diff --git a/tools.py b/tools.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7289501
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools.py
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+import os
+from typing import Any
+
+from langchain.tools import tool
+from langchain_tavily import TavilySearch
+
+from vectorstore import create_vectorstore
+
+
+def _format_local_docs(results: list[Any]) -> str:
+    if not results:
+        return "Source: qdrant\nNo relevant local documents found."
+
+    parts = ["Source: qdrant"]
+    for index, doc in enumerate(results, start=1):
+        source = doc.metadata.get("source", "unknown")
+        parts.append(f"{index}. ({source}) {doc.page_content}")
+    return "\n".join(parts)
+
+
+@tool
+def search_local_kb(query: str, top_k: int = 3) -> str:
+    """Search the local ChromaDB knowledge base for internal course notes and local documents."""
+    vectorstore = create_vectorstore()
+    retriever = vectorstore.as_retriever(search_kwargs={"k": top_k})
+    results = retriever.invoke(query)
+    return _format_local_docs(results)
+
+
+@tool
+def web_search(query: str) -> str:
+    """Search the web with Tavily for fresh facts, current news, or anything not covered by local documents."""
+    api_key = os.getenv("TAVILY_API_KEY")
+    if not api_key:
+        return "Source: tavily\nTAVILY_API_KEY is not set, so web search is unavailable."
+
+    search_tool = TavilySearch(
+        max_results=5,
+        topic="general",
+    )
+    result = search_tool.invoke({"query": query})
+    return f"Source: tavily\n{result}"