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Testing Agents

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This example shows how to test AI agents that use tools, perform multi-step reasoning, and maintain state across interactions.

Introduction

Section titled “Introduction”

We’ll build and test an agent that can:

  • Use multiple tools (search, calculator, database)
  • Plan multi-step actions to accomplish goals
  • Maintain state across interactions
  • Handle failures and retry with different strategies

Our tests will validate:

  • Tool selection logic
  • Reasoning quality
  • Task completion
  • Error handling
  • State management

Building a Simple Agent

Section titled “Building a Simple Agent”

To get started, we’ll implement a minimal agent that exposes both its reasoning steps and its final answer. Returning an AgentResponse that includes the full steps list is what makes tool selection and reasoning quality testable — without that structure, your checks can only inspect the final string.

First, let’s create an agent to test:

from typing import Literal, Optional
from pydantic import BaseModel




class Tool(BaseModel):
    name: str
    description: str




class AgentStep(BaseModel):
    thought: str
    tool: str
    tool_input: str
    observation: str




class AgentResponse(BaseModel):
    steps: list[AgentStep]
    final_answer: str
    success: bool




class SimpleAgent:
    def __init__(self):
        self.tools = {
            "search": Tool(
                name="search", description="Search the internet for information"
            ),
            "calculator": Tool(
                name="calculator",
                description="Perform mathematical calculations",
            ),
            "database": Tool(
                name="database",
                description="Query a database for structured data",
            ),
        }
        self.max_steps = 5


    def _use_tool(self, tool_name: str, tool_input: str) -> str:
        """Execute a tool (simplified for testing)."""
        if tool_name == "search":
            return (
                f"Search results for '{tool_input}': "
                "[Relevant information...]"
            )
        elif tool_name == "calculator":
            try:
                result = eval(tool_input)  # Don't do this in production!
                return str(result)
            except Exception as e:
                return f"Error: {e}"
        elif tool_name == "database":
            return f"Database query result for '{tool_input}': [Records...]"
        return "Unknown tool"


    def run(self, task: str) -> AgentResponse:
        """Run the agent on a task."""
        steps = []


        # Simplified agent logic
        has_math = "calculate" in task.lower() or any(
            c in task for c in "0123456789+-*/"
        )
        if has_math:
            # Math task
            thought = "I need to use the calculator for this math problem"
            tool = "calculator"
            # Extract the calculation
            import re


            calculation = re.findall(r"[\d+\-*/()]+", task)
            tool_input = calculation[0] if calculation else task


            observation = self._use_tool(tool, tool_input)
            steps.append(
                AgentStep(
                    thought=thought,
                    tool=tool,
                    tool_input=tool_input,
                    observation=observation,
                )
            )


            final_answer = f"The answer is {observation}"
            success = "Error" not in observation


        elif "search" in task.lower() or "find" in task.lower():
            # Search task
            thought = "I should search for this information"
            tool = "search"
            tool_input = task


            observation = self._use_tool(tool, tool_input)
            steps.append(
                AgentStep(
                    thought=thought,
                    tool=tool,
                    tool_input=tool_input,
                    observation=observation,
                )
            )


            final_answer = f"Based on my search: {observation}"
            success = True


        else:
            # Default case
            thought = "This task doesn't require tools"
            final_answer = "I can answer this directly: " + task
            success = True


        return AgentResponse(
            steps=steps, final_answer=final_answer, success=success
        )

Test 1: Tool Selection

Section titled “Test 1: Tool Selection”

With the agent built, we can now write our first test. This scenario verifies three things at once: that the agent invoked at least one tool, that it chose the right tool for a math task, and that it completed successfully. Checking all three together gives you a tight specification for the most basic agent behavior.

Verify that the agent selects appropriate tools:

import asyncio
from giskard.checks import Scenario, FnCheck, Equals


agent = SimpleAgent()




async def test_tool_selection():
    tc = (
        Scenario("tool_selection_calculator")
        .interact(
            inputs="What is 15 * 23?", outputs=lambda inputs: agent.run(inputs)
        )
        .check(
            FnCheck(fn=
                lambda trace: len(trace.last.outputs.steps) > 0,
                name="used_tools",
                success_message="Agent used tools",
                failure_message="Agent didn't use any tools",
            )
        )
        .check(
            Equals(
                name="selected_calculator",
                expected_value="calculator",
                target_key="trace.last.outputs.steps[0].tool",
            )
        )
        .check(
            FnCheck(fn=
                lambda trace: trace.last.outputs.success,
                name="task_successful",
                success_message="Agent completed task successfully",
                failure_message="Agent failed to complete task",
            )
        )
    )
    result = await tc.run()
    result.print_report()
    assert result.passed




asyncio.run(test_tool_selection())

Output

Thank you for using Giskard open-source! 🐢 🙏 Giskard Enterprise adds deeper agent scans, audit reports with remediation guidance, test review interfaces for root-cause analysis & human feedback integration, and team collaboration — with flexible pricing. Learn more: https://giskard.ai

──────────────────────────────────────────────────── ✅ PASSED ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
used_tools      PASS    
selected_calculator     PASS    
task_successful PASS    
────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Trace ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
────────────────────────────────────────────────── Interaction 1 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
Inputs: 'What is 15 * 23?'
Outputs: AgentResponse(steps=[AgentStep(thought='I need to use the calculator for this math problem', 
tool='calculator', tool_input='15', observation='15')], final_answer='The answer is 15', success=True)
─────────────────────────────────────────── 1 step in 21ms | runs: 1/1 ────────────────────────────────────────────

Test 2: Reasoning Quality

Section titled “Test 2: Reasoning Quality”

Building on Test 1, we now evaluate whether the agent’s internal thought process makes sense — not just whether the right tool was called. The LLMJudge check is the appropriate tool here because reasoning quality is a semantic property that can’t be reduced to a string match.

Evaluate the quality of the agent’s reasoning:

from giskard.checks import Scenario, LLMJudge, FnCheck, set_default_generator


set_default_generator("openai/gpt-5-mini")


tc = (
    Scenario("reasoning_quality_test")
    .interact(
        inputs="Find information about quantum computing",
        outputs=lambda inputs: agent.run(inputs),
    )
    .check(
        LLMJudge(
            name="reasoning_quality",
            prompt="""
            Evaluate the agent's reasoning process.


            Task: {{ trace.last.inputs }}
            Thought: {{ trace.last.outputs.steps[0].thought if trace.last.outputs.steps else "No reasoning" }}
            Tool Selected: {{ trace.last.outputs.steps[0].tool if trace.last.outputs.steps else "None" }}


            Criteria:
            1. Is the reasoning logical?
            2. Is the tool selection appropriate for the task?
            3. Does the thought explain why the tool was chosen?


            Return 'passed: true' if the reasoning is sound.
            """,
        )
    )
    .check(
        FnCheck(fn=
            lambda trace: trace.last.outputs.steps[0].tool == "search",
            name="correct_tool_for_research",
            success_message="Selected search for research task",
            failure_message="Wrong tool selected",
        )
    )
)

Test 3: Multi-Step Agent Workflow

Section titled “Test 3: Multi-Step Agent Workflow”

Next, we’ll test an agent that must chain multiple tools in a specific order. The three FnCheck checks assert that each required tool was used, while the LLMJudge check validates that the steps appeared in a logical sequence — catching cases where the agent calculates before it has gathered the data to calculate from.

Test agents that perform multiple steps:

class MultiStepAgent(SimpleAgent):
    def run(self, task: str) -> AgentResponse:
        """Run agent with multi-step capability."""
        steps = []


        # Example: Complex task requiring multiple tools
        if "research" in task.lower() and "calculate" in task.lower():
            # Step 1: Search
            steps.append(
                AgentStep(
                    thought="First, I need to search for the data",
                    tool="search",
                    tool_input=task,
                    observation=self._use_tool("search", task),
                )
            )


            # Step 2: Calculate
            steps.append(
                AgentStep(
                    thought="Now I'll calculate based on the data",
                    tool="calculator",
                    tool_input="100 * 2",
                    observation=self._use_tool("calculator", "100 * 2"),
                )
            )


            final_answer = (
                "Based on my research and calculations: "
                f"{steps[-1].observation}"
            )
            success = True
        else:
            return super().run(task)


        return AgentResponse(
            steps=steps, final_answer=final_answer, success=success
        )




multi_agent = MultiStepAgent()


from giskard.checks import Scenario, FnCheck, LLMJudge


test_scenario = (
    Scenario("multi_step_agent_workflow")
    .interact(
        inputs="Research the market size and calculate projected growth",
        outputs=lambda inputs: multi_agent.run(inputs),
    )
    .check(
        FnCheck(fn=
            lambda trace: len(trace.last.outputs.steps) >= 2,
            name="multiple_steps_taken",
            success_message="Agent performed multiple steps",
            failure_message="Agent didn't perform enough steps",
        )
    )
    .check(
        FnCheck(fn=
            lambda trace: any(
                step.tool == "search" for step in trace.last.outputs.steps
            ),
            name="performed_research",
            success_message="Agent performed research",
            failure_message="Agent skipped research step",
        )
    )
    .check(
        FnCheck(fn=
            lambda trace: any(
                step.tool == "calculator" for step in trace.last.outputs.steps
            ),
            name="performed_calculation",
            success_message="Agent performed calculation",
            failure_message="Agent skipped calculation step",
        )
    )
    .check(
        LLMJudge(
            name="steps_logical_order",
            prompt="""
            Evaluate if the agent's steps are in a logical order.


            Task: {{ trace.interactions[0].inputs }}
            Steps:
            {% for step in trace.interactions[0].outputs.steps %}
            {{ loop.index }}. {{ step.thought }} -> {{ step.tool }}
            {% endfor %}


            Return 'passed: true' if steps are well-ordered.
            """,
        )
    )
)

Test 4: Error Handling

Section titled “Test 4: Error Handling”

With happy-path tests in place, we now test the recovery path. The RobustAgent below attempts the calculator first and falls back to search when it fails — and our checks verify both that the fallback was triggered and that the agent ultimately succeeded despite the initial error.

Verify that agents handle errors gracefully:

class RobustAgent(SimpleAgent):
    def run(self, task: str) -> AgentResponse:
        steps = []


        # Try first approach
        thought = "I'll try using the calculator"
        observation = self._use_tool("calculator", task)
        steps.append(
            AgentStep(
                thought=thought,
                tool="calculator",
                tool_input=task,
                observation=observation,
            )
        )


        if "Error" in observation:
            # Fallback strategy
            thought = "Calculator failed, I'll search instead"
            observation = self._use_tool("search", task)
            steps.append(
                AgentStep(
                    thought=thought,
                    tool="search",
                    tool_input=task,
                    observation=observation,
                )
            )
            final_answer = f"After trying different approaches: {observation}"
            success = True
        else:
            final_answer = f"Result: {observation}"
            success = True


        return AgentResponse(
            steps=steps, final_answer=final_answer, success=success
        )




robust_agent = RobustAgent()


tc = (
    Scenario("error_handling_test")
    .interact(
        inputs="What is the meaning of life?",  # Not a valid calculation
        outputs=lambda inputs: robust_agent.run(inputs),
    )
    .check(
        FnCheck(fn=
            lambda trace: len(trace.last.outputs.steps) > 1,
            name="tried_fallback",
            success_message="Agent tried fallback strategy",
            failure_message="Agent didn't attempt recovery",
        )
    )
    .check(
        FnCheck(fn=
            lambda trace: trace.interactions[-1].outputs.success,
            name="eventually_succeeded",
            success_message="Agent completed task despite initial failure",
            failure_message="Agent failed to complete task",
        )
    )
    .check(
        LLMJudge(
            name="error_recovery_appropriate",
            prompt="""
            Evaluate if the agent's error recovery was appropriate.


            Task: {{ trace.last.inputs }}
            Steps taken:
            {% for step in trace.last.outputs.steps %}
            {{ loop.index }}. {{ step.thought }} ({{ step.tool }})
               Result: {{ step.observation }}
            {% endfor %}


            Return 'passed: true' if the agent handled the error well.
            """,
        )
    )
)

Test 5: Stateful Agent Interactions

Section titled “Test 5: Stateful Agent Interactions”

Now we’ll verify that an agent can reference information from an earlier turn. The scenario uses two .interact() calls, and the check on the second interaction examines trace.last.outputs.final_answer to confirm the agent correctly recalled what was discussed before.

Test agents that maintain state across turns:

class StatefulAgent(SimpleAgent):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()
        self.memory = {}
        self.conversation_history = []


    def run(self, task: str) -> AgentResponse:
        # Check memory for context
        if "last" in task.lower() or "previous" in task.lower():
            if self.conversation_history:
                prev_task = self.conversation_history[-1]["task"]
                thought = f"Recalling previous task: {prev_task}"
                observation = f"Previous task was: {prev_task}"
                final_answer = f"I remember: {observation}"


                steps = [
                    AgentStep(
                        thought=thought,
                        tool="memory",
                        tool_input="recall",
                        observation=observation,
                    )
                ]


                self.conversation_history.append(
                    {"task": task, "response": final_answer}
                )


                return AgentResponse(
                    steps=steps, final_answer=final_answer, success=True
                )


        # Handle new task
        response = super().run(task)
        self.conversation_history.append(
            {"task": task, "response": response.final_answer}
        )
        return response




stateful_agent = StatefulAgent()


test_scenario = (
    Scenario("stateful_agent_memory")
    # First interaction
    .interact(
        inputs="Search for Python tutorials",
        outputs=lambda inputs: stateful_agent.run(inputs),
    )
    .check(
        FnCheck(fn=
            lambda trace: trace.interactions[-1].outputs.success,
            name="first_task_completed",
        )
    )
    # Second interaction references first
    .interact(
        inputs="What was my last request?",
        outputs=lambda inputs: stateful_agent.run(inputs),
    )
    .check(
        FnCheck(fn=
            lambda trace: "Python tutorials" in trace.last.outputs.final_answer,
            name="recalls_previous_task",
            success_message="Agent correctly recalled previous task",
            failure_message="Agent failed to recall previous task",
        )
    )
    .check(
        LLMJudge(
            name="context_maintained",
            prompt="""
            Evaluate if the agent maintained context correctly.


            First task: {{ trace.interactions[0].inputs }}
            Second task: {{ trace.interactions[1].inputs }}
            Second response: {{ trace.interactions[1].outputs.final_answer }}


            The second response should reference the first task.
            Return 'passed: true' if context was maintained.
            """,
        )
    )
)

Test 6: Task Completion Validation

Section titled “Test 6: Task Completion Validation”

Building on the stateful agent pattern, we now test a more structured workflow where the agent tracks a task queue. This scenario walks through all four lifecycle steps — add, add, complete, status — and checks at each stage that the internal state matches what the responses claim.

Verify that complex tasks are fully completed:

from giskard.checks import Scenario, LLMJudge, FnCheck




class TaskTrackingAgent(SimpleAgent):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()
        self.pending_tasks = []
        self.completed_tasks = []


    def run(self, task: str) -> AgentResponse:
        if "add task" in task.lower():
            task_desc = task.replace("add task", "").strip()
            self.pending_tasks.append(task_desc)
            return AgentResponse(
                steps=[],
                final_answer=f"Added task: {task_desc}. Pending: {len(self.pending_tasks)}",
                success=True,
            )


        elif "complete" in task.lower():
            if self.pending_tasks:
                completed = self.pending_tasks.pop(0)
                self.completed_tasks.append(completed)


                return AgentResponse(
                    steps=[
                        AgentStep(
                            thought=f"Completing task: {completed}",
                            tool="task_manager",
                            tool_input=completed,
                            observation="Task completed successfully",
                        )
                    ],
                    final_answer=f"Completed: {completed}",
                    success=True,
                )
            return AgentResponse(
                steps=[],
                final_answer="No pending tasks to complete",
                success=False,
            )


        elif "status" in task.lower():
            return AgentResponse(
                steps=[],
                final_answer=f"Pending: {len(self.pending_tasks)}, Completed: {len(self.completed_tasks)}",
                success=True,
            )


        return super().run(task)




task_agent = TaskTrackingAgent()


test_scenario = (
    Scenario("task_completion_workflow")
    # Add tasks
    .interact(
        inputs="add task: Write documentation",
        outputs=lambda inputs: task_agent.run(inputs),
    )
    .interact(
        inputs="add task: Review code",
        outputs=lambda inputs: task_agent.run(inputs),
    )
    .check(
        FnCheck(fn=
            lambda trace: len(task_agent.pending_tasks) == 2, name="tasks_added"
        )
    )
    # Complete first task
    .interact(
        inputs="complete next task",
        outputs=lambda inputs: task_agent.run(inputs),
    )
    .check(
        FnCheck(fn=
            lambda trace: len(task_agent.completed_tasks) == 1,
            name="task_completed",
        )
    )
    # Check status
    .interact(
        inputs="what's the status?",
        outputs=lambda inputs: task_agent.run(inputs),
    )
    .check(
        FnCheck(fn=
            lambda trace: (
                "Pending: 1" in trace.last.outputs.final_answer
                and "Completed: 1" in trace.last.outputs.final_answer
            ),
            name="status_accurate",
            success_message="Agent tracking state correctly",
            failure_message="Agent state tracking is incorrect",
        )
    )
)

Complete Agent Test Suite

Section titled “Complete Agent Test Suite”

Now we’ll bring all the individual tests together into a reusable suite class. The add_test and add_scenario methods let you compose the suite incrementally, and run_all reports both categories in a single pass so you can see the full picture at a glance.

Combine all tests into a comprehensive suite:

import asyncio
from typing import List
from giskard.checks import Scenario




class AgentTestSuite:
    def __init__(self, agent):
        self.agent = agent
        self.test_cases = []
        self.scenarios = []


    def add_test(self, test_case):
        self.test_cases.append(test_case)


    def add_scenario(self, test_scenario):
        self.scenarios.append(test_scenario)


    async def run_all(self):
        """Run all tests and scenarios."""
        results = []


        print("Running test cases...")
        for tc in self.test_cases:
            result = await tc.run()
            results.append(("test", tc.name, result))


        print("Running scenarios...")
        for test_scenario in self.scenarios:
            result = await test_scenario.run()
            results.append(("scenario", test_scenario.name, result))


        # Report
        self._report_results(results)


        return results


    def _report_results(self, results):
        total = len(results)
        passed = sum(1 for _, _, r in results if r.passed)


        print(f"\n{'='*60}")
        print(
            f"Agent Test Suite Results: {passed}/{total} passed ({passed/total*100 if total > 0 else 0:.1f}%)"
        )
        print(f"{'='*60}\n")


        for test_type, name, result in results:
            status = "✓" if result.passed else "✗"
            print(f"  {status} [{test_type}] {name}")


            if not result.passed:
                for step in result.steps:
                    for check_result in step.results:
                        if not check_result.passed:
                            print(
                                f"      ↳ {check_result.message}"
                            )




# Usage
async def main():
    agent = SimpleAgent()
    suite = AgentTestSuite(agent)


    # Add a basic test
    from giskard.checks import Scenario, FnCheck
    tc = (
        Scenario("hello_agent")
        .interact(inputs="Hello", outputs=lambda inputs: agent.run(inputs))
    )
    suite.add_test(tc)


    await suite.run_all()




asyncio.run(main())

Best Practices

Section titled “Best Practices”

With the suite pattern established, here are a few guidelines for keeping agent tests reliable as the system grows.

1. Test Tool Selection Logic Independently

Before testing full workflows, validate tool selection:

def test_tool_selection_logic():
    test_cases = [
        ("Calculate 5 + 3", "calculator"),
        ("Search for recipes", "search"),
        ("Query user database", "database"),
    ]


    for task, expected_tool in test_cases:
        response = agent.run(task)
        assert response.steps[0].tool == expected_tool

2. Validate Reasoning at Each Step

Use LLM judges to evaluate reasoning quality:

LLMJudge(
    name="step_reasoning",
    prompt="Is this reasoning step logical? {{ trace.last.outputs.steps[0].thought }}",
)

Output 

LLMJudge(
    generator=None,
    name='step_reasoning',
    description=None,
    prompt='Is this reasoning step logical? {{ trace.last.outputs.steps[0].thought }}',
    prompt_path=None,
    kind='llm_judge'
)
 


3. Test Error Paths


Ensure agents handle failures gracefully:


# Test with invalid tool inputs
# Test with unavailable tools
# Test with contradictory instructions


4. Monitor Resource Usage


Track token usage, API calls, and execution time:


checks = [
    FnCheck(fn=
        lambda trace: len(trace.last.outputs.steps) <= 5,
        name="reasonable_step_count",
        success_message="Used reasonable number of steps",
    ),
]


Next steps
Section titled “Next steps”