# Available Tools for Claude Code Sub-Agents # Source: Anthropic official tool catalog tools: # File Reading Tools Read: category: read_only description: "Read file contents from filesystem" capabilities: - Read any file by absolute path - Support for images, PDFs, notebooks - Line offset and limit for large files security_level: safe common_uses: - Code review - Documentation analysis - Configuration reading Grep: category: read_only description: "Search file contents with regex patterns" capabilities: - Full regex syntax support - File filtering by glob or type - Context lines (before/after matches) security_level: safe common_uses: - Finding code patterns - Searching for errors - Locating specific implementations Glob: category: read_only description: "Find files by name patterns" capabilities: - Glob pattern matching (*.js, **/*.ts) - Sorted by modification time - Fast file discovery security_level: safe common_uses: - File discovery - Pattern-based file listing - Project structure analysis # File Modification Tools Edit: category: write description: "Modify existing files with exact string replacement" capabilities: - Exact string replacement - Replace all occurrences option - Preserves formatting security_level: moderate requires_validation: true common_uses: - Code fixes - Configuration updates - Refactoring warnings: - Can modify source code - Changes are immediate - Requires careful validation Write: category: write description: "Create new files or overwrite existing ones" capabilities: - Create new files - Overwrite existing files - Create directory structure security_level: high_risk requires_validation: true common_uses: - Generating new code - Creating configuration files - Writing documentation warnings: - Can overwrite files without backup - Can create files anywhere writable - Needs explicit user approval # Execution Tools Bash: category: execution description: "Execute shell commands" capabilities: - Run any shell command - Background execution - Command chaining security_level: critical requires_validation: true common_uses: - Running tests - Git operations - Build commands warnings: - Full system access - Can execute destructive commands - ALWAYS validate before granting # Other Tools Task: category: delegation description: "Launch specialized sub-agents" capabilities: - Spawn child agents - Parallel execution - Specialized workflows security_level: moderate common_uses: - Complex multi-step tasks - Parallel operations - Specialized analysis WebSearch: category: external description: "Search the web for current information" capabilities: - Web search queries - Domain filtering - Current information access security_level: safe common_uses: - Research - Documentation lookup - Current event information WebFetch: category: external description: "Fetch and process web content" capabilities: - URL fetching - HTML to markdown conversion - Content extraction security_level: safe common_uses: - Documentation scraping - Web content analysis - API documentation access # Tool Categories for Easy Selection categories: read_only: tools: [Read, Grep, Glob] description: "Safe for analysis and inspection" security_level: safe recommended_for: - Code reviewers - Analyzers - Auditors code_operations: tools: [Read, Edit, Write, Grep, Glob] description: "Can read and modify code" security_level: moderate recommended_for: - Code fixers - Refactoring agents - Code generators full_development: tools: [Read, Edit, Write, Bash, Grep, Glob, Task] description: "Complete development capabilities" security_level: high recommended_for: - Full-stack developers - Build automation - Complex workflows all_tools: tools: null # Omit tools field in frontmatter description: "Access to all available tools including MCP" security_level: critical warnings: - Grants access to Write, Edit, Bash - Includes any MCP server tools - Use only when absolutely necessary recommended_for: - General-purpose agents - When requirements are unclear - Rapid prototyping (then restrict later) # Security Recommendations security_guidelines: principle: "Least Privilege - Start minimal, add as needed" default_recommendation: read_only escalation_path: - Start with read_only - Add Edit if modifications needed - Add Write only for new file creation - Add Bash last and with caution review_frequency: "After each test iteration"