diff --git a/app/azure/request_adapter.py b/app/azure/request_adapter.py
index 697db1e..ac2f849 100644
--- a/app/azure/request_adapter.py
+++ b/app/azure/request_adapter.py
@@ -92,6 +92,13 @@ class RequestAdapter:
 
     def _transform_tools_for_responses(self, tools: Any) -> Any:
         out: List[Dict[str, Any]] = []
+        if not isinstance(tools, list):
+            current_app.logger.debug(
+                "Skipping tool transformation because tools payload is not a list: %r",
+                tools,
+            )
+            return out
+
         for tool in tools:
             function = tool.get("function")
             transformed: Dict[str, Any] = {
diff --git a/app/common/logging.py b/app/common/logging.py
index dbb6aaf..021b203 100644
--- a/app/common/logging.py
+++ b/app/common/logging.py
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ def log_request(req: Request) -> str:
     )
 
     messages = json_payload.get("messages", [])
-    tools = json_payload.get("tools", [])
+    tools = json_payload.get("tools", []) or []
 
     # Render tools section once (no duplicate panels)
     table = Table(
diff --git a/tests/recordings/empty_tools/downstream_request.json b/tests/recordings/empty_tools/downstream_request.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b5a92c1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/recordings/empty_tools/downstream_request.json
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+{
+  "model": "gpt-minimal",
+  "temperature": 0,
+  "user": "REDACTED",
+  "messages": [
+    {
+      "role": "system",
+      "content": "REDACTED"
+    },
+    {
+      "role": "user",
+      "content": "REDACTED"
+    },
+    {
+      "role": "user",
+      "content": "REDACTED"
+    }
+  ],
+  "tools": null,
+  "tool_choice": "auto",
+  "stream": true
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/recordings/empty_tools/downstream_response.sse b/tests/recordings/empty_tools/downstream_response.sse
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e459820
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/recordings/empty_tools/downstream_response.sse
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+data: {"id":"chatcmpl-ERO7qkefORSgjuOmbThzZoG8","object":"chat.completion.chunk","created":1758093803,"model":"gpt-minimal","choices":[{"index":0,"delta":{"role":"assistant","content":"<think>\n\n"},"finish_reason":null}]}
+
+data: {"id":"chatcmpl-ERO7qkefORSgjuOmbThzZoG8","object":"chat.completion.chunk","created":1758093804,"model":"gpt-minimal","choices":[{"index":0,"delta":{"role":"assistant","content":"</think>\n\n"},"finish_reason":null}]}
+
+data: {"id":"chatcmpl-ERO7qkefORSgjuOmbThzZoG8","object":"chat.completion.chunk","created":1758093804,"model":"gpt-minimal","choices":[{"index":0,"delta":{"role":"assistant","content":"pong"},"finish_reason":null}]}
+
+data: {"id":"chatcmpl-ERO7qkefORSgjuOmbThzZoG8","object":"chat.completion.chunk","created":1758093806,"model":"gpt-minimal","choices":[{"index":0,"delta":{},"finish_reason":"stop"}]}
+
+data: [DONE]
+
diff --git a/tests/recordings/empty_tools/upstream_request.json b/tests/recordings/empty_tools/upstream_request.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2dea819
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/recordings/empty_tools/upstream_request.json
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+{
+  "instructions": "REDACTED",
+  "input": [
+    {
+      "role": "user",
+      "content": [
+        {
+          "type": "input_text",
+          "text": "REDACTED"
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    {
+      "role": "user",
+      "content": [
+        {
+          "type": "input_text",
+          "text": "REDACTED"
+        }
+      ]
+    }
+  ],
+  "model": "gpt-5",
+  "tools": [],
+  "tool_choice": "auto",
+  "prompt_cache_key": "REDACTED",
+  "stream": true,
+  "reasoning": {
+    "effort": "minimal",
+    "summary": "detailed"
+  },
+  "store": false,
+  "stream_options": {
+    "include_obfuscation": false
+  },
+  "truncation": "auto"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/recordings/empty_tools/upstream_response.sse b/tests/recordings/empty_tools/upstream_response.sse
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..03731da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/recordings/empty_tools/upstream_response.sse
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+event: response.created
+data: {"type":"response.created","sequence_number":0,"response":{"id":"resp_68ca61ea133c8190a25851b67c2dc1fa000638fabbdbe241","object":"response","created_at":1758093802,"status":"in_progress","background":false,"content_filters":null,"error":null,"incomplete_details":null,"instructions":"REDACTED","max_output_tokens":null,"max_tool_calls":null,"model":"gpt-5","output":[],"parallel_tool_calls":true,"previous_response_id":null,"prompt_cache_key":"REDACTED","reasoning":{"effort":"minimal","summary":"detailed"},"safety_identifier":null,"service_tier":"auto","store":false,"temperature":1.0,"text":{"format":{"type":"text"}},"tool_choice":"auto","tools":[{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"explanation":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"query":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"target_directories":{"type":"array","items":{"type":"string"},"description":"REDACTED"},"search_only_prs":{"type":"boolean","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["explanation","query","target_directories"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"command":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"is_background":{"type":"boolean","description":"REDACTED"},"explanation":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["command","is_background"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"pattern":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"path":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"glob":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"output_mode":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED","enum":["content","files_with_matches","count"]},"-B":{"type":"number","description":"REDACTED"},"-A":{"type":"number","description":"REDACTED"},"-C":{"type":"number","description":"REDACTED"},"-i":{"type":"boolean","description":"REDACTED"},"type":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"head_limit":{"type":"number","description":"REDACTED"},"multiline":{"type":"boolean","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["pattern"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"target_file":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"explanation":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["target_file"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"paths":{"description":"REDACTED","type":"array","items":{"type":"string"}}},"required":[]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"target_notebook":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"cell_idx":{"type":"number","description":"REDACTED"},"is_new_cell":{"type":"boolean","description":"REDACTED"},"cell_language":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"old_string":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"new_string":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["target_notebook","cell_idx","is_new_cell","cell_language","old_string","new_string"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"merge":{"type":"boolean","description":"REDACTED"},"todos":{"type":"array","description":"REDACTED","items":{"type":"object","properties":{"content":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"status":{"type":"string","enum":["pending","in_progress","completed","cancelled"],"description":"REDACTED"},"id":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["content","status","id"]},"minItems":2}},"required":["merge","todos"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"target_file":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"instructions":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"code_edit":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["target_file","instructions","code_edit"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"target_file":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"offset":{"type":"integer","description":"REDACTED"},"limit":{"type":"integer","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["target_file"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"target_directory":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"ignore_globs":{"type":"array","items":{"type":"string"},"description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["target_directory"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"target_directory":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"glob_pattern":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["glob_pattern"]},"strict":false}],"top_p":1.0,"truncation":"auto","usage":null,"user":null,"metadata":{}}}
+
+event: response.in_progress
+data: {"type":"response.in_progress","sequence_number":1,"response":{"id":"resp_68ca61ea133c8190a25851b67c2dc1fa000638fabbdbe241","object":"response","created_at":1758093802,"status":"in_progress","background":false,"content_filters":null,"error":null,"incomplete_details":null,"instructions":"REDACTED","max_output_tokens":null,"max_tool_calls":null,"model":"gpt-5","output":[],"parallel_tool_calls":true,"previous_response_id":null,"prompt_cache_key":"REDACTED","reasoning":{"effort":"minimal","summary":"detailed"},"safety_identifier":null,"service_tier":"auto","store":false,"temperature":1.0,"text":{"format":{"type":"text"}},"tool_choice":"auto","tools":[{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"explanation":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"query":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"target_directories":{"type":"array","items":{"type":"string"},"description":"REDACTED"},"search_only_prs":{"type":"boolean","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["explanation","query","target_directories"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"command":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"is_background":{"type":"boolean","description":"REDACTED"},"explanation":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["command","is_background"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"pattern":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"path":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"glob":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"output_mode":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED","enum":["content","files_with_matches","count"]},"-B":{"type":"number","description":"REDACTED"},"-A":{"type":"number","description":"REDACTED"},"-C":{"type":"number","description":"REDACTED"},"-i":{"type":"boolean","description":"REDACTED"},"type":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"head_limit":{"type":"number","description":"REDACTED"},"multiline":{"type":"boolean","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["pattern"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"target_file":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"explanation":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["target_file"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"paths":{"description":"REDACTED","type":"array","items":{"type":"string"}}},"required":[]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"target_notebook":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"cell_idx":{"type":"number","description":"REDACTED"},"is_new_cell":{"type":"boolean","description":"REDACTED"},"cell_language":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"old_string":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"new_string":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["target_notebook","cell_idx","is_new_cell","cell_language","old_string","new_string"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"merge":{"type":"boolean","description":"REDACTED"},"todos":{"type":"array","description":"REDACTED","items":{"type":"object","properties":{"content":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"status":{"type":"string","enum":["pending","in_progress","completed","cancelled"],"description":"REDACTED"},"id":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["content","status","id"]},"minItems":2}},"required":["merge","todos"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"target_file":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"instructions":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"code_edit":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["target_file","instructions","code_edit"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"target_file":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"offset":{"type":"integer","description":"REDACTED"},"limit":{"type":"integer","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["target_file"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"target_directory":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"ignore_globs":{"type":"array","items":{"type":"string"},"description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["target_directory"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"target_directory":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"glob_pattern":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["glob_pattern"]},"strict":false}],"top_p":1.0,"truncation":"auto","usage":null,"user":null,"metadata":{}}}
+
+event: response.output_item.added
+data: {"type":"response.output_item.added","sequence_number":2,"output_index":0,"item":{"id":"rs_68ca61eb7cf481909660df840351bf9d000638fabbdbe241","type":"reasoning","summary":[]}}
+
+event: response.output_item.done
+data: {"type":"response.output_item.done","sequence_number":3,"output_index":0,"item":{"id":"rs_68ca61eb7cf481909660df840351bf9d000638fabbdbe241","type":"reasoning","summary":[]}}
+
+event: response.output_item.added
+data: {"type":"response.output_item.added","sequence_number":4,"output_index":1,"item":{"id":"msg_68ca61ecbbe881909418900fa3ecd3e7000638fabbdbe241","type":"message","status":"in_progress","content":[],"role":"assistant"}}
+
+event: response.content_part.added
+data: {"type":"response.content_part.added","sequence_number":5,"item_id":"msg_68ca61ecbbe881909418900fa3ecd3e7000638fabbdbe241","output_index":1,"content_index":0,"part":{"type":"output_text","annotations":[],"text":""}}
+
+event: response.output_text.delta
+data: {"type":"response.output_text.delta","sequence_number":6,"item_id":"msg_68ca61ecbbe881909418900fa3ecd3e7000638fabbdbe241","output_index":1,"content_index":0,"delta":"pong"}
+
+event: response.output_text.done
+data: {"type":"response.output_text.done","sequence_number":7,"item_id":"msg_68ca61ecbbe881909418900fa3ecd3e7000638fabbdbe241","output_index":1,"content_index":0,"text":"REDACTED"}
+
+event: response.content_part.done
+data: {"type":"response.content_part.done","sequence_number":8,"item_id":"msg_68ca61ecbbe881909418900fa3ecd3e7000638fabbdbe241","output_index":1,"content_index":0,"part":{"type":"output_text","annotations":[],"text":"REDACTED"}}
+
+event: response.output_item.done
+data: {"type":"response.output_item.done","sequence_number":9,"output_index":1,"item":{"id":"msg_68ca61ecbbe881909418900fa3ecd3e7000638fabbdbe241","type":"message","status":"completed","content":[{"type":"output_text","annotations":[],"text":"REDACTED"}],"role":"assistant"}}
+
+event: response.completed
+data: {"type":"response.completed","sequence_number":10,"response":{"id":"resp_68ca61ea133c8190a25851b67c2dc1fa000638fabbdbe241","object":"response","created_at":1758093802,"status":"completed","background":false,"content_filters":null,"error":null,"incomplete_details":null,"instructions":"REDACTED","max_output_tokens":null,"max_tool_calls":null,"model":"gpt-5","output":[{"id":"rs_68ca61eb7cf481909660df840351bf9d000638fabbdbe241","type":"reasoning","summary":[]},{"id":"msg_68ca61ecbbe881909418900fa3ecd3e7000638fabbdbe241","type":"message","status":"completed","content":[{"type":"output_text","annotations":[],"text":"REDACTED"}],"role":"assistant"}],"parallel_tool_calls":true,"previous_response_id":null,"prompt_cache_key":"REDACTED","reasoning":{"effort":"minimal","summary":"detailed"},"safety_identifier":null,"service_tier":"default","store":false,"temperature":1.0,"text":{"format":{"type":"text"}},"tool_choice":"auto","tools":[{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"explanation":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"query":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"target_directories":{"type":"array","items":{"type":"string"},"description":"REDACTED"},"search_only_prs":{"type":"boolean","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["explanation","query","target_directories"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"command":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"is_background":{"type":"boolean","description":"REDACTED"},"explanation":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["command","is_background"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"pattern":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"path":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"glob":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"output_mode":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED","enum":["content","files_with_matches","count"]},"-B":{"type":"number","description":"REDACTED"},"-A":{"type":"number","description":"REDACTED"},"-C":{"type":"number","description":"REDACTED"},"-i":{"type":"boolean","description":"REDACTED"},"type":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"head_limit":{"type":"number","description":"REDACTED"},"multiline":{"type":"boolean","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["pattern"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"target_file":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"explanation":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["target_file"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"paths":{"description":"REDACTED","type":"array","items":{"type":"string"}}},"required":[]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"target_notebook":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"cell_idx":{"type":"number","description":"REDACTED"},"is_new_cell":{"type":"boolean","description":"REDACTED"},"cell_language":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"old_string":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"new_string":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["target_notebook","cell_idx","is_new_cell","cell_language","old_string","new_string"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"merge":{"type":"boolean","description":"REDACTED"},"todos":{"type":"array","description":"REDACTED","items":{"type":"object","properties":{"content":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"status":{"type":"string","enum":["pending","in_progress","completed","cancelled"],"description":"REDACTED"},"id":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["content","status","id"]},"minItems":2}},"required":["merge","todos"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"target_file":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"instructions":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"code_edit":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["target_file","instructions","code_edit"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"target_file":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"offset":{"type":"integer","description":"REDACTED"},"limit":{"type":"integer","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["target_file"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"target_directory":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"ignore_globs":{"type":"array","items":{"type":"string"},"description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["target_directory"]},"strict":false},{"type":"function","description":"REDACTED","name":"REDACTED","parameters":{"type":"object","properties":{"target_directory":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"},"glob_pattern":{"type":"string","description":"REDACTED"}},"required":["glob_pattern"]},"strict":false}],"top_p":1.0,"truncation":"auto","usage":{"input_tokens":8510,"input_tokens_details":{"cached_tokens":0},"output_tokens":7,"output_tokens_details":{"reasoning_tokens":0},"total_tokens":8517},"user":null,"metadata":{}}}
+
diff --git a/tests/test_replays.py b/tests/test_replays.py
index a26ee7f..92aa5fd 100644
--- a/tests/test_replays.py
+++ b/tests/test_replays.py
@@ -50,3 +50,9 @@ class TestReplyVerbosityLevelHigh(ReplyBase):
         app.config["AZURE_VERBOSITY_LEVEL"] = "high"
 
     recording = "verbosity_level"
+
+
+class TestReplyWithEmptyTools(ReplyBase):
+    """Reply with the 'tools' key not present in the downstream request."""
+
+    recording = "empty_tools"