How Tools Work

Kilo Code uses tools to interact with your code and environment. These specialized helpers perform specific actions like reading files, making edits, running commands, or searching your codebase. Tools provide automation for common development tasks without requiring manual execution.

Tool Workflow

Describe what you want to accomplish in natural language, and Kilo Code will:

Select the appropriate tool based on your request
Present the tool with its parameters for your review
Execute the approved tool and show you the results
Continue this process until your task is complete

Tool Categories

Category	Purpose	Tool Names
Read	Access file content and code structure	`read`, `glob`, `grep`
Edit	Create or modify files and code	`edit`, `write`, `apply_patch`
Execute	Run commands and perform system operations	`bash`
Web	Fetch and search web content	`webfetch`, `websearch`
Workflow	Manage task flow and sub-agents	`question`, `task`, `todowrite`, `todoread`, `plan`, `skill`

Example: Using Tools

Here's how a typical tool interaction works:

{% callout type="info" title="Tool Approval UI" %} When a tool is proposed, you'll see an approval prompt in the Permission Dock at the bottom of the chat. You can approve once, approve always (saves to config), or deny. {% /callout %}

User: Create a file named greeting.js that logs a greeting message

Kilo Code: (Proposes the write tool)

The extension shows the file path and proposed content for review. Click Approve to execute or Deny to cancel.

Tool Safety and Approval

Every tool use is subject to a permission check. The default action for any tool with no matching rule in your config is ask — meaning Kilo will pause and prompt you before executing it.

Default permissions by tool:

Tool(s)	Default
`read`, `glob`, `grep`	`ask`
`edit`, `write`, `apply_patch`	`ask`
`bash`	`ask` (per-command)
`external_directory`	`ask` (when accessing paths outside the project)
`task`	`ask`
`webfetch`, `websearch`	`ask`
`todowrite`, `todoread`, `question`, `skill`	`ask`

No tools are auto-approved out of the box. You must explicitly grant allow in your config, or approve them at runtime.

At runtime, the Permission Dock floating UI in the chat panel shows each pending approval. For each tool call you can:

Approve once — execute this call only
Approve always — save an allow rule to your config so future matching calls are auto-approved
Deny — cancel the tool call

To pre-configure permissions in your config file:

json

{
  "permission": {
    "read": "allow",
    "glob": "allow",
    "grep": "allow",
    "edit": "ask",
    "bash": "ask"
  }
}

This safety mechanism ensures you maintain control over which files are modified, what commands are executed, and how your codebase is changed.

Core Tools Reference

Tool Name	Description	Category
`read`	Reads file contents with line numbers	Read
`glob`	Finds files by glob pattern	Read
`grep`	Searches file contents with regex	Read
`edit`	Makes precise text replacements in a file	Edit
`write`	Creates new files or overwrites existing ones	Edit
`apply_patch`	Applies unified diffs (used with certain models)	Edit
`bash`	Runs shell commands	Execute
`webfetch`	Fetches a URL	Web
`websearch`	Searches the web (Kilo/OpenRouter users)	Web
`question`	Asks you a clarifying question with selectable options	Workflow
`task`	Spawns a sub-agent session	Workflow
`todowrite`	Creates and updates a session TODO list	Workflow
`todoread`	Reads the current session TODO list	Workflow
`plan`	Enters structured planning mode	Workflow
`skill`	Invokes a reusable skill (Markdown instruction module)	Workflow

Learn More About Tools

For more detailed information about each tool, including complete parameter references and advanced usage patterns, see the Tool Use Overview documentation.