diff --git a/reme2/component/base_component.py b/reme2/component/base_component.py
index 3cef1f92..9d8b0ee0 100644
--- a/reme2/component/base_component.py
+++ b/reme2/component/base_component.py
@@ -119,15 +119,6 @@ class BaseComponent(ABC):
 
     # ----- Lookup --------------------------------------------------------
 
-    def get_component(self, component_type: ComponentEnum, name: str):
-        """Get a component by type and name from app_context."""
-        if self.app_context is None:
-            raise ValueError("app_context is not set")
-        component_dict = self.app_context.components.get(component_type, {})
-        if name not in component_dict:
-            raise ValueError(f"{component_type.value} '{name}' not found.")
-        return component_dict[name]
-
     @property
     def working_path(self) -> Path:
         if self.app_context is None:
diff --git a/reme2/component/base_step.py b/reme2/component/base_step.py
index 3412cff6..01a557b1 100644
--- a/reme2/component/base_step.py
+++ b/reme2/component/base_step.py
@@ -8,8 +8,8 @@ from agentscope.model import ChatModelBase
 from agentscope.token import TokenCounterBase
 
 from .base_component import BaseComponent
-from .file_store import BaseFileStore
 from .embedding import BaseEmbeddingModel
+from .file_store import BaseFileStore
 from .prompt_handler import PromptHandler
 from .runtime_context import RuntimeContext
 from ..enumeration import ComponentEnum
@@ -27,12 +27,12 @@ class BaseStep(BaseComponent):
         return instance
 
     def __init__(
-        self,
-        language: str = "",
-        prompt_dict: dict[str, str] | None = None,
-        input_mapping: dict[str, str] | None = None,
-        output_mapping: dict[str, str] | None = None,
-        **kwargs,
+            self,
+            language: str = "",
+            prompt_dict: dict[str, str] | None = None,
+            input_mapping: dict[str, str] | None = None,
+            output_mapping: dict[str, str] | None = None,
+            **kwargs,
     ):
         super().__init__(**kwargs)
         self.language = language
@@ -49,15 +49,11 @@ class BaseStep(BaseComponent):
     async def __call__(self, context: RuntimeContext | None = None, **kwargs):
         self.context = RuntimeContext.from_context(context, **kwargs)
         assert self.context is not None
-
         if self.input_mapping:
             self.context.apply_mapping(self.input_mapping)
-
         result = await self.execute()
-
         if self.output_mapping:
             self.context.apply_mapping(self.output_mapping)
-
         return result
 
     def get_component(self, key: ComponentEnum, name: str, attr: str | None = None):
@@ -65,47 +61,29 @@ class BaseStep(BaseComponent):
         comp = self.app_context.components[key][name]
         return getattr(comp, attr) if attr else comp
 
-    def _get_component_optional(self, key: ComponentEnum, name: str = "default", attr: str | None = None):
-        """Like `_get_component` but returns None instead of raising when
-        the component / attribute is missing. For features that should
-        gracefully degrade when an LLM (etc.) isn't configured."""
-        if self.app_context is None:
-            return None
-        comp = self.app_context.components.get(key, {}).get(name)
-        if comp is None:
-            return None
-        return getattr(comp, attr, None) if attr else comp
-
     @property
     def as_llm(self) -> ChatModelBase:
         name = self.kwargs.get("as_llm", "default")
-        return name if isinstance(name, ChatModelBase) else self.get_component(ComponentEnum.AS_LLM, name, "model")
+        if isinstance(name, ChatModelBase):
+            return name
+        else:
+            return self.get_component(ComponentEnum.AS_LLM, name, "model")
 
     @property
     def as_llm_formatter(self) -> FormatterBase:
         name = self.kwargs.get("as_llm_formatter", "default")
-        return (
-            name
-            if isinstance(name, FormatterBase)
-            else self.get_component(
-                ComponentEnum.AS_LLM_FORMATTER,
-                name,
-                "formatter",
-            )
-        )
+        if isinstance(name, FormatterBase):
+            return name
+        else:
+            return self.get_component(ComponentEnum.AS_LLM_FORMATTER, name, "formatter")
 
     @property
     def as_token_counter(self) -> TokenCounterBase:
         name = self.kwargs.get("as_token_counter", "default")
-        return (
-            name
-            if isinstance(name, TokenCounterBase)
-            else self.get_component(
-                ComponentEnum.AS_TOKEN_COUNTER,
-                name,
-                "token_counter",
-            )
-        )
+        if isinstance(name, TokenCounterBase):
+            return name
+        else:
+            return self.get_component(ComponentEnum.AS_TOKEN_COUNTER, name, "token_counter")
 
     @property
     def file_store(self) -> BaseFileStore:
@@ -115,14 +93,10 @@ class BaseStep(BaseComponent):
     @property
     def embedding(self) -> BaseEmbeddingModel:
         name = self.kwargs.get("embedding", "default")
-        return (
-            name
-            if isinstance(name, BaseEmbeddingModel)
-            else self.get_component(
-                ComponentEnum.EMBEDDING_MODEL,
-                name,
-            )
-        )
+        if isinstance(name, BaseEmbeddingModel):
+            return name
+        else:
+            return self.get_component(ComponentEnum.EMBEDDING_MODEL, name)
 
     def prompt_format(self, prompt_name: str, **kwargs) -> str:
         return self.prompt.prompt_format(prompt_name=prompt_name, **kwargs)