Coding

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 scopes file and shell operations to base_dir and only allows commands in allowed_commands. Keep human supervision for untrusted prompts, and run inside a sandbox (container, VM, or Daytona) for 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`	When True, file and shell operations cannot escape `base_dir`.
`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

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Additional Resources

Example

Toolkit Params

Toolkit Functions

Developer Resources

​Example

​Toolkit Params

​Toolkit Functions

​Developer Resources

Example

Toolkit Params

Toolkit Functions

Developer Resources