Tools Reference

Tools are the fundamental building blocks that give Amplifier its capabilities. Each tool provides a specific function—from file operations to web searches—that agents can invoke to accomplish tasks. This section covers all available tools, their parameters, and best practices for effective use.

Section Contents

Page Description
Filesystem Read, write, and edit files with precision
Bash Run shell commands safely
Search (grep & glob) Find content and files across your codebase
Web Tools Search and fetch content from the web
Task (Sub-Agents) Spawn agents for complex operations
LSP (Code Intelligence) Language Server Protocol for code understanding
Recipes Tool Declarative multi-step workflows
Todo Track multi-step task progress within a session
Python Check Lint, format, and type-check Python code
Dot Graph Validate, render, and analyze DOT/Graphviz graphs
Mode Activate and manage runtime behavior modes
Projector Project and strategy tracking across sessions

Quick Tips

  • Prefer specialized tools over bash - Use read_file instead of cat, edit_file instead of sed
  • Parallel execution - Independent tool calls can run simultaneously for speed
  • Check before writing - Always read a file before editing to understand context
  • Use glob for discovery - Find files by pattern before targeted operations
  • Grep for content - Search inside files with regex patterns

Tool Categories

File System

Core operations for interacting with the local filesystem. These are your most frequently used tools.

Search & Discovery

Find files and content across your codebase quickly and efficiently.

External Resources

Connect to the web, APIs, and external services when local context isn't enough.

Code Intelligence

Semantic understanding of code through LSP—definitions, references, and type information.

Orchestration

Manage complex workflows with task delegation and progress tracking.

Where to Start

New to Amplifier? Begin with Filesystem to understand the most common tool patterns.

Building agents? Jump to Task (Sub-Agents) to learn how agents spawn sub-agents.

Searching code? See Search (grep & glob) for grep vs glob guidance.

Common Patterns

Read Before Edit

  1. read_file → understand content
  2. edit_file → make precise changes

Find Then Act

  1. glob → locate files
  2. grep → find specific content
  3. read_file → examine matches

Next Steps

After mastering tools, explore Concepts to understand how tools fit into the larger architecture.