diff --git a/docs/custom_tool_guides/tool_guide.md b/docs/custom_tool_guides/tool_guide.md
index 5a6b968162..d05663a3ff 100644
--- a/docs/custom_tool_guides/tool_guide.md
+++ b/docs/custom_tool_guides/tool_guide.md
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# Custom tools and retrieval sources
+# Custom Tools
 Follow these instructions to create your own custom tools.
 
 Custom tools will need to be built in the `community` folder. Make sure you've enabled the `INSTALL_COMMUNITY_DEPS` build arg in the `docker-compose.yml` file by setting it to `true`.
@@ -27,115 +27,49 @@ There are three types of tools:
 
 ## Step 3: Implement the Tool
 
-Add your tool implementation [here](https://github.com/cohere-ai/toolkit/tree/main/src/community/tools) (please note that this link might change). The specific subfolder used will depend on the type of tool you're implementing.
+Add your tool implementation [here](https://github.com/cohere-ai/toolkit/tree/main/src/community/tools) (please note that this link is subject to change).
 
-If you need to install a new module to run your tool, execute the following command and run `make dev` again.
+If you need to install a new library to run your tool, execute the following command and run `make dev` again.
 
 ```bash
 poetry add <MODULE> --group community
 ```
+### Implementing a Tool
 
-If you're working on a File or Data Loader, follow the steps outlined in [Implementing a Retriever](#implementing-a-retriever).
+Add the implementation inside a tool class that inherits from `BaseTool`. This class will need to implement the `call()` method, which should return a list of dictionary results.
 
-If you're implementing a Function Tool, refer to the steps in [Implementing a Function Tool](#implementing-a-function-tool).
+Note: To enable citations, each result in the list should contain a "text" field.
 
-### Implementing a Retriever
-
-Add the implementation inside a tool class that inherits `BaseRetrieval` and needs to implement the function `def retrieve_documents(self, query: str, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:`
-
-You can define custom configurations for your tool within the `__init__` function. Set the exact values for these variables during [Step 4](#step-4-making-your-tool-available).
-
-You can also develop a tool that requires a token or authentication. To do this, simply set your variable in the .env file.
-
-For example, for Wikipedia we have a custom configuration:
-
-```python
-class LangChainWikiRetriever(BaseRetrieval):
-    """
-    This class retrieves documents from Wikipedia using the langchain package.
-    This requires wikipedia package to be installed.
-    """
-
-    def __init__(self, chunk_size: int = 300, chunk_overlap: int = 0):
-        self.chunk_size = chunk_size
-        self.chunk_overlap = chunk_overlap
-
-    def retrieve_documents(self, query: str, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
-        wiki_retriever = WikipediaRetriever()
-        docs = wiki_retriever.get_relevant_documents(query)
-        text_splitter = CharacterTextSplitter(
-            chunk_size=self.chunk_size, chunk_overlap=self.chunk_overlap
-        )
-        documents = text_splitter.split_documents(docs)
-        return [
-            {
-                "text": doc.page_content,
-                "title": doc.metadata.get("title", None),
-                "url": doc.metadata.get("source", None),
-            }
-            for doc in documents
-        ]
-```
-
-And for internet search, we need an API key
+For example, let's look at the community-implemented `ArxivRetriever`:
 
 ```python
-class TavilyInternetSearch(BaseRetrieval):
-    def __init__(self):
-        if "TAVILY_API_KEY" not in os.environ:
-            raise ValueError("Please set the TAVILY_API_KEY environment variable.")
+from typing import Any, Dict, List
 
-        self.api_key = os.environ["TAVILY_API_KEY"]
-        self.client = TavilyClient(api_key=self.api_key)
+from langchain_community.utilities import ArxivAPIWrapper
 
-    def retrieve_documents(self, query: str, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
-        content = self.client.search(query=query, search_depth="advanced")
-
-        if "results" not in content:
-            return []
-
-        return [
-            {
-                "url": result["url"],
-                "text": result["content"],
-            }
-            for result in content["results"]
-```
+from community.tools import BaseTool
 
-Note that all Retrievers should return a list of Dicts, and each Dict should contain at least a `text` key.
 
-### Implementing a Function Tool
-
-Add the implementation inside a tool class that inherits `BaseFunctionTool` and needs to implement the function  `def call(self, parameters: str, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:` 
-
-For example, for calculator 
-
-```python
-from typing import Any
-from py_expression_eval import Parser
-from typing import List, Dict
-
-from backend.tools.function_tools.base import BaseFunctionTool
+class ArxivRetriever(BaseTool):
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.client = ArxivAPIWrapper()
 
-class CalculatorFunctionTool(BaseFunctionTool):
-    """
-    Function Tool that evaluates mathematical expressions.
-    """
+    @classmethod
+    # If your tool requires any environment variables such as API keys,
+    # you will need to assert that they're not None here
+    def is_available(cls) -> bool:
+        return True
 
+    # Your tool needs to implement this call() method
     def call(self, parameters: str, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
-        math_parser = Parser()
-        to_evaluate = parameters.get("code", "").replace("pi", "PI").replace("e", "E")
-        result = []
-        try:
-            result = {"result": math_parser.parse(to_evaluate).evaluate({})}
-        except Exception:
-            result = {"result": "Parsing error - syntax not allowed."}
-        return result
+        result = self.client.run(parameters)
+
+        return [{"text": result}] # <- Return list of results, in this case there is only one
 ```
 
 ## Step 4: Making Your Tool Available
 
-To make your tool available, add its definition to the tools config [here](https://github.com/cohere-ai/cohere-toolkit/blob/main/src/community/config/tools.py).
+To make your tool available, add its definition to the community tools [config.py](https://github.com/cohere-ai/cohere-toolkit/blob/main/src/community/config/tools.py).
 
 Start by adding the tool name to the `ToolName` enum found at the top of the file.
 
@@ -151,27 +85,6 @@ Next, include the tool configurations in the `AVAILABLE_TOOLS` list. The definit
 - Description: A brief description of the tool.
 - Env_vars: A list of secrets required by the tool.
 
-Function tool with custom parameter definitions:
-
-```python
-ToolName.Python_Interpreter: ManagedTool(
-    name=ToolName.Python_Interpreter,
-    implementation=PythonInterpreterFunctionTool,
-    parameter_definitions={
-        "code": {
-            "description": "Python code to execute using an interpreter",
-            "type": "str",
-            "required": True,
-        }
-    },
-    is_visible=True,
-    is_available=PythonInterpreterFunctionTool.is_available(),
-    error_message="PythonInterpreterFunctionTool not available, please make sure to set the PYTHON_INTERPRETER_URL environment variable.",
-    category=Category.Function,
-    description="Runs python code in a sandbox.",
-)
-```
-
 ## Step 5: Test Your Tool!
 
 Now, when you run the toolkit, all the visible tools, including the one you just added, should be available!
@@ -209,4 +122,4 @@ curl --location 'http://localhost:8000/chat-stream' \
 
 ## Step 6 (extra): Add Unit tests
 
-If you would like to go above and beyond, it would be helpful to add some unit tests to ensure that your tool is working as expected. Create a file [here](https://github.com/cohere-ai/cohere-toolkit/tree/main/src/community/tests/tools) and add a few cases.
+If you would like to go above and beyond, it would be helpful to add some unit tests to ensure that your tool is working as expected. Create a file [here](https://github.com/cohere-ai/cohere-toolkit/tree/main/src/community/tests/tools) and add a few test cases.
diff --git a/src/backend/tools/retrieval/collate.py b/src/backend/chat/collate.py
similarity index 100%
rename from src/backend/tools/retrieval/collate.py
rename to src/backend/chat/collate.py
diff --git a/src/backend/chat/custom/custom.py b/src/backend/chat/custom/custom.py
index 1b97f926de..1a2ab0fddf 100644
--- a/src/backend/chat/custom/custom.py
+++ b/src/backend/chat/custom/custom.py
@@ -4,13 +4,13 @@
 from fastapi import HTTPException
 
 from backend.chat.base import BaseChat
+from backend.chat.collate import combine_documents
 from backend.chat.custom.utils import get_deployment
 from backend.config.tools import AVAILABLE_TOOLS, ToolName
 from backend.model_deployments.base import BaseDeployment
 from backend.schemas.cohere_chat import CohereChatRequest
 from backend.schemas.tool import Category, Tool
 from backend.services.logger import get_logger
-from backend.tools.retrieval.collate import combine_documents
 
 
 class CustomChat(BaseChat):
@@ -84,10 +84,12 @@ def chat(self, chat_request: CohereChatRequest, **kwargs: Any) -> Any:
 
             all_documents = {}
             # TODO: call in parallel and error handling
+            # TODO: merge with regular function tools after multihop implemented
             for retriever in retrievers:
                 for query in queries:
+                    parameters = {"query": query}
                     all_documents.setdefault(query, []).extend(
-                        retriever.retrieve_documents(query)
+                        retriever.call(parameters)
                     )
 
             # Collate Documents
diff --git a/src/backend/config/tools.py b/src/backend/config/tools.py
index 9e17606d51..4541d77e39 100644
--- a/src/backend/config/tools.py
+++ b/src/backend/config/tools.py
@@ -4,13 +4,11 @@
 from enum import StrEnum
 
 from backend.schemas.tool import Category, ManagedTool
-from backend.tools.function_tools import (
-    CalculatorFunctionTool,
-    PythonInterpreterFunctionTool,
-)
-from backend.tools.retrieval import (
+from backend.tools import (
+    Calculator,
     LangChainVectorDBRetriever,
     LangChainWikiRetriever,
+    PythonInterpreter,
     TavilyInternetSearch,
 )
 
@@ -38,6 +36,13 @@ class ToolName(StrEnum):
     ToolName.Wiki_Retriever_LangChain: ManagedTool(
         name=ToolName.Wiki_Retriever_LangChain,
         implementation=LangChainWikiRetriever,
+        parameter_definitions={
+            "query": {
+                "description": "Query for retrieval.",
+                "type": "str",
+                "required": True,
+            }
+        },
         kwargs={"chunk_size": 300, "chunk_overlap": 0},
         is_visible=True,
         is_available=LangChainWikiRetriever.is_available(),
@@ -48,6 +53,13 @@ class ToolName(StrEnum):
     ToolName.File_Upload_Langchain: ManagedTool(
         name=ToolName.File_Upload_Langchain,
         implementation=LangChainVectorDBRetriever,
+        parameter_definitions={
+            "query": {
+                "description": "Query for retrieval.",
+                "type": "str",
+                "required": True,
+            }
+        },
         is_visible=True,
         is_available=LangChainVectorDBRetriever.is_available(),
         error_message="LangChainVectorDBRetriever not available, please make sure to set the COHERE_API_KEY environment variable.",
@@ -56,7 +68,7 @@ class ToolName(StrEnum):
     ),
     ToolName.Python_Interpreter: ManagedTool(
         name=ToolName.Python_Interpreter,
-        implementation=PythonInterpreterFunctionTool,
+        implementation=PythonInterpreter,
         parameter_definitions={
             "code": {
                 "description": "Python code to execute using an interpreter",
@@ -65,14 +77,14 @@ class ToolName(StrEnum):
             }
         },
         is_visible=True,
-        is_available=PythonInterpreterFunctionTool.is_available(),
+        is_available=PythonInterpreter.is_available(),
         error_message="PythonInterpreterFunctionTool not available, please make sure to set the PYTHON_INTERPRETER_URL environment variable.",
         category=Category.Function,
         description="Runs python code in a sandbox.",
     ),
     ToolName.Calculator: ManagedTool(
         name=ToolName.Calculator,
-        implementation=CalculatorFunctionTool,
+        implementation=Calculator,
         parameter_definitions={
             "code": {
                 "description": "Arithmetic expression to evaluate",
@@ -81,14 +93,21 @@ class ToolName(StrEnum):
             }
         },
         is_visible=True,
-        is_available=CalculatorFunctionTool.is_available(),
-        error_message="CalculatorFunctionTool not available.",
+        is_available=Calculator.is_available(),
+        error_message="Calculator tool not available.",
         category=Category.Function,
         description="Evaluate arithmetic expressions.",
     ),
     ToolName.Tavily_Internet_Search: ManagedTool(
         name=ToolName.Tavily_Internet_Search,
         implementation=TavilyInternetSearch,
+        parameter_definitions={
+            "query": {
+                "description": "Query for retrieval.",
+                "type": "str",
+                "required": True,
+            }
+        },
         is_visible=True,
         is_available=TavilyInternetSearch.is_available(),
         error_message="TavilyInternetSearch not available, please make sure to set the TAVILY_API_KEY environment variable.",
diff --git a/src/backend/tests/tools/function_tools/test_calculator.py b/src/backend/tests/tools/test_calculator.py
similarity index 65%
rename from src/backend/tests/tools/function_tools/test_calculator.py
rename to src/backend/tests/tools/test_calculator.py
index 69fb6432ab..8fdc706e13 100644
--- a/src/backend/tests/tools/function_tools/test_calculator.py
+++ b/src/backend/tests/tools/test_calculator.py
@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
-from backend.tools.function_tools import CalculatorFunctionTool
+from backend.tools import Calculator
 
 
 def test_calculator() -> None:
-    calculator = CalculatorFunctionTool()
+    calculator = Calculator()
     result = calculator.call({"code": "2+2"})
     assert result == {"result": 4}
 
 
 def test_calculator_invalid_syntax() -> None:
-    calculator = CalculatorFunctionTool()
+    calculator = Calculator()
     result = calculator.call({"code": "2+"})
     assert result == {"result": "Parsing error - syntax not allowed."}
diff --git a/src/backend/tests/tools/retrieval/test_collate.py b/src/backend/tests/tools/test_collate.py
similarity index 96%
rename from src/backend/tests/tools/retrieval/test_collate.py
rename to src/backend/tests/tools/test_collate.py
index 479a6f082a..c79d0a6bfe 100644
--- a/src/backend/tests/tools/retrieval/test_collate.py
+++ b/src/backend/tests/tools/test_collate.py
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 
 import pytest
 
+from backend.chat import collate
 from backend.model_deployments import CohereDeployment
-from backend.tools.retrieval import collate
 
 is_cohere_env_set = (
     os.environ.get("COHERE_API_KEY") is not None
diff --git a/src/backend/tests/tools/retrieval/test_lang_chain.py b/src/backend/tests/tools/test_lang_chain.py
similarity index 91%
rename from src/backend/tests/tools/retrieval/test_lang_chain.py
rename to src/backend/tests/tools/test_lang_chain.py
index 1f3dc93952..80a37992c5 100644
--- a/src/backend/tests/tools/retrieval/test_lang_chain.py
+++ b/src/backend/tests/tools/test_lang_chain.py
@@ -4,10 +4,7 @@
 import pytest
 from langchain_core.documents.base import Document
 
-from backend.tools.retrieval.lang_chain import (
-    LangChainVectorDBRetriever,
-    LangChainWikiRetriever,
-)
+from backend.tools import LangChainVectorDBRetriever, LangChainWikiRetriever
 
 is_cohere_env_set = (
     os.environ.get("COHERE_API_KEY") is not None
@@ -53,10 +50,10 @@ def test_wiki_retriever() -> None:
     wiki_retriever_mock.get_relevant_documents.return_value = mock_docs
 
     with patch(
-        "backend.tools.retrieval.lang_chain.WikipediaRetriever",
+        "backend.tools.lang_chain.WikipediaRetriever",
         return_value=wiki_retriever_mock,
     ):
-        result = retriever.retrieve_documents(query)
+        result = retriever.call({"query": query})
 
     assert result == expected_docs
 
@@ -71,10 +68,10 @@ def test_wiki_retriever_no_docs() -> None:
     wiki_retriever_mock.get_relevant_documents.return_value = mock_docs
 
     with patch(
-        "backend.tools.retrieval.lang_chain.WikipediaRetriever",
+        "backend.tools.lang_chain.WikipediaRetriever",
         return_value=wiki_retriever_mock,
     ):
-        result = retriever.retrieve_documents(query)
+        result = retriever.call({"query": query})
 
     assert result == []
 
@@ -134,7 +131,7 @@ def test_vector_db_retriever() -> None:
         mock_db = MagicMock()
         mock_from_documents.return_value = mock_db
         mock_db.as_retriever().get_relevant_documents.return_value = mock_docs
-        result = retriever.retrieve_documents(query)
+        result = retriever.call({"query": query})
 
     assert result == expected_docs
 
@@ -155,6 +152,6 @@ def test_vector_db_retriever_no_docs() -> None:
         mock_db = MagicMock()
         mock_from_documents.return_value = mock_db
         mock_db.as_retriever().get_relevant_documents.return_value = mock_docs
-        result = retriever.retrieve_documents(query)
+        result = retriever.call({"query": query})
 
     assert result == []
diff --git a/src/backend/tools/__init__.py b/src/backend/tools/__init__.py
index e69de29bb2..d3b83617e1 100644
--- a/src/backend/tools/__init__.py
+++ b/src/backend/tools/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+from backend.tools.calculator import Calculator
+from backend.tools.lang_chain import LangChainVectorDBRetriever, LangChainWikiRetriever
+from backend.tools.python_interpreter import PythonInterpreter
+from backend.tools.tavily import TavilyInternetSearch
+
+__all__ = [
+    "Calculator",
+    "PythonInterpreter",
+    "LangChainVectorDBRetriever",
+    "LangChainWikiRetriever",
+    "TavilyInternetSearch",
+]
diff --git a/src/backend/tools/function_tools/base.py b/src/backend/tools/base.py
similarity index 52%
rename from src/backend/tools/function_tools/base.py
rename to src/backend/tools/base.py
index 0d475b23dc..b8aa6e33e8 100644
--- a/src/backend/tools/function_tools/base.py
+++ b/src/backend/tools/base.py
@@ -2,12 +2,14 @@
 from typing import Any, Dict, List
 
 
-class BaseFunctionTool:
-    """Base for all retrieval options."""
+class BaseTool:
+    """
+    Abstract base class for all Tools.
+    """
 
     @classmethod
     @abstractmethod
     def is_available(cls) -> bool: ...
 
     @abstractmethod
-    def call(self, parameters: str, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]: ...
+    def call(self, parameters: dict, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]: ...
diff --git a/src/backend/tools/function_tools/calculator.py b/src/backend/tools/calculator.py
similarity index 75%
rename from src/backend/tools/function_tools/calculator.py
rename to src/backend/tools/calculator.py
index 7e490566fa..b006091be0 100644
--- a/src/backend/tools/function_tools/calculator.py
+++ b/src/backend/tools/calculator.py
@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@
 
 from py_expression_eval import Parser
 
-from backend.tools.function_tools.base import BaseFunctionTool
+from backend.tools.base import BaseTool
 
 
-class CalculatorFunctionTool(BaseFunctionTool):
+class Calculator(BaseTool):
     """
     Function Tool that evaluates mathematical expressions.
     """
@@ -14,9 +14,10 @@ class CalculatorFunctionTool(BaseFunctionTool):
     def is_available(cls) -> bool:
         return True
 
-    def call(self, parameters: str, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+    def call(self, parameters: dict, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
         math_parser = Parser()
         to_evaluate = parameters.get("code", "").replace("pi", "PI").replace("e", "E")
+
         result = []
         try:
             result = {"result": math_parser.parse(to_evaluate).evaluate({})}
diff --git a/src/backend/tools/function_tools/__init__.py b/src/backend/tools/function_tools/__init__.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 7ea7a88ad6..0000000000
--- a/src/backend/tools/function_tools/__init__.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-from backend.tools.function_tools.calculator import CalculatorFunctionTool
-from backend.tools.function_tools.python_interpreter import (
-    PythonInterpreterFunctionTool,
-)
-
-__all__ = [
-    "CalculatorFunctionTool",
-    "PythonInterpreterFunctionTool",
-]
diff --git a/src/backend/tools/retrieval/lang_chain.py b/src/backend/tools/lang_chain.py
similarity index 86%
rename from src/backend/tools/retrieval/lang_chain.py
rename to src/backend/tools/lang_chain.py
index 21fbde882e..ff0c229f34 100644
--- a/src/backend/tools/retrieval/lang_chain.py
+++ b/src/backend/tools/lang_chain.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 from langchain_community.retrievers import WikipediaRetriever
 from langchain_community.vectorstores import Chroma
 
-from backend.tools.retrieval.base import BaseRetrieval
+from backend.tools.base import BaseTool
 
 """
 Plug in your lang chain retrieval implementation here. 
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 """
 
 
-class LangChainWikiRetriever(BaseRetrieval):
+class LangChainWikiRetriever(BaseTool):
     """
     This class retrieves documents from Wikipedia using the langchain package.
     This requires wikipedia package to be installed.
@@ -31,13 +31,15 @@ def __init__(self, chunk_size: int = 300, chunk_overlap: int = 0):
     def is_available(cls) -> bool:
         return True
 
-    def retrieve_documents(self, query: str, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+    def call(self, parameters: dict, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
         wiki_retriever = WikipediaRetriever()
+        query = parameters.get("query", "")
         docs = wiki_retriever.get_relevant_documents(query)
         text_splitter = CharacterTextSplitter(
             chunk_size=self.chunk_size, chunk_overlap=self.chunk_overlap
         )
         documents = text_splitter.split_documents(docs)
+
         return [
             {
                 "text": doc.page_content,
@@ -48,7 +50,7 @@ def retrieve_documents(self, query: str, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
         ]
 
 
-class LangChainVectorDBRetriever(BaseRetrieval):
+class LangChainVectorDBRetriever(BaseTool):
     """
     This class retrieves documents from a vector database using the langchain package.
     """
@@ -62,13 +64,17 @@ def __init__(self, filepath: str):
     def is_available(cls) -> bool:
         return cls.cohere_api_key is not None
 
-    def retrieve_documents(self, query: str, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+    def call(self, parameters: dict, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
         cohere_embeddings = CohereEmbeddings(cohere_api_key=self.cohere_api_key)
+
         # Load text files and split into chunks
         loader = PyPDFLoader(self.filepath)
         text_splitter = CharacterTextSplitter(chunk_size=300, chunk_overlap=0)
         pages = loader.load_and_split(text_splitter)
+
         # Create a vector store from the documents
         db = Chroma.from_documents(documents=pages, embedding=cohere_embeddings)
+        query = parameters.get("query", "")
         input_docs = db.as_retriever().get_relevant_documents(query)
+
         return [dict({"text": doc.page_content}) for doc in input_docs]
diff --git a/src/backend/tools/function_tools/python_interpreter.py b/src/backend/tools/python_interpreter.py
similarity index 96%
rename from src/backend/tools/function_tools/python_interpreter.py
rename to src/backend/tools/python_interpreter.py
index d00b43705a..3fc2e0514f 100644
--- a/src/backend/tools/function_tools/python_interpreter.py
+++ b/src/backend/tools/python_interpreter.py
@@ -6,14 +6,14 @@
 from langchain_core.tools import Tool as LangchainTool
 from pydantic.v1 import BaseModel, Field
 
-from backend.tools.function_tools.base import BaseFunctionTool
+from backend.tools.base import BaseTool
 
 
 class LangchainPythonInterpreterToolInput(BaseModel):
     code: str = Field(description="Python code to execute.")
 
 
-class PythonInterpreterFunctionTool(BaseFunctionTool):
+class PythonInterpreter(BaseTool):
     """
     This class calls arbitrary code against a Python interpreter.
     It requires a URL at which the interpreter lives
diff --git a/src/backend/tools/retrieval/__init__.py b/src/backend/tools/retrieval/__init__.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 5643374089..0000000000
--- a/src/backend/tools/retrieval/__init__.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-from backend.tools.retrieval.lang_chain import (
-    LangChainVectorDBRetriever,
-    LangChainWikiRetriever,
-)
-from backend.tools.retrieval.tavily import TavilyInternetSearch
-
-__all__ = [
-    "LangChainVectorDBRetriever",
-    "LangChainWikiRetriever",
-    "TavilyInternetSearch",
-]
diff --git a/src/backend/tools/retrieval/base.py b/src/backend/tools/retrieval/base.py
deleted file mode 100644
index fc4cd7adaa..0000000000
--- a/src/backend/tools/retrieval/base.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,20 +0,0 @@
-from abc import abstractmethod
-from typing import Any, Dict, List
-
-
-class BaseRetrieval:
-    """Base for all retrieval options."""
-
-    @classmethod
-    @abstractmethod
-    def is_available(cls) -> bool: ...
-
-    @abstractmethod
-    def retrieve_documents(self, query: str, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]: ...
-
-    def validate_documents(self, documents: List[Dict[str, Any]]) -> bool:
-        """Validate the documents retrieved. A valid document should have a text field."""
-        for document in documents:
-            if "text" not in document:
-                return False
-        return True
diff --git a/src/backend/tools/retrieval/tavily.py b/src/backend/tools/tavily.py
similarity index 86%
rename from src/backend/tools/retrieval/tavily.py
rename to src/backend/tools/tavily.py
index a4b33dbe74..2914ecc5a0 100644
--- a/src/backend/tools/retrieval/tavily.py
+++ b/src/backend/tools/tavily.py
@@ -4,10 +4,10 @@
 from langchain_community.tools.tavily_search import TavilySearchResults
 from tavily import TavilyClient
 
-from backend.tools.retrieval.base import BaseRetrieval
+from backend.tools.base import BaseTool
 
 
-class TavilyInternetSearch(BaseRetrieval):
+class TavilyInternetSearch(BaseTool):
     tavily_api_key = os.environ.get("TAVILY_API_KEY")
 
     def __init__(self):
@@ -17,7 +17,8 @@ def __init__(self):
     def is_available(cls) -> bool:
         return cls.tavily_api_key is not None
 
-    def retrieve_documents(self, query: str, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+    def call(self, parameters: dict, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+        query = parameters.get("query", "")
         content = self.client.search(query=query, search_depth="advanced")
 
         if "results" not in content:
diff --git a/src/community/config/tools.py b/src/community/config/tools.py
index 70adb964a5..15f05e5920 100644
--- a/src/community/config/tools.py
+++ b/src/community/config/tools.py
@@ -1,12 +1,14 @@
 from enum import StrEnum
 
-from community.tools import Category, ManagedTool
-from community.tools.function_tools import ClinicalTrialsTool, WolframAlphaFunctionTool
-from community.tools.retrieval import (
+from community.tools import (
     ArxivRetriever,
+    Category,
+    ClinicalTrials,
     ConnectorRetriever,
     LlamaIndexUploadPDFRetriever,
+    ManagedTool,
     PubMedRetriever,
+    WolframAlpha,
 )
 
 
@@ -23,6 +25,13 @@ class CommunityToolName(StrEnum):
     CommunityToolName.Arxiv: ManagedTool(
         name=CommunityToolName.Arxiv,
         implementation=ArxivRetriever,
+        parameter_definitions={
+            "query": {
+                "description": "Query for retrieval.",
+                "type": "str",
+                "required": True,
+            }
+        },
         is_visible=True,
         is_available=ArxivRetriever.is_available(),
         error_message="ArxivRetriever is not available.",
@@ -41,6 +50,13 @@ class CommunityToolName(StrEnum):
     CommunityToolName.Pub_Med: ManagedTool(
         name=CommunityToolName.Pub_Med,
         implementation=PubMedRetriever,
+        parameter_definitions={
+            "query": {
+                "description": "Query for retrieval.",
+                "type": "str",
+                "required": True,
+            }
+        },
         is_visible=True,
         is_available=PubMedRetriever.is_available(),
         error_message="PubMedRetriever is not available.",
@@ -58,18 +74,18 @@ class CommunityToolName(StrEnum):
     ),
     CommunityToolName.Wolfram_Alpha: ManagedTool(
         name=CommunityToolName.Wolfram_Alpha,
-        implementation=WolframAlphaFunctionTool,
+        implementation=WolframAlpha,
         is_visible=False,
-        is_available=WolframAlphaFunctionTool.is_available(),
+        is_available=WolframAlpha.is_available(),
         error_message="WolframAlphaFunctionTool is not available, please set the WOLFRAM_APP_ID environment variable.",
         category=Category.Function,
         description="Evaluate arithmetic expressions.",
     ),
     CommunityToolName.ClinicalTrials: ManagedTool(
         name=CommunityToolName.ClinicalTrials,
-        implementation=ClinicalTrialsTool,
+        implementation=ClinicalTrials,
         is_visible=True,
-        is_available=ClinicalTrialsTool.is_available(),
+        is_available=ClinicalTrials.is_available(),
         error_message="ClinicalTrialsTool is not available.",
         category=Category.Function,
         description="Retrieves clinical studies from ClinicalTrials.gov.",
diff --git a/src/community/tests/tools/retrieval/test_pub_med.py b/src/community/tests/tools/retrieval/test_pub_med.py
deleted file mode 100644
index b88cc985a2..0000000000
--- a/src/community/tests/tools/retrieval/test_pub_med.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-from community.tools.retrieval.pub_med import PubMedRetriever
-
-
-def test_pub_med_retriever():
-    retriever = PubMedRetriever()
-    result = retriever.retrieve_documents("What causes lung cancer?")
-    assert len(result) > 0
-    assert "text" in result[0]
diff --git a/src/community/tests/tools/retrieval/test_arxiv.py b/src/community/tests/tools/test_arxiv.py
similarity index 60%
rename from src/community/tests/tools/retrieval/test_arxiv.py
rename to src/community/tests/tools/test_arxiv.py
index 3913ec2a29..0c44a2d1e6 100644
--- a/src/community/tests/tools/retrieval/test_arxiv.py
+++ b/src/community/tests/tools/test_arxiv.py
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
-from community.tools.retrieval.arxiv import ArxivRetriever
+from community.tools import ArxivRetriever
 
 
 def test_arxiv_retriever():
     retriever = ArxivRetriever()
-    result = retriever.retrieve_documents("quantum")
+    result = retriever.call({"query": "quantum"})
     assert len(result) > 0
     assert "text" in result[0]
     assert "quantum" in result[0]["text"].lower()
diff --git a/src/community/tests/tools/functions/test_clinicaltrials.py b/src/community/tests/tools/test_clinicaltrials.py
similarity index 69%
rename from src/community/tests/tools/functions/test_clinicaltrials.py
rename to src/community/tests/tools/test_clinicaltrials.py
index d6b6cddd4f..802878d8c3 100644
--- a/src/community/tests/tools/functions/test_clinicaltrials.py
+++ b/src/community/tests/tools/test_clinicaltrials.py
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
-from community.tools.function_tools.clinicaltrials import ClinicalTrialsTool
+from community.tools import ClinicalTrials
 
 
 def test_clinicaltrials_tool():
-    retriever = ClinicalTrialsTool()
+    retriever = ClinicalTrials()
     result = retriever.call(
         parameters={
             "condition": "lung cancer",
diff --git a/src/community/tests/tools/retrieval/test_llama_index.py b/src/community/tests/tools/test_llama_index.py
similarity index 99%
rename from src/community/tests/tools/retrieval/test_llama_index.py
rename to src/community/tests/tools/test_llama_index.py
index cef017b2f0..c328b2ffc2 100644
--- a/src/community/tests/tools/retrieval/test_llama_index.py
+++ b/src/community/tests/tools/test_llama_index.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-from community.tools.retrieval.llama_index import LlamaIndexUploadPDFRetriever
+from community.tools import LlamaIndexUploadPDFRetriever
 
 
 def test_pdf_retriever() -> None:
@@ -34,6 +34,6 @@ def test_pdf_retriever() -> None:
             "text": '49. Robbins, Gary (5 September 2019). "UCSD discovers surge in plastics pollution off Santa\nBarbara" (https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-04/uc-san-diego-discovers-explo\nsion-in-plastics-products-in-seafloor-off-santa-barbara). Los Angeles Times. Retrieved\n5 September 2019.\n50. Street, Francesca (13 May 2019). "Deepest ocean dive recorded: How Victor Vescovo did it"\n(https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/victor-vescovo-deepest-dive-pacific/index.html). CNN\nTravel. CNN. Retrieved 13 May 2019.\n51. Levy, Adam (15 May 2019). ""Bomb Carbon" Has Been Found in Deep-Ocean Creatures" (h\nttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bomb-carbon-has-been-found-in-deep-ocean-creat\nures/). Scientific American.\n52. Hafemeister, David W. (2007). Physics of societal issues: calculations on national security,\nenvironment, and energy (https://books.google.com/books?id=LT4MSqv9QUIC&pg=PA187).\nBerlin: Springer. p. 187. ISBN 978-0-387-95560-5.\n53. Kingsley, Marvin G.; Rogers, Kenneth H. (2007). Calculated risks: highly radioactive waste\nand homeland security (https://books.google.com/books?id=bOP4-BpYXrEC&pg=PA75).\nAldershot, Hants, England: Ashgate. pp. 75–76. ISBN 978-0-7546-7133-6.\n54. "Dumping and Loss overview" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110605190619/http://www.la\nw.berkeley.edu/centers/ilr/ona/pages/dumping2.htm). Oceans in the Nuclear Age. Archived\nfrom the original (http://www.law.berkeley.edu/centers/ilr/ona/pages/dumping2.htm) on 5\nJune 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2010.\nMariana Trench Dive (25 March 2012) (https://web.archive.org/web/20140625050833/http://d\neepseachallenge.com/) – Deepsea Challenger\nMariana Trench Dive (23 January 1960) (http://www.britishpathe.com/video/they-dived-7-mil\nes/query/mariana+trench) – Trieste (Newsreel)\nMariana Trench Dive (50th Anniv) (http://www.vvdailypress.com/articles/walsh-18116-regret-\nmiles.html) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20130603064615/http://www.vvdailypress.\ncom/articles/walsh-18116-regret-miles.html) 3 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine – Trieste\n– Capt Don Walsh\nMariana Trench – Maps (Google) (https://maps.google.com/maps?q=11.317,+142.25(Marian\na+Trench)&z=6)\nNOAA – Ocean Explorer (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov) (Ofc Ocean Exploration & Rsch)\nNOAA – Ocean Explorer – Multimedia (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/06fire/bac\nkground/marianaarc/marianaarc.html) – Mariana Arc (podcast (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.go\nv/explorations/podcast/oceanexplorer_podcast.xml))\nNOAA – Ocean Explorer – Video Playlist (https://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=94B79\n5FD631011E0) – Ring of Fire (2004–2006)\nRetrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mariana_Trench&oldid=1187694887"External links\n'
         },
     ]
-    result = retriever.retrieve_documents(query)
+    result = retriever.call({"query": query})
 
     assert expected_docs == result
diff --git a/src/community/tests/tools/test_pub_med.py b/src/community/tests/tools/test_pub_med.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b4aea9210b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/community/tests/tools/test_pub_med.py
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+from community.tools import PubMedRetriever
+
+
+def test_pub_med_retriever():
+    retriever = PubMedRetriever()
+    result = retriever.call({"query": "What causes lung cancer?"})
+    assert len(result) > 0
+    assert "text" in result[0]
diff --git a/src/community/tools/__init__.py b/src/community/tools/__init__.py
index f2a3eac724..d120aefeca 100644
--- a/src/community/tools/__init__.py
+++ b/src/community/tools/__init__.py
@@ -1,3 +1,17 @@
 from backend.schemas.tool import Category, ManagedTool
-from backend.tools.function_tools.base import BaseFunctionTool
-from backend.tools.retrieval.base import BaseRetrieval
+from backend.tools.base import BaseTool
+from community.tools.arxiv import ArxivRetriever
+from community.tools.clinicaltrials import ClinicalTrials
+from community.tools.connector import ConnectorRetriever
+from community.tools.llama_index import LlamaIndexUploadPDFRetriever
+from community.tools.pub_med import PubMedRetriever
+from community.tools.wolfram import WolframAlpha
+
+__all__ = [
+    "WolframAlpha",
+    "ClinicalTrials",
+    "ArxivRetriever",
+    "ConnectorRetriever",
+    "LlamaIndexUploadPDFRetriever",
+    "PubMedRetriever",
+]
diff --git a/src/community/tools/retrieval/arxiv.py b/src/community/tools/arxiv.py
similarity index 61%
rename from src/community/tools/retrieval/arxiv.py
rename to src/community/tools/arxiv.py
index e9699b4c97..c5ae0cb3bb 100644
--- a/src/community/tools/retrieval/arxiv.py
+++ b/src/community/tools/arxiv.py
@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@
 
 from langchain_community.utilities import ArxivAPIWrapper
 
-from community.tools import BaseRetrieval
+from community.tools import BaseTool
 
 
-class ArxivRetriever(BaseRetrieval):
+class ArxivRetriever(BaseTool):
     def __init__(self):
         self.client = ArxivAPIWrapper()
 
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ def __init__(self):
     def is_available(cls) -> bool:
         return True
 
-    def retrieve_documents(self, query: str, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+    def call(self, parameters: dict, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+        query = parameters.get("query", "")
         result = self.client.run(query)
         return [{"text": result}]
diff --git a/src/community/tools/function_tools/clinicaltrials.py b/src/community/tools/clinicaltrials.py
similarity index 95%
rename from src/community/tools/function_tools/clinicaltrials.py
rename to src/community/tools/clinicaltrials.py
index 20270a0b9c..e217d17340 100644
--- a/src/community/tools/function_tools/clinicaltrials.py
+++ b/src/community/tools/clinicaltrials.py
@@ -1,14 +1,16 @@
-# https://clinicaltrials.gov/data-api/api
-
 from typing import Any, Dict, List
 
 import requests
 
-from community.tools import BaseFunctionTool
+from community.tools import BaseTool
+
 
+class ClinicalTrials(BaseTool):
+    """
+    Retrieves clinical studies from ClinicalTrials.gov.
 
-class ClinicalTrialsTool(BaseFunctionTool):
-    """Retrieves clinical studies from ClinicalTrials.gov"""
+    See: https://clinicaltrials.gov/data-api/api
+    """
 
     def __init__(self, url="https://clinicaltrials.gov/api/v2/studies"):
         self._url = url
diff --git a/src/community/tools/retrieval/connector.py b/src/community/tools/connector.py
similarity index 70%
rename from src/community/tools/retrieval/connector.py
rename to src/community/tools/connector.py
index eecb37b041..b1ff81b89f 100644
--- a/src/community/tools/retrieval/connector.py
+++ b/src/community/tools/connector.py
@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@
 
 import requests
 
-from community.tools import BaseRetrieval
+from community.tools import BaseTool
 
 """
-Plug in your connector configuration here. For example:
+Plug in your Connector configuration here. For example:
 
 Url: http://example_connector.com/search
 Auth: Bearer token for the connector
@@ -14,7 +14,8 @@
 """
 
 
-class ConnectorRetriever(BaseRetrieval):
+class ConnectorRetriever(BaseTool):
+
     def __init__(self, url: str, auth: str):
         self.url = url
         self.auth = auth
@@ -23,8 +24,8 @@ def __init__(self, url: str, auth: str):
     def is_available(cls) -> bool:
         return True
 
-    def retrieve_documents(self, query: str, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
-        body = {"query": query}
+    def call(self, parameters: dict, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+        body = {"query": parameters}
         headers = {
             "Content-Type": "application/json",
             "Authorization": f"Bearer {self.auth}",
diff --git a/src/community/tools/function_tools/__init__.py b/src/community/tools/function_tools/__init__.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 8d812bd26a..0000000000
--- a/src/community/tools/function_tools/__init__.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,7 +0,0 @@
-from community.tools.function_tools.clinicaltrials import ClinicalTrialsTool
-from community.tools.function_tools.wolfram import WolframAlphaFunctionTool
-
-__all__ = [
-    "WolframAlphaFunctionTool",
-    "ClinicalTrialsTool",
-]
diff --git a/src/community/tools/retrieval/llama_index.py b/src/community/tools/llama_index.py
similarity index 80%
rename from src/community/tools/retrieval/llama_index.py
rename to src/community/tools/llama_index.py
index 7d5496554e..0b6163092c 100644
--- a/src/community/tools/retrieval/llama_index.py
+++ b/src/community/tools/llama_index.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 from llama_index.core import SimpleDirectoryReader
 
-from community.tools import BaseRetrieval
+from community.tools import BaseTool
 
 """
 Plug in your llama index retrieval implementation here. 
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 """
 
 
-class LlamaIndexUploadPDFRetriever(BaseRetrieval):
+class LlamaIndexUploadPDFRetriever(BaseTool):
     """
     This class retrieves documents from a PDF using the llama_index package.
     This requires llama_index package to be installed.
@@ -27,6 +27,6 @@ def __init__(self, filepath: str):
     def is_available(cls) -> bool:
         return True
 
-    def retrieve_documents(self, query: str, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+    def call(self, parameters: dict, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
         docs = SimpleDirectoryReader(input_files=[self.filepath]).load_data()
         return [dict({"text": doc.text}) for doc in docs]
diff --git a/src/community/tools/retrieval/pub_med.py b/src/community/tools/pub_med.py
similarity index 62%
rename from src/community/tools/retrieval/pub_med.py
rename to src/community/tools/pub_med.py
index 96e6aec3df..6b962ee485 100644
--- a/src/community/tools/retrieval/pub_med.py
+++ b/src/community/tools/pub_med.py
@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@
 
 from langchain_community.tools.pubmed.tool import PubmedQueryRun
 
-from community.tools import BaseRetrieval
+from community.tools import BaseTool
 
 
-class PubMedRetriever(BaseRetrieval):
+class PubMedRetriever(BaseTool):
     def __init__(self):
         self.client = PubmedQueryRun()
 
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ def __init__(self):
     def is_available(cls) -> bool:
         return True
 
-    def retrieve_documents(self, query: str, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+    def call(self, parameters: dict, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+        query = parameters.get("query", "")
         result = self.client.invoke(query)
         return [{"text": result}]
diff --git a/src/community/tools/retrieval/__init__.py b/src/community/tools/retrieval/__init__.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 5efec48fec..0000000000
--- a/src/community/tools/retrieval/__init__.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-from community.tools.retrieval.arxiv import ArxivRetriever
-from community.tools.retrieval.connector import ConnectorRetriever
-from community.tools.retrieval.llama_index import LlamaIndexUploadPDFRetriever
-from community.tools.retrieval.pub_med import PubMedRetriever
-
-__all__ = [
-    "ArxivRetriever",
-    "ConnectorRetriever",
-    "LlamaIndexUploadPDFRetriever",
-    "PubMedRetriever",
-]
diff --git a/src/community/tools/function_tools/wolfram.py b/src/community/tools/wolfram.py
similarity index 68%
rename from src/community/tools/function_tools/wolfram.py
rename to src/community/tools/wolfram.py
index 7468884215..61e06ad8df 100644
--- a/src/community/tools/function_tools/wolfram.py
+++ b/src/community/tools/wolfram.py
@@ -1,14 +1,18 @@
-# https://python.langchain.com/docs/integrations/tools/wolfram_alpha/
-
 import os
 from typing import Any, Dict, List
 
 from langchain_community.utilities.wolfram_alpha import WolframAlphaAPIWrapper
 
-from community.tools import BaseFunctionTool
+from community.tools import BaseTool
+
+
+class WolframAlpha(BaseTool):
+    """
+    Wolfram Alpha tool.
 
+    See: https://python.langchain.com/docs/integrations/tools/wolfram_alpha/
+    """
 
-class WolframAlphaFunctionTool(BaseFunctionTool):
     wolfram_app_id = os.environ.get("WOLFRAM_APP_ID")
 
     def __init__(self):
@@ -19,7 +23,7 @@ def __init__(self):
     def is_available(cls) -> bool:
         return cls.wolfram_app_id is not None
 
-    def call(self, parameters: str, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+    def call(self, parameters: dict, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
         to_evaluate = parameters.get("expression", "")
         result = self.tool.run(to_evaluate)
         return {"result": result, "text": result}