> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.maiagent.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.maiagent.ai/maiagent-user-guide/maiagent-user-guide-en/agent-builder/code-interpreter.md).

# Code Interpreter

## What Is This? <a href="#what-is-this" id="what-is-this"></a>

Code Interpreter lets an Agent execute Python code in a **secure sandbox environment**, completing tasks programmatically.

With Code Interpreter enabled, the Agent can do more than just reply with text — it can write code to perform calculations, process files you upload, generate Word/PowerPoint/Excel documents, and return the results for you to download.

## How Is It Different from Tools? <a href="#code-interpreter-vs-tool" id="code-interpreter-vs-tool"></a>

|                       | Tools                                                  | Code Interpreter                                        |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Nature**            | Calls pre-defined external APIs                        | Writes and executes Python on the fly in a sandbox      |
| **Flexibility**       | Limited to what the API provides                       | Anything Python can do                                  |
| **Typical use cases** | Send emails, query CRM, integrate third-party services | Computation, data processing, file generation, charting |

**Quick rule of thumb**: Need to call an external API → Tools; need to compute, process files, or generate documents → Code Interpreter.

## What Can It Do? <a href="#what-it-can-do" id="what-it-can-do"></a>

* **Data analysis & computation**: CSV/Excel calculations, statistics, pivot tables, data cleaning
* **Chart creation**: Turn data into line charts, bar charts, pie charts, and more
* **Document generation**: Produce Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and PDF files for download
* **File processing**: Parse PDFs, convert formats, batch-process uploaded files

## Sandbox Environment <a href="#sandbox-environment" id="sandbox-environment"></a>

* The execution environment is a **secure sandbox**, isolated from production systems — it won't affect any other data
* Supports standard Python along with common data and document processing packages
* Files generated by the Agent appear in the **Output** panel within the chat interface and can be downloaded directly

## When to Use <a href="#when-to-use" id="when-to-use"></a>

* Finance/sales teams ask the Agent to organize Excel files and produce weekly reports
* HR/admin teams ask the Agent to turn survey results into charts and generate PowerPoint presentations
* Legal/contract teams ask the Agent to extract key fields from PDFs and output Word summaries
* Any conversation scenario that requires ad-hoc computation or on-the-fly file generation

## What Do I Need to Do? <a href="#what-do-i-need-to-do" id="what-do-i-need-to-do"></a>

1. **Go to Agent settings** — Open the settings page of the AI Assistant you want to enable it for
2. **Enable Code Interpreter** — Turn it on in the tools or advanced capabilities section
3. **Test** — Ask the Agent to perform a task that requires computation or file generation in a conversation, and verify that the Output panel allows normal downloads


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# Agent Instructions
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## Querying This Documentation
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