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Terminal Tools Foundations

Teaches an agent to run shell commands, manage background jobs, and read results safely

Source Download skill
Repository
aden-hive/hive
Stars
11,132
Licence
Apache-2.0
Files
2 files

What it does

This skill is a rulebook for an AI agent that has terminal tools. Once installed, the agent knows how to run shell commands, handle commands that take a long time by moving them to background jobs and polling their logs, page through large outputs, and read the structured result fields (such as semantic_status) correctly instead of misreading normal outcomes like 'no matches found' as errors. It also tells the agent how to pick the right file read, edit, and search tools and to pause when a destructive command warning appears.

Great for

  • Developers who let an AI agent run builds, tests, or scripts in their project folder
  • Teams building or configuring Hive agents that rely on the terminal_* tools
  • People who want the agent to handle long-running commands without freezing or losing output

Skip it if

  • Users who do not want an AI agent running shell commands at all, since this skill only guides how those commands run
  • Environments where the terminal tools are not enabled, because the skill assumes they exist
  • Anyone expecting a standalone tool: the file only describes how to use existing tools and includes no code of its own

Try asking

  • “Run the test suite in the background and check the logs until it finishes”
  • “Search the project for every use of a function name and report the matching files”
  • “Show me the command output that was cut off and read the rest of it”
  • “Clean up the build folder, and stop if a destructive warning appears”
Step-by-step guide: how to use Terminal Tools FoundationsInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 2 original files, the Apache-2.0 licence and an attribution note.

    terminal-tools-foundations.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip terminal-tools-foundations.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip terminal-tools-foundations.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Make sure the terminal tools are enabled in the session, since the skill only applies when they are available
  • Review the warning field and the diff after destructive commands or file edits before continuing
  • Set explicit timeouts for commands you expect to be long, and use managed jobs for anything beyond about 220 seconds

What's inside

  • references/exit_codes.md
  • SKILL.md

Redistributed unmodified from aden-hive/hive under the Apache-2.0 licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.