Tools reference

Tool inventory, profiles, and key input schemas from the runtime registry.

Tools reference

This page lists the tools implemented by coding_tools_mcp.server. Tool availability depends on --tool-profile.

Profiles

Profile	Exposed tools
full	All implemented tools.
read-only	Inspection tools only. Mutating process, patch, cwd, and permission tools are hidden.
compat-readonly-all	Compatibility mode that marks exposed tools as read-only even when some can mutate local state.

Server and workspace tools

Tool	Purpose	Important inputs
server_info	Returns server metadata, protocol information, active profile, and capability details.	none
check_exec_environment	Reports command execution environment and confinement status.	none
get_default_cwd	Returns the runtime default working directory.	none
set_default_cwd	Changes the default working directory for subsequent relative command operations.	path

set_default_cwd is not exposed by the read-only profile.

File and search tools

Tool	Purpose	Important inputs
read_file	Reads UTF-8 text from a workspace file.	path, start_line, end_line, max_bytes, encoding
list_dir	Lists direct or recursive directory entries.	path, recursive, max_depth, max_entries, include_hidden, include_ignored, sort
list_files	Finds files by glob-style patterns.	path, patterns, glob, exclude_patterns, include_hidden, include_ignored, max_results, sort
search_text	Searches text using literal or regex matching.	query, path, regex, case_sensitive, include_globs, exclude_globs, context_lines, max_results

Notes:

• read_file supports only utf-8 and rejects binary-looking files.
• read_file.max_bytes is capped at 1 MiB.
• search_text uses rg when available and falls back to Python scanning.
• Default ignored names include .git, node_modules, build outputs, virtualenvs, and common cache directories.

Editing tool

Tool	Purpose	Important inputs
apply_patch	Applies a unified patch to files in the workspace.	patch, dry_run

apply_patch is hidden in read-only. Use dry_run to validate a patch without writing files.

Command tools

Tool	Purpose	Important inputs
exec_command	Starts or runs a command in the workspace.	cmd, workdir, timeout_ms, yield_time_ms, max_output_bytes, stdin, tty, env
write_stdin	Sends input to a running command session.	session_id, chars, yield_time_ms, max_output_bytes
kill_session	Terminates a running command session.	session_id, signal, wait_ms, max_output_bytes

Command behavior is shaped by permission mode. In safe, network-looking commands, shell expansion, inline scripts, sensitive environment values, and broad temp writes are blocked. In trusted, local development workflows are allowed while secret filtering and Landlock remain active when available. In dangerous, command permission gates are disabled.

Git tools

Tool	Purpose	Important inputs
git_status	Returns repository status.	path, include_untracked, max_entries
git_diff	Returns staged or unstaged diffs.	path, paths, staged, unstaged, context_lines, max_bytes
git_log	Returns recent commits.	path, ref, max_count, skip
git_show	Shows a revision, optionally with diff.	rev, path, paths, include_diff, context_lines, max_bytes
git_blame	Returns blame information for a line range.	path, rev, start_line, end_line, max_lines

These are Git inspection tools. They do not commit, checkout, reset, push, or mutate repository state.

Permission tool

Tool	Purpose	Important inputs
request_permissions	Requests permission for a gated operation such as command network access or patch execution.	tool_name, permission, reason, arguments, scope, ttl_seconds

The accepted tool_name values are exec_command and apply_patch. Permission names include network, destructive_command, long_timeout, sensitive_env, shell_expansion, inline_script, privileged_executable, and write_generated_or_ignored.

Image tool

Tool	Purpose	Important inputs
view_image	Reads a local image and returns either an MCP image payload or a data URL.	path, max_bytes, max_width, max_height, auto_resize, output

view_image is enabled by default unless CODING_TOOLS_MCP_ENABLE_VIEW_IMAGE=0 or --enable-view-image is not used in a wrapper that disables it. The input file must be within the workspace path boundary.

Output convention

Tool calls return MCP content plus structured output. Successful tool payloads include ok: true where applicable. Failures are surfaced as structured errors with a code, message, category, retryability flag, and diagnostic details when available.