Tools

A tool is any concrete action the agent can take — reading a file, running a command, taking a screenshot. The model decides which tools to call; the agent runs them and feeds the results back into the conversation. Which tools are available depends on the agent type and the current mode.

Tool categories

File & code

Read, search, and edit your project:

• list_directory — list files in a directory.
• read_entire_file, read_file_section — read file contents.
• find_files_by_pattern — glob-based file search.
• search_codebase — search across the codebase.
• Create and edit files — create new files and apply precise edits.

Terminal

Run shell commands in the project and stream their output to the Terminal tab.

Browser

Drive a real browser (Playwright) for web tasks:

• launch_browser, list_browsers, close_browser
• get_browser_interactive_elements, get_browser_console_logs
• take_browser_screenshot
• interact_with_browser, set_browser_select_value

Launch visible browser windows (instead of headless) with --browser-visible on the TUI or ask.

Web

• web_fetch — fetch and parse a web page without a full browser.

Reasoning & memory

• think_hard — an extended-reasoning step that uses the thinking model and its token budget.
• read_memory, write_memory — read and write workspace memories.

Sub-agent dispatch

The agent can spawn focused sub-agents — see Agents for dispatch_investigation_agent, dispatch_browser_agent, dispatch_coding_agent, and dispatch_general_agent.

Read-only vs. full access

Tools are gated by mode. In a read-only context — like Plan mode or an investigation sub-agent — only non-mutating tools are available (list_directory, read_entire_file, read_file_section, search_codebase, find_files_by_pattern, web_fetch, think_hard, and reading memory). Editing files and running commands require Build mode’s full toolset.

This separation is what makes Plan mode safe to run against any codebase: the planning agent can look but not touch.

In the Textual TUI, Build mode defaults to ask permission mode. Shell commands and file edits must be approved before they run unless you switch to auto or save a matching allow rule in .kolega/permissions.json.