Shell, filesystem, and code execution tools for AI agents. Ships 8 tools: Bash, Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, Code, and ApplyPatch. Bash and Code execute through ask-sandbox-providers; the rest operate directly on the local filesystem.
gem "ask-tools-shell"require "ask-tools-shell"
Ask::Tools::Shell.all.map(&:name)
# => ["bash", "read", "write", "edit", "glob", "grep", "code", "apply_patch"]
result = Ask::Tools::Bash.new.call(command: "echo hello")
result.ok? # => true
result.output[:stdout] # => "hello\n"
result.output[:exit_code] # => 0| Tool | Parameters | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Ask::Tools::Bash |
command, timeout (30), workdir |
Runs via Ask::Sandbox.provider; returns { stdout, stderr, exit_code, timed_out }, output truncated to 100KB |
Ask::Tools::Read |
path, offset (0-indexed), limit (2000) |
Reads files with line numbers, or lists a directory |
Ask::Tools::Write |
path, content |
Creates parent directories automatically |
Ask::Tools::Edit |
path, old_string, new_string, replace_all |
Exact string replacement |
Ask::Tools::Glob |
pattern, path |
Up to 1000 files, newest first |
Ask::Tools::Grep |
pattern, path, include |
Regex search; 100 matches max, skips .git, node_modules, vendor, .bundle, tmp, log |
Ask::Tools::Code |
code |
Runs Ruby via Ask::Sandbox.provider; returns { stdout, stderr, exit_code } |
Ask::Tools::ApplyPatch |
patchText |
Applies unified diffs inside a *** Begin Patch / *** End Patch envelope (Add File, Update File, Delete File sections) |
Bash and Code run through Ask::Sandbox.provider (ask-sandbox-providers), which defaults to the Local provider. Switch to stronger isolation:
Ask::Sandbox.provider = :dockerThe full ask-rb documentation lives at https://ask-rb.github.io/ask-docs. ask-tools in depth covers the shell tools, the ApplyPatch format, and sandbox configuration. API reference: https://ask-rb.github.io/ask-docs/reference/api.
bundle install
bundle exec rake test
MIT
