Skip to content

Agent tools

Agent tools are model-facing capabilities, not commands users must memorize. Describe the outcome first; inspect this page when auditing permissions, building a host profile, or diagnosing why a capability is unavailable.

Intent Canonical tools Effect
Ask for a decision ask Pauses for structured user input
Read and change files read, write, edit, ls, grep, find Read or workspace write
Search and fetch the Web web_search, code_search, fetch_content, get_search_content External read; fetched text is untrusted
Inspect and change work task_read, task_write, assign, todo Task/session state; assignment may execute work
Preserve results artifact, evidence, memory, context Product output, internal ledger, memory, bounded context
Coordinate agents role, session Definitions, calls, persistent sessions, and mail
Choose models models Model catalog and selection
Continue autonomously goal, loop, repro, drive, driver, phase Daemon driver or session-mode state
Discover and run procedures workflow, workflow_run Read saved workflows or execute a selected workflow

artifact is user-facing and limited to Issue, PR, and preview deliverables. evidence is an agent-internal ledger and is not shown as a product artifact. context can only list or preview registered bounded providers; it does not accept an arbitrary prompt.

The native profile includes ten cue-shell tools:

Tools Purpose
cue_exec, cue_run Direct commands and managed jobs
cue_script, script_run, script_eval Saved or inline controlled scripts
cue_jobs Inspect and control jobs
cue_resources Inspect resource providers and snapshots
cue_schedule Manage schedules
cue_scope Inspect or manage execution scopes
cue_history Read execution history

These tools can execute code or cause local/external side effects. Host policy resolves approval, effect, and sequential/parallel behavior before execution. Unknown or conflicting policy fails closed.

  • Message-platform channels expose only session, ask, context, and todo.
  • fusion is opt-in bounded multi-model deliberation. It does not write the final answer or prove a runtime claim.
  • graft is an opt-in scratch/candidate/patch capability.
  • Pi compatibility aliases can be enabled by compatible hosts but are hidden from the native default profile.

Private implementation and orchestration helpers are deliberately absent from this public catalog.

Registration does not guarantee activation. A host may narrow the active tool set by surface, phase, permission, or extension configuration. Only approval-free read calls explicitly marked parallel may execute concurrently; mixed, unknown, write-capable, policy-changing, and external-effect batches remain sequential.