
+            }
+        ],
+    }
+
+    messages = Converter.items_to_messages(
+        [func_output_item],
+        preserve_tool_output_all_content=True,
+    )
+
+    assert len(messages) == 1
+    tool_msg = messages[0]
+    assert tool_msg["role"] == "tool"
+    assert tool_msg["tool_call_id"] == func_output_item["call_id"]
+    assert tool_msg["content"] == [
+        {
+            "type": "image_url",
+            "image_url": {"url": "https://example.com/image.png", "detail": "auto"},
+        }
+    ]
+
+
 def test_extract_all_and_text_content_for_strings_and_lists():
     """
     The converter provides helpers for extracting user-supplied message content