Coding

CodingTools gives an agent file tools scoped to a directory and an allowlisted shell tool.

CodingTools is a minimal toolkit for coding agents. Four core tools (read, edit, write, shell) let an agent run tests, use git, install packages, and edit code. Three exploration tools (grep, find, ls) are opt-in.

Example

cookbook/91_tools/coding_tools/01_basic_usage.py

from agno.agent import Agent
from agno.models.openai import OpenAIResponses
from agno.tools.coding import CodingTools

agent = Agent(
    model=OpenAIResponses(id="gpt-5.2"),
    tools=[CodingTools(base_dir=".")],
    instructions="You are a coding assistant. Use the coding tools to help the user.",
    markdown=True,
)

agent.print_response(
    "List the files in the current directory and read the README.md file if it exists.",
    stream=True,
)

CodingTools can run arbitrary shell commands. By default, restrict_to_base_dir=True keeps file-tool paths under base_dir and rejects shell commands or path-like arguments that fail its text checks. Allowed commands and interpreters retain the host process’s filesystem permissions. Keep human supervision for untrusted prompts, and run inside a sandbox (container, VM, or Daytona) to isolate untrusted code execution.

Toolkit Params

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
base_dir	Optional[Path|str]	cwd	Root directory for file operations.
restrict_to_base_dir	bool	True	Keep file-tool paths under base_dir; allowlist and text-check shell commands. Process isolation requires a sandbox.
max_lines	int	2000	Maximum lines returned before truncating.
max_bytes	int	50000	Maximum bytes returned before truncating.
shell_timeout	int	120	Timeout in seconds for shell commands.
enable_read_file	bool	True	Enable the read_file tool.
enable_edit_file	bool	True	Enable the edit_file tool.
enable_write_file	bool	True	Enable the write_file tool.
enable_run_shell	bool	True	Enable the run_shell tool.
enable_grep	bool	False	Enable the grep tool.
enable_find	bool	False	Enable the find tool.
enable_ls	bool	False	Enable the ls tool.
instructions	Optional[str]	None	Custom instructions for the agent. Built from the enabled tools if None.
add_instructions	bool	True	Add the instructions to the agent’s system message.
all	bool	False	Enable all tools regardless of individual flags.
allowed_commands	Optional[List[str]]	sensible set	Allowed shell command names when restrict_to_base_dir is True.

Toolkit Functions

Function	Description
read_file	Read a file with line numbers and pagination (offset, limit).
edit_file	Exact text find-and-replace, returns a diff.
write_file	Create or overwrite a file.
run_shell	Execute a shell command with a timeout.
grep	Search file contents (opt-in).
find	Find files by glob pattern (opt-in).
ls	List directory contents (opt-in).

Developer Resources

• Tools source
• Basic usage
• All tools
• Workspace toolkit for a confirmation-gated alternative