Bash Tool for AI SDK
https://github.com/vercel-labs/bash-tool- Category
- AI Agents
- Rank
- No. 1313Tools index
Previous survey · No. 1318 ·
- Pricing
- Open Source
- Type
- TOOL
- Builder
- vercel-labs
- GitHub
- 620 stars
- Date
About
Ready-made bash tool for the Vercel AI SDK so agents can run shell commands safely inside your apps.
What it does
It gives an AI agent a small workspace with command execution, file reading, and file writing. You can seed that workspace with inline files or a filtered local directory, then connect the resulting tools to an AI SDK agent.
Why it's ranked here
A strong choice for file analysis and command-driven agent tasks. It supports a lightweight in-memory environment, a full virtual machine provider, and custom sandbox implementations. Command interception, bounded uploads, output truncation, and tested documentation add practical control.
What's good
The sandbox interface stays deliberately small: execute commands, read files, and write file batches. Uploads stream into external sandboxes in batches, directory mounts use copy-on-write behavior, and generated prompts identify installed utilities plus relevant tools for JSON, YAML, HTML, XML, CSV, TOML, and INI files.
Tradeoffs
The default environment is not a full virtual machine. That requires a separate sandbox product. File uploads default to a thousand-file ceiling, command output defaults to thirty thousand characters, and the skills feature is explicitly experimental. Persistent sessions also require storing and reconnecting with an external sandbox identifier.
How to use it well
Use it for TypeScript applications where an AI SDK agent must inspect, search, transform, or summarize a bounded set of files. Start with the lightweight sandbox for analysis, add command hooks for policy checks, and choose an external provider for persistent state or full virtual machine behavior. It does not supply that infrastructure itself.
Technical notes+
src/tool.ts implements createBashTool, selecting just-bash by default, wrapping @vercel/sandbox or a custom Sandbox, streaming external uploads in batches of 20, and enforcing DEFAULT_MAX_FILES = 1000. src/types.ts defines the three-method Sandbox interface and options for callbacks, prompt overrides, output limits, upload limits, and the experimental tee transform. src/tools-prompt.ts probes common bin directories, detects file formats, and builds format-aware tool hints. src/skill-tool.ts discovers skill directories and collects readable text files. src/tool.test.ts, src/tool.integration.test.ts, src/tool.vercel.integration.test.ts, src/skill-tool.test.ts, src/tools-prompt.test.ts, and src/readme.test.ts cover unit, integration, provider, skills, prompt, and documentation behavior.
Observed
- License
- MIT
- Primary language
- TypeScript
- Distribution
- Public npm package named bash-tool
- Module format
- ES module with JavaScript and TypeScript declaration exports
- Interface
- Library for AI SDK agents; exposes bash, file-reading, and file-writing tools
- Runtime support
- Node.js 18 or newer
- Sandbox support
- just-bash, optional @vercel/sandbox, or a custom three-method sandbox implementation
- AI SDK compatibility
- Peer dependency supports AI SDK 6 and 7
Read from README.md, package.json, src/index.ts, src/tool.ts, src/types.ts, src/tool.test.ts, src/skill-tool.ts, src/readme.test.ts, src/tools-prompt.ts, src/skill-tool.test.ts, src/tools-prompt.test.ts, src/tool.integration.test.ts, src/tool.vercel.integration.test.ts.
What it can do
Execute shell commands through AI agents
Shell command strings from AI agents → Command execution results and output
Provide safe command execution environment
Potentially unsafe shell commands → Sandboxed command execution with security controls
Integrate bash capabilities with Vercel AI SDK
AI SDK application and bash commands → Connected AI agent with shell access
Filter and validate shell commands
Raw shell command requests → Validated and sanitized commands ready for execution
Return structured command responses
Shell command execution results → Formatted responses compatible with AI SDK
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Editorially curated, with community endorsements as a secondary signal. Corrections welcome.