Built-in Tools

CortexPrism ships with 60+ built-in tools available to all agents. Tools are registered via registerAllBuiltins() and gated through the security policy validator before execution. An additional 60 Chrome Bridge tools are dynamically registered from the chrome-bridge MCP server.

File System Tools (16)

ToolDescription
file_readRead file contents; auto-extracts PDF text; language detection for 40+ languages
file_read_enhancedEnhanced reader with language detection, binary detection, large file warnings
file_writeWrite or overwrite a file
file_editExact string replacements in files
file_patchApply unified diff patches
file_deleteDelete a file or directory
file_renameRename or move a file
file_copyCopy files or directories with overwrite protection
file_moveMove files/directories with overwrite protection
file_listList directory contents with type markers
file_treeRecursive tree view of directories
file_infoFile/directory metadata (size, type, timestamps)
file_searchRegex search across file contents
file_globFind files matching glob patterns
file_undoUndo the last file change
file_redoRedo a previously undone file change
file_diffShow differences between files

All file tools support workspace: "agent"/"global" parameter for scoped operations. File edits are auto-committed to git with undo/redo support.

Shell (1)

ToolDescription
shellExecute local shell commands — gated by policy validator and optional human approval

Safety: Default deny rules block rm -rf /, fork bombs, direct disk writes, chmod 777 /.

Web Tools (9)

ToolDescription
web_searchWeb search via DuckDuckGo
web_search_enhancedMulti-provider search with intelligent fallback (Brave → Tavily → DuckDuckGo)
web_fetchFetch URL content as cleaned plain text (strips HTML, scripts, styles)
web_fetch_enhancedEnhanced fetch with HTML-to-Markdown, retry with exponential backoff
brave_searchWeb search via Brave Search API
tavily_searchWeb search via Tavily API
serpapi_searchWeb search via SerpAPI
firecrawlWeb scraping via Firecrawl
docs_searchOfficial library documentation search via Context7 (25+ libraries, 24h caching)

Code Execution (1)

ToolDescription
code_execRun code in isolated Docker/gVisor containers with resource limits

Supports Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Bash, Ruby, Go, Rust. Network disabled by default. Auto-fix loop: LLM receives error feedback and retries (up to 4 rounds).

Browser Automation (1)

ToolDescription
browserHeadless Playwright-powered browser automation — navigate, click, type, screenshot, snapshot, evaluate, wait

Configurable timeout (30s). Actions gated through security supervisor for sensitive operations. Base64 PNG screenshot output and accessibility snapshots.

GitHub Tools (5)

ToolDescription
git_pushStage, commit, and push to remote
github_pr_createCreate a pull request
github_pr_listList pull requests
github_issue_createCreate an issue
github_issue_listList issues

Code Intelligence Tools (7)

ToolDescription
code_indexFull repository indexing with incremental sync and file change detection
code_search_symbolFTS5-backed symbol search across projects
code_trace_pathBidirectional call graph traversal with depth limits and hotspot analysis
code_get_architectureSystem architecture diagram extraction (layers, modules, dependencies)
code_analyze_impactBlast radius analysis (callers, callees, dead code detection, complexity)
code_list_projectsProject registry with language stats and node/edge counts
code_pilotToken-optimized context builder with AST-aware pruning, budget slider, and file filtering

Uses tree-sitter WASM parser for 12 languages with active tree-sitter parsers (40+ file extension mappings).

Computer Use (GUI Automation) (1)

ToolDescription
computerGUI automation — screenshot, click, type, key, scroll, mouse_move, drag, and 15+ actions

Requires xvfb, xdotool, scrot on Linux. All actions gated through policy validator; sensitive data auto-blocked.

Agent & Sub-Agent Tools (3)

ToolDescription
sub_agentSpawn a typed child agent (11 types: Explorer, Coder, Researcher, Planner, Generalist, Security Auditor, Debugger, Architect, DevOps Engineer, Data Analyst, UI/UX Designer)
node_dispatchDispatch tasks to remote distributed nodes
mcp_agentInvoke external MCP agents via the MCP gateway with tool call routing

Memory Tools (2)

ToolDescription
memory_notePersist notes to episodic memory
memory_searchSearch across episodic, semantic, reflection, and graph memory with hybrid (keyword + vector) search

Data & Utility Tools (8)

ToolDescription
db_queryRead-only database querying across cortex/memory/lens/plugins/session databases
json_queryJSONPath-like expression support ($.property, $.array[0], $.array[*], $.**)
regex_utilsRegular expression utilities — match, replace, test, split, exec
env_managerEnvironment variable management with whitelist-based set security
code_snippetCode block extraction from markdown with line numbers and language detection
structured_extractLLM-powered entity/relationship extraction with JSON-Schema validation
image_analyzeMultimodal image analysis via 18+ LLM providers
scheduleCron-based job scheduling with full lifecycle (create/list/cancel/status/due)

Skill Tools (3)

ToolDescription
load_skillLoad a skill by name (auto-records usage for quality tracking)
skill_readRead/List skills with lifecycle and origin filtering
skill_writeCreate/update/delete/merge/promote/deprecate skills with 8 operations

Voice Tools (2)

ToolDescription
speakText-to-speech via configured TTS provider
listenSpeech-to-text via configured STT provider

Dashboard Tools (1)

ToolDescription
dashboard_manageCRUD operations on dashboard widgets (list, add, remove, update)

Chrome Bridge Tools (60)

Tool PrefixDescription
chrome_*60 real-browser automation tools via Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) — navigation, interaction, DOM inspection, network monitoring, screenshots, audits, state management

Chrome Bridge tools are dynamically registered from the chrome-bridge MCP server and passed through the same multi-layer security validation as all other tools.

Tool Interface

Every tool implements:

interface Tool {
  definition: ToolDefinition;
  execute(args: Record<string, unknown>, ctx: ToolContext): Promise<ToolCallResult>;
}

interface ToolDefinition {
  name: string;
  description: string;
  params: ToolParam[];
  capabilities: ToolCapability[];
}

Security & Policy Validation

Every tool call passes through the security system before execution:

Agent → Tool Intent → Policy Validator → (Sensitive Data?) → LLM Supervisor → Human Approval → Executor
  • Policy validator — regex allow/deny rules evaluated against every shell command, file path, and network request
  • LLM supervisor — sensitive data access (memory_search, db_query, browser screenshots) requires approval from a fast LLM with decision caching and human escalation
  • Human approval — CLI prompts and Web UI modal for uncertain/unapproved access requests

See Also