diff --git a/config/config.example.json b/config/config.example.json
index 77a8c0683..cd75afa83 100644
--- a/config/config.example.json
+++ b/config/config.example.json
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@
       "model": "gpt4",
       "max_tokens": 8192,
       "temperature": 0.7,
-      "max_tool_iterations": 20
+      "max_tool_iterations": 20,
+      "enable_tools": true
     }
   },
   "model_list": [
diff --git a/pkg/agent/instance.go b/pkg/agent/instance.go
index dfbef9fbc..2a743b918 100644
--- a/pkg/agent/instance.go
+++ b/pkg/agent/instance.go
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ type AgentInstance struct {
 	MaxTokens      int
 	Temperature    float64
 	ContextWindow  int
+	EnableTools    bool
 	Provider       providers.LLMProvider
 	Sessions       *session.SessionManager
 	ContextBuilder *ContextBuilder
@@ -45,6 +46,7 @@ func NewAgentInstance(
 
 	model := resolveAgentModel(agentCfg, defaults)
 	fallbacks := resolveAgentFallbacks(agentCfg, defaults)
+	enableTools := resolveAgentEnableTools(agentCfg, defaults)
 
 	restrict := defaults.RestrictToWorkspace
 	toolsRegistry := tools.NewToolRegistry()
@@ -105,6 +107,7 @@ func NewAgentInstance(
 		MaxTokens:      maxTokens,
 		Temperature:    temperature,
 		ContextWindow:  maxTokens,
+		EnableTools:    enableTools,
 		Provider:       provider,
 		Sessions:       sessionsManager,
 		ContextBuilder: contextBuilder,
@@ -144,6 +147,18 @@ func resolveAgentFallbacks(agentCfg *config.AgentConfig, defaults *config.AgentD
 	return defaults.ModelFallbacks
 }
 
+// resolveAgentEnableTools resolves whether tool calling is enabled for an agent.
+func resolveAgentEnableTools(agentCfg *config.AgentConfig, defaults *config.AgentDefaults) bool {
+	enabled := true
+	if defaults != nil && defaults.EnableTools != nil {
+		enabled = *defaults.EnableTools
+	}
+	if agentCfg != nil && agentCfg.EnableTools != nil {
+		enabled = *agentCfg.EnableTools
+	}
+	return enabled
+}
+
 func expandHome(path string) string {
 	if path == "" {
 		return path
diff --git a/pkg/agent/instance_test.go b/pkg/agent/instance_test.go
index fcc8e9bea..865061ada 100644
--- a/pkg/agent/instance_test.go
+++ b/pkg/agent/instance_test.go
@@ -93,3 +93,92 @@ func TestNewAgentInstance_DefaultsTemperatureWhenUnset(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("Temperature = %f, want %f", agent.Temperature, 0.7)
 	}
 }
+
+func TestNewAgentInstance_EnableToolsDefaultsToTrue(t *testing.T) {
+	tmpDir, err := os.MkdirTemp("", "agent-instance-test-*")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to create temp dir: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer os.RemoveAll(tmpDir)
+
+	cfg := &config.Config{
+		Agents: config.AgentsConfig{
+			Defaults: config.AgentDefaults{
+				Workspace:         tmpDir,
+				Model:             "test-model",
+				MaxTokens:         1234,
+				MaxToolIterations: 5,
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	provider := &mockProvider{}
+	agent := NewAgentInstance(nil, &cfg.Agents.Defaults, cfg, provider)
+
+	if !agent.EnableTools {
+		t.Fatal("EnableTools = false, want true")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestNewAgentInstance_EnableToolsFromDefaults(t *testing.T) {
+	tmpDir, err := os.MkdirTemp("", "agent-instance-test-*")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to create temp dir: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer os.RemoveAll(tmpDir)
+
+	disabled := false
+	cfg := &config.Config{
+		Agents: config.AgentsConfig{
+			Defaults: config.AgentDefaults{
+				Workspace:         tmpDir,
+				Model:             "test-model",
+				MaxTokens:         1234,
+				MaxToolIterations: 5,
+				EnableTools:       &disabled,
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	provider := &mockProvider{}
+	agent := NewAgentInstance(nil, &cfg.Agents.Defaults, cfg, provider)
+
+	if agent.EnableTools {
+		t.Fatal("EnableTools = true, want false")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestNewAgentInstance_EnableToolsAgentOverride(t *testing.T) {
+	tmpDir, err := os.MkdirTemp("", "agent-instance-test-*")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to create temp dir: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer os.RemoveAll(tmpDir)
+
+	disabled := false
+	enabled := true
+	cfg := &config.Config{
+		Agents: config.AgentsConfig{
+			Defaults: config.AgentDefaults{
+				Workspace:         tmpDir,
+				Model:             "test-model",
+				MaxTokens:         1234,
+				MaxToolIterations: 5,
+				EnableTools:       &disabled,
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	agentCfg := &config.AgentConfig{
+		ID:          "main",
+		Default:     true,
+		EnableTools: &enabled,
+	}
+
+	provider := &mockProvider{}
+	agent := NewAgentInstance(agentCfg, &cfg.Agents.Defaults, cfg, provider)
+
+	if !agent.EnableTools {
+		t.Fatal("EnableTools = false, want true")
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pkg/agent/loop.go b/pkg/agent/loop.go
index b36f4a0c4..aa61db3a1 100644
--- a/pkg/agent/loop.go
+++ b/pkg/agent/loop.go
@@ -486,8 +486,11 @@ func (al *AgentLoop) runLLMIteration(
 				"max":       agent.MaxIterations,
 			})
 
-		// Build tool definitions
-		providerToolDefs := agent.Tools.ToProviderDefs()
+		// Build tool definitions (chat-only mode omits tools entirely).
+		var providerToolDefs []providers.ToolDefinition
+		if agent.EnableTools {
+			providerToolDefs = agent.Tools.ToProviderDefs()
+		}
 
 		// Log LLM request details
 		logger.DebugCF("agent", "LLM request",
@@ -497,6 +500,7 @@ func (al *AgentLoop) runLLMIteration(
 				"model":             agent.Model,
 				"messages_count":    len(messages),
 				"tools_count":       len(providerToolDefs),
+				"tools_enabled":     agent.EnableTools,
 				"max_tokens":        agent.MaxTokens,
 				"temperature":       agent.Temperature,
 				"system_prompt_len": len(messages[0].Content),
@@ -590,6 +594,25 @@ func (al *AgentLoop) runLLMIteration(
 			return "", iteration, fmt.Errorf("LLM call failed after retries: %w", err)
 		}
 
+		if !agent.EnableTools {
+			if len(response.ToolCalls) > 0 {
+				logger.WarnCF("agent", "Ignoring tool calls in chat-only mode",
+					map[string]any{
+						"agent_id":            agent.ID,
+						"iteration":           iteration,
+						"tool_calls_received": len(response.ToolCalls),
+					})
+			}
+			finalContent = response.Content
+			logger.InfoCF("agent", "LLM response in chat-only mode",
+				map[string]any{
+					"agent_id":      agent.ID,
+					"iteration":     iteration,
+					"content_chars": len(finalContent),
+				})
+			break
+		}
+
 		// Check if no tool calls - we're done
 		if len(response.ToolCalls) == 0 {
 			finalContent = response.Content
diff --git a/pkg/agent/loop_test.go b/pkg/agent/loop_test.go
index 4414398b1..d0cb1c154 100644
--- a/pkg/agent/loop_test.go
+++ b/pkg/agent/loop_test.go
@@ -366,6 +366,29 @@ func (m *simpleMockProvider) GetDefaultModel() string {
 	return "mock-model"
 }
 
+type captureToolsProvider struct {
+	response       string
+	lastToolsCount int
+}
+
+func (m *captureToolsProvider) Chat(
+	ctx context.Context,
+	messages []providers.Message,
+	tools []providers.ToolDefinition,
+	model string,
+	opts map[string]any,
+) (*providers.LLMResponse, error) {
+	m.lastToolsCount = len(tools)
+	return &providers.LLMResponse{
+		Content:   m.response,
+		ToolCalls: []providers.ToolCall{},
+	}, nil
+}
+
+func (m *captureToolsProvider) GetDefaultModel() string {
+	return "mock-capture-model"
+}
+
 // mockCustomTool is a simple mock tool for registration testing
 type mockCustomTool struct{}
 
@@ -437,6 +460,92 @@ func (h testHelper) executeAndGetResponse(tb testing.TB, ctx context.Context, ms
 
 const responseTimeout = 3 * time.Second
 
+func TestAgentLoop_ChatOnlyMode_DoesNotPassTools(t *testing.T) {
+	tmpDir, err := os.MkdirTemp("", "agent-test-*")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to create temp dir: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer os.RemoveAll(tmpDir)
+
+	disabled := false
+	cfg := &config.Config{
+		Agents: config.AgentsConfig{
+			Defaults: config.AgentDefaults{
+				Workspace:         tmpDir,
+				Model:             "test-model",
+				MaxTokens:         4096,
+				MaxToolIterations: 10,
+				EnableTools:       &disabled,
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	msgBus := bus.NewMessageBus()
+	provider := &captureToolsProvider{response: "chat-only"}
+	al := NewAgentLoop(cfg, msgBus, provider)
+
+	response, err := al.ProcessDirectWithChannel(
+		context.Background(),
+		"hello",
+		"chat-only-session",
+		"test",
+		"chat",
+	)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("ProcessDirectWithChannel() error = %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if response != "chat-only" {
+		t.Fatalf("response = %q, want %q", response, "chat-only")
+	}
+	if provider.lastToolsCount != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("lastToolsCount = %d, want 0", provider.lastToolsCount)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAgentLoop_ToolsEnabled_PassesTools(t *testing.T) {
+	tmpDir, err := os.MkdirTemp("", "agent-test-*")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to create temp dir: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer os.RemoveAll(tmpDir)
+
+	enabled := true
+	cfg := &config.Config{
+		Agents: config.AgentsConfig{
+			Defaults: config.AgentDefaults{
+				Workspace:         tmpDir,
+				Model:             "test-model",
+				MaxTokens:         4096,
+				MaxToolIterations: 10,
+				EnableTools:       &enabled,
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	msgBus := bus.NewMessageBus()
+	provider := &captureToolsProvider{response: "with-tools"}
+	al := NewAgentLoop(cfg, msgBus, provider)
+
+	response, err := al.ProcessDirectWithChannel(
+		context.Background(),
+		"hello",
+		"with-tools-session",
+		"test",
+		"chat",
+	)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("ProcessDirectWithChannel() error = %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if response != "with-tools" {
+		t.Fatalf("response = %q, want %q", response, "with-tools")
+	}
+	if provider.lastToolsCount == 0 {
+		t.Fatal("lastToolsCount = 0, want > 0")
+	}
+}
+
 // TestToolResult_SilentToolDoesNotSendUserMessage verifies silent tools don't trigger outbound
 func TestToolResult_SilentToolDoesNotSendUserMessage(t *testing.T) {
 	tmpDir, err := os.MkdirTemp("", "agent-test-*")
diff --git a/pkg/config/config.go b/pkg/config/config.go
index 20556011a..319169f07 100644
--- a/pkg/config/config.go
+++ b/pkg/config/config.go
@@ -134,6 +134,7 @@ type AgentConfig struct {
 	Name      string            `json:"name,omitempty"`
 	Workspace string            `json:"workspace,omitempty"`
 	Model     *AgentModelConfig `json:"model,omitempty"`
+	EnableTools *bool           `json:"enable_tools,omitempty"`
 	Skills    []string          `json:"skills,omitempty"`
 	Subagents *SubagentsConfig  `json:"subagents,omitempty"`
 }
@@ -177,6 +178,7 @@ type AgentDefaults struct {
 	MaxTokens           int      `json:"max_tokens"                      env:"PICOCLAW_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_MAX_TOKENS"`
 	Temperature         *float64 `json:"temperature,omitempty"           env:"PICOCLAW_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_TEMPERATURE"`
 	MaxToolIterations   int      `json:"max_tool_iterations"             env:"PICOCLAW_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_MAX_TOOL_ITERATIONS"`
+	EnableTools         *bool    `json:"enable_tools,omitempty"          env:"PICOCLAW_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_ENABLE_TOOLS"`
 }
 
 type ChannelsConfig struct {
diff --git a/pkg/config/config_test.go b/pkg/config/config_test.go
index 0898217d6..f2050b788 100644
--- a/pkg/config/config_test.go
+++ b/pkg/config/config_test.go
@@ -69,14 +69,16 @@ func TestAgentConfig_FullParse(t *testing.T) {
 				"workspace": "~/.picoclaw/workspace",
 				"model": "glm-4.7",
 				"max_tokens": 8192,
-				"max_tool_iterations": 20
+				"max_tool_iterations": 20,
+				"enable_tools": true
 			},
 			"list": [
 				{
 					"id": "sales",
 					"default": true,
 					"name": "Sales Bot",
-					"model": "gpt-4"
+					"model": "gpt-4",
+					"enable_tools": false
 				},
 				{
 					"id": "support",
@@ -125,6 +127,9 @@ func TestAgentConfig_FullParse(t *testing.T) {
 	if sales.Model == nil || sales.Model.Primary != "gpt-4" {
 		t.Errorf("sales.Model = %+v", sales.Model)
 	}
+	if sales.EnableTools == nil || *sales.EnableTools {
+		t.Errorf("sales.EnableTools = %v, want false", sales.EnableTools)
+	}
 
 	support := cfg.Agents.List[1]
 	if support.ID != "support" || support.Name != "Support Bot" {
@@ -161,6 +166,9 @@ func TestAgentConfig_FullParse(t *testing.T) {
 	if len(links) != 2 {
 		t.Errorf("john links = %v", links)
 	}
+	if cfg.Agents.Defaults.EnableTools == nil || !*cfg.Agents.Defaults.EnableTools {
+		t.Errorf("Agents.Defaults.EnableTools = %v, want true", cfg.Agents.Defaults.EnableTools)
+	}
 }
 
 func TestConfig_BackwardCompat_NoAgentsList(t *testing.T) {
@@ -186,6 +194,9 @@ func TestConfig_BackwardCompat_NoAgentsList(t *testing.T) {
 	if len(cfg.Bindings) != 0 {
 		t.Errorf("bindings should be empty, got %d", len(cfg.Bindings))
 	}
+	if cfg.Agents.Defaults.EnableTools == nil || !*cfg.Agents.Defaults.EnableTools {
+		t.Errorf("Agents.Defaults.EnableTools = %v, want true", cfg.Agents.Defaults.EnableTools)
+	}
 }
 
 // TestDefaultConfig_HeartbeatEnabled verifies heartbeat is enabled by default
@@ -233,6 +244,17 @@ func TestDefaultConfig_MaxToolIterations(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestDefaultConfig_EnableTools(t *testing.T) {
+	cfg := DefaultConfig()
+
+	if cfg.Agents.Defaults.EnableTools == nil {
+		t.Fatal("EnableTools should not be nil")
+	}
+	if !*cfg.Agents.Defaults.EnableTools {
+		t.Error("EnableTools should default to true")
+	}
+}
+
 // TestDefaultConfig_Temperature verifies temperature has default value
 func TestDefaultConfig_Temperature(t *testing.T) {
 	cfg := DefaultConfig()
diff --git a/pkg/config/defaults.go b/pkg/config/defaults.go
index 7654326e7..8cdc496b9 100644
--- a/pkg/config/defaults.go
+++ b/pkg/config/defaults.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ func DefaultConfig() *Config {
 				MaxTokens:           8192,
 				Temperature:         nil, // nil means use provider default
 				MaxToolIterations:   20,
+				EnableTools:         boolPtr(true),
 			},
 		},
 		Bindings: []AgentBinding{},
@@ -314,3 +315,7 @@ func DefaultConfig() *Config {
 		},
 	}
 }
+
+func boolPtr(v bool) *bool {
+	return &v
+}
diff --git a/pkg/migrate/config.go b/pkg/migrate/config.go
index 2237a1429..31c573c2f 100644
--- a/pkg/migrate/config.go
+++ b/pkg/migrate/config.go
@@ -84,6 +84,9 @@ func ConvertConfig(data map[string]any) (*config.Config, []string, error) {
 			if v, ok := getFloat(defaults, "max_tool_iterations"); ok {
 				cfg.Agents.Defaults.MaxToolIterations = int(v)
 			}
+			if v, ok := getBool(defaults, "enable_tools"); ok {
+				cfg.Agents.Defaults.EnableTools = &v
+			}
 			if v, ok := getString(defaults, "workspace"); ok {
 				cfg.Agents.Defaults.Workspace = rewriteWorkspacePath(v)
 			}