Skip_turn Tool

forward-apricot · 2025-09-11T11:55:23.871Z

Hi VAPI Team, will there a skip_turn tool in VAPI similar to the one in ElevenLabs? Best regards, Felix

V

Hi Felix,

Currently, there is no mention of a "skip_turn" tool in Vapi's official documentation or a feature directly equivalent to ElevenLabs' skip_turn tool. Vapi supports a range of default and custom tools (like

transferCall

transferCall

transferCall

transferCall,

endCall

endCall

endCall

endCall, and

dtmf

dtmf

dtmf

dtmf), and you can request new features via their feature request board or support channels.

Could you briefly describe the specific functionality you need from a "skip_turn" tool in your Vapi workflow? This will help us suggest a workaround or escalate your request to the product team.

Best regards,
Vapi Team

Sources:

⤵️ Mention @Vapi Support Bot for follow-ups 🐥

F

forward-apricotOP•9/11/25, 3:39 PM

Hi, in ElevenLabs there is the skip turn tool that can force the agent to wait for the user to say something

V

VapiAPP•9/15/25, 12:57 PM

Hi Felix.Neutatz,

It seems there isn't a direct mention of a "Skip_turn Tool" in the documents you have provided. To find relevant information, you might consider reviewing existing tools or features that might have similar functionality. Also, you can check the option to create or customize tools within a Conversation Node using transient tools or predefined tool IDs as mentioned here.

If you need information about deleting a tool, you can use the DELETE method to remove it via API. Here's an example to delete a tool:

from vapi import Vapi

client = Vapi(
    token="YOUR_TOKEN",
)
client.tools.delete(
    id="tool_id",
)

from vapi import Vapi

client = Vapi(
    token="YOUR_TOKEN",
)
client.tools.delete(
    id="tool_id",
)

from vapi import Vapi

client = Vapi(
    token="YOUR_TOKEN",
)
client.tools.delete(
    id="tool_id",
)

from vapi import Vapi

client = Vapi(
    token="YOUR_TOKEN",
)
client.tools.delete(
    id="tool_id",
)

You can refer to the detailed API reference for more information.

Delete Tool | Vapi

F

forward-apricotOP•9/23/25, 3:50 PM

Hi Praveen, I mean this: https://elevenlabs.io/docs/agents-platform/customization/tools/system-tools/skip-turn

Skip turn | ElevenLabs Documentation

Allow your agent to pause and wait for the user to speak next.

V

VapiAPP•9/25/25, 1:32 PM

Hi, Can you provide me more details are you seeing when you face the problem?

F

forward-apricotOP•9/30/25, 8:29 AM

The problem I see is that VAPI does not allow to make the agent wait. Is there any way to implement this?

V

VapiAPP•10/2/25, 5:54 AM

There are multiple methods to accomplish this, and we will provide a couple examples. Please note that this may affect the call timeout settings and you will need a way to terminate the calls after a certain period of time otherwise it will incur high costs for extra long durations + tool calling.

Since tool calling is ignored by the idleTimeout mechanism, utilize this by creating a custom function tool for waiting based on keypad entry for pre-defined minute value association:

{
  "type": "function",
  "function": {
    "name": "wait_for_keypad_input",
    "description": "Wait for keypad input for a specified duration",
    "parameters": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "wait_seconds": {
          "type": "number",
          "description": "Number of seconds to wait"
        },
        "expected_key": {
          "type": "string", 
          "description": "Expected keypad input"
        }
      },
      "required": ["wait_seconds", "expected_key"]
    }
  }
}

{
  "type": "function",
  "function": {
    "name": "wait_for_keypad_input",
    "description": "Wait for keypad input for a specified duration",
    "parameters": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "wait_seconds": {
          "type": "number",
          "description": "Number of seconds to wait"
        },
        "expected_key": {
          "type": "string", 
          "description": "Expected keypad input"
        }
      },
      "required": ["wait_seconds", "expected_key"]
    }
  }
}

{
  "type": "function",
  "function": {
    "name": "wait_for_keypad_input",
    "description": "Wait for keypad input for a specified duration",
    "parameters": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "wait_seconds": {
          "type": "number",
          "description": "Number of seconds to wait"
        },
        "expected_key": {
          "type": "string", 
          "description": "Expected keypad input"
        }
      },
      "required": ["wait_seconds", "expected_key"]
    }
  }
}

{
  "type": "function",
  "function": {
    "name": "wait_for_keypad_input",
    "description": "Wait for keypad input for a specified duration",
    "parameters": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "wait_seconds": {
          "type": "number",
          "description": "Number of seconds to wait"
        },
        "expected_key": {
          "type": "string", 
          "description": "Expected keypad input"
        }
      },
      "required": ["wait_seconds", "expected_key"]
    }
  }
}

There is another method that may help, which is Server-Side Webhook Control. This requires configuring a server or similar system. What you do is implement server-side logic to control the conversation flow:

// In your webhook handler
app.post('/webhook', (req, res) => {
  const { message } = req.body;
  
  if (message.type === 'function-call' && message.functionCall.name === 'wait_for_keypad_input') {
    // Implement waiting logic on server side
    setTimeout(() => {
      // Send response back to VAPI after wait period
      res.json({
        result: "Wait period completed, proceeding with call"
      });
    }, message.functionCall.parameters.wait_seconds * 1000);
  }
});

// In your webhook handler
app.post('/webhook', (req, res) => {
  const { message } = req.body;
  
  if (message.type === 'function-call' && message.functionCall.name === 'wait_for_keypad_input') {
    // Implement waiting logic on server side
    setTimeout(() => {
      // Send response back to VAPI after wait period
      res.json({
        result: "Wait period completed, proceeding with call"
      });
    }, message.functionCall.parameters.wait_seconds * 1000);
  }
});

// In your webhook handler
app.post('/webhook', (req, res) => {
  const { message } = req.body;
  
  if (message.type === 'function-call' && message.functionCall.name === 'wait_for_keypad_input') {
    // Implement waiting logic on server side
    setTimeout(() => {
      // Send response back to VAPI after wait period
      res.json({
        result: "Wait period completed, proceeding with call"
      });
    }, message.functionCall.parameters.wait_seconds * 1000);
  }
});

// In your webhook handler
app.post('/webhook', (req, res) => {
  const { message } = req.body;
  
  if (message.type === 'function-call' && message.functionCall.name === 'wait_for_keypad_input') {
    // Implement waiting logic on server side
    setTimeout(() => {
      // Send response back to VAPI after wait period
      res.json({
        result: "Wait period completed, proceeding with call"
      });
    }, message.functionCall.parameters.wait_seconds * 1000);
  }
});

If any of these help or you need other suggestions, feel free to reach out

F

forward-apricotOP•10/2/25, 9:52 PM

thank you for your help

V

VapiAPP•10/6/25, 6:55 PM

Glad we could help!

Skip_turn Tool

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