Ollama Tool Calling and Function Integration
Add tool calling to your local AI setup and see what it can do.
Created by James Dabalus
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Skill level
All levels
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Sections
7
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Lectures
62
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Instructor
James Dabalus
What's inside
This course includes.
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7
Sections
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62
Lectures
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7
Resources
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Certificate of completion
Included
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Mobile and desktop access
Included
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AI learning assistance
Included
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Course content
Curriculum & lectures.
+ The Tool Calling Contract 10 lectures
01 Trace a call through the full cycle
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02 Author the Tools Field
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03 Interpret the Tool Calls Response
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04 Return Results With the Tool Role
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05 Derive Schemas From Python Functions
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06 Choose Between Derived and Hand Written Schemas
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07 Distinguish the Two Endpoints
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08 Account for the Missing Tool Choice
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09 Recognize That Ollama Validates Nothing
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10 Domain 1 Summary
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+ Model Capability, Templates and Parsers 6 lectures
01 Determine Whether a Model Supports Tools
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02 Read a Templates Tool Handling
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03 Diagnose Template Caused Failures
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04 Patch a Template
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05 Work With Built In Renderers and Parsers
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06 Domain 2 Conclusion
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+ Designing Schemas the Model Can Use 8 lectures
01 Name and Describe Tools
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02 Identify Which Schema Features Survive
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03 Keep Schemas Flat
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04 Handle Optional and Nullable Parameters
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05 Constrain the Tool Surface
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06 Validate and Coerce at the Dispatch Boundary
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07 Compare Tool Calling With Structured Outputs
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08 Domain 3 Conclusion
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+ The Agent Loop 10 lectures
01 Build the Minimal Loop
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02 Bound the Loop
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03 Dispatch Safely
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04 Manage State Across Turns
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05 Handle Parallel Calls
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06 Stream Tool Calls
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07 Explain the Incremental Parser
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08 Combine Thinking With Tool Calling
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09 Decide Where the Loop Should Live
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10 Domain 4 Conclusion
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+ Failure Modes and the Reliability Layer 14 lectures
01 Frame Reliability as Compounding Math
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02 Diagnose a Call That Arrived as Plain Text
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03 Diagnose the Silent Drop
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04 Handle Hallucinated Tool Names
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05 Handle Malformed and Truncated Arguments
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06 Apply Rescue Parsing
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07 Design Escalating Retry Nudges
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08 Recognize When Retries Make Things Worse
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09 Repair Rather Than Reject
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10 Give the Model a Way to Say No Tool
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11 Distinguish Found Nothing From Failed
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12 Assemble the Layers
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13 Evaluate Reliability Honestly
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14 Domain 5 Conclusion
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+ External Tool Surfaces — MCP and Web Search 6 lectures
01 Use the Hosted Web Search and Fetch APIs
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02 Consume MCP Servers as a Tool Source
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03 Reconcile MCP Schemas With Ollamas Serializer
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04 Manage the Exposed Tool Surface
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05 Design a Research Agent
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06 Domain 6 Conclusion
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+ Production Concerns 8 lectures
01 Size the Context Window
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02 Select a Model on Evidence
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03 Assess Quantization and Backend Effects
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04 Budget Latency
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05 Secure the Execution Boundary
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06 Debug Through a Framework Layer
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07 Plan Around an Unfixed Upstream
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08 Domain 7 Conclusion
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Description
About this course.
Getting a model to respond is one thing. Getting it to actually call functions and interact with real tools is another.
This course covers tool calling and function integration with Ollama.
► Understand how tool calling works.
► Connect models to external functions.
► Design function schemas that models can use.
► Build practical tool-calling workflows.
This is the piece that turns a chatbot into something that can actually act.
✅ Lifetime access to all modules.
Instructors
Taught by people who ship.
James Dabalus
Instructor
James is a versatile IT Technician specializing in Prompt Engineering, Generative AI, Graphic Design, Web Development, Video Editing, and E-learning. With a passion for automation, he continually seeks innovative ways to streamline digital workflows.
Ready to start building?
Add tool calling to your local AI setup and see what it can do.