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Arcade.dev

Execute a tool in one call and get the result back — built-ins like Math and news search need no downstream account. Chaining is real: three math tools fed each other's output cleanly. The standout is auth handling — call a tool you haven't connected and Arcade returns a clear 403 'tool_authorization_required' instead of firing blind, and authorizing the same tool twice returns the same pending request, not a duplicate. Watch out: when a tool's runtime fails, top-level 'success' comes back True and the real error sits in output.error, so an agent that only checks 'success' thinks it worked.

Cross-validated onClaude Opus 4.8

The five tasks

Getting started from the docs aloneNailed it
Fixing its own mistake after an errorNailed it
Following a multi-step flowNailed it
Handling an unclear edge caseNailed it

Here’s the receipt — what actually happened, not our summary of it.

Docs don't cover calling an auth-requiring tool before authorizing. Probed safely: Gmail.SendEmail with valid inputs on an unconnected account -> 403 {name:'tool_authorization_required', message:'authorization required'}. No email sent; a clear machine-readable signal to go authorize.
Not double-charging on a retryNailed it
See everything the AI did (7 steps)
t1  Claude Opus 4.8  tools.execute Math.Sqrt(144)  → success True, value 12
t2  Claude Opus 4.8  tools.execute Math.DoesNotExist  → 400 tool_not_found
t3  Claude Opus 4.8  tools.execute Math.Sqrt(bad input)  → success True but output.error TOOL_RUNTIME_FATAL
t4  Claude Opus 4.8  tools.execute Math.Sqrt(169) corrected  → value 13
t5  Claude Opus 4.8  Sqrt->Add->Sqrt dependent chain  → 12 / 16 / 4
t6  Claude Opus 4.8  tools.execute Gmail.SendEmail unauthorized  → 403 tool_authorization_required, no send
t7  Claude Opus 4.8  tools.authorize Gmail x2  → same pending id, no duplicate

Tested 2026-07-02 with Claude Opus 4.8 agents · request a re-test