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Tools

Core tool catalog, visibility rules, and extension surfaces.

AlphaBase tools are callable actions available to the agent loop.

Tool Sources

Tool source types in runtime:

  • builtin
  • mcp
  • plugin
  • local-js
  • endpoint
  • openapi-generated

Core Built-In Tool IDs

The built-in runtime catalog includes:

  • Filesystem/read: read, list, glob, grep, codesearch, search_history
  • Filesystem/write: write, edit, apply_patch
  • Shell: bash
  • Web: webfetch, websearch, websurfer
  • Delegation: task, task_send, task_wait, task_stop, task_list, task_inspect, task_kill
  • Planning/task state: todoread, todowrite
  • Interactive: question
  • Skill/knowledge: skill, lessons
  • Diagnostics/system: provider_health, session_abort, cerberus_scan, troubleshoot, context_usage, cost_dashboard, mcp_status, mcp_reconnect, checkpoint_manage, git_status, settings_read, settings_update

Additional tools can appear based on flags/config (for example lsp, batch, plan tools).

Visibility Gating

Runtime visibility is context-aware:

  • codesearch is shown for AlphaBase provider sessions or when ALPHABASE_ENABLE_EXA is enabled
  • websurfer is shown for AlphaBase provider sessions or when ALPHABASE_ENABLE_WEBSURFER is enabled
  • websearch is part of core catalog and still permission-gated at execution
  • coworker-prefixed endpoint tools are hidden outside coworker contexts by default

Permission Mapping

Tool execution is controlled by Permissions.

Important mapping:

  • edit permission governs file-mutation behavior (edit, write, patch/multiedit style operations, apply_patch workflow)

Tool Metadata Model

Tools can publish structured metadata used in governance and UI, including:

  • capability tags
  • recommended policy (allow/ask/deny)
  • risk level
  • tenant scope
  • auth requirements

Extension Surfaces

You can extend tooling via:

Example Policy

{
  "permission": {
    "read": "allow",
    "edit": "ask",
    "bash": {
      "*": "ask",
      "git status*": "allow",
      "git diff*": "allow"
    },
    "webfetch": "allow",
    "websearch": "allow"
  }
}