# Kiro Tools Documentation

This document lists all the tools available to Kiro for assisting with development tasks.

## File System Operations

### executePwsh
Execute PowerShell or CMD commands on Windows systems.
- **Parameters**: command (required), path (optional), ignoreWarning (optional)
- **Usage**: Run shell commands, but avoid long-running processes like dev servers
- **Note**: Never use 'cd' command - use path parameter instead

### listDirectory
List directory contents in long format (similar to `ls -la`).
- **Parameters**: path (required), depth (optional), explanation (required)
- **Usage**: Explore file structure, can do recursive listing with depth parameter

### readFile
Read content from a single file with optional line range specification.
- **Parameters**: path (required), explanation (required), start_line (optional), end_line (optional)
- **Usage**: Read entire files or specific line ranges

### readMultipleFiles
Read content from multiple files simultaneously with optional line ranges.
- **Parameters**: paths (required array), explanation (required), start_line (optional), end_line (optional)
- **Usage**: Efficiently read multiple files at once

### fsWrite
Create new files or overwrite existing files with content.
- **Parameters**: path (required), text (required)
- **Usage**: Create files, limit to ~50 lines then use fsAppend for larger content

### fsAppend
Append text content to the end of existing files.
- **Parameters**: path (required), text (required)
- **Usage**: Add content to existing files, handles newline formatting automatically

### deleteFile
Delete files at specified paths with graceful error handling.
- **Parameters**: targetFile (required), explanation (required)
- **Usage**: Remove unwanted files safely

### strReplace
Replace specific text strings in files with exact matching.
- **Parameters**: path (required), oldStr (required), newStr (required)
- **Usage**: Make precise edits to existing files, requires exact whitespace matching

## Search and Discovery

### fileSearch
Fast fuzzy file search based on file path patterns.
- **Parameters**: query (required), explanation (required), excludePattern (optional), includeIgnoredFiles (optional)
- **Usage**: Find files when you know part of the path but not exact location

### grepSearch
Fast text-based regex search within files using ripgrep.
- **Parameters**: query (required), explanation (optional), caseSensitive (optional), includePattern (optional), excludePattern (optional)
- **Usage**: Search for text patterns across files, supports regex and glob patterns

## Code Analysis

### getDiagnostics
Get compile, lint, type, and semantic issues in code files.
- **Parameters**: paths (required array)
- **Usage**: Check for syntax errors, linting issues, and type problems
- **Note**: Use this instead of bash commands for error checking

## Tool Usage Guidelines

### Best Practices
- Use `readMultipleFiles` instead of multiple `readFile` calls
- Use `getDiagnostics` for code validation instead of shell commands
- Avoid long-running commands like `npm run dev`, `yarn start`, `webpack --watch`
- Use `fsWrite` for initial file creation, then `fsAppend` for additional content
- Include sufficient context in `strReplace` operations for unique matching

### Windows-Specific Notes
- Commands are adapted for Windows cmd/PowerShell environment
- Use `;` as command separator in PowerShell instead of `&&`
- File paths use Windows conventions

### Search Patterns
- **Regex patterns**: Use Rust regex syntax for `grepSearch`
- **Glob patterns**: Use standard glob syntax (* for wildcards, ** for recursive)
- **File search**: Fuzzy matching against file paths
- Always escape special regex characters: `( ) [ ] { } + * ? ^ $ | . \`

### Error Handling
- Tools fail gracefully with appropriate error messages
- File operations check for existence and permissions
- Search operations are capped to prevent overwhelming output

## Integration with Kiro Features

These tools integrate with Kiro's key features:
- **Autopilot/Supervised modes**: File modification tools respect user's autonomy settings
- **Chat context**: Tools work with #File, #Folder, #Problems, #Terminal, #Git Diff, #Codebase
- **Specs**: Tools support structured feature development workflows
- **Hooks**: Tools can be triggered by IDE events
- **Steering**: Tools respect workspace-specific guidelines in `.kiro/steering/`
- **MCP**: Tools can interact with Model Context Protocol configurations