git:20260616.53dc97b to git:20260709.9bf00f7
0 added, 26 removed. Audit A to A.
# Tools - Agent Instructions
## New Non-Skill Tools Are Strongly Discouraged
**Prefer skills over new non-skill tool registrations.** Non-skill tools require approval from the core team.
Skills are the preferred approach for adding new capabilities — they are progressively disclosed into context, more portable, and can be iterated on independently. New non-skill tool registrations (`class ... implements Tool` + `registerTool()`) carry additional costs:
1. **Context overhead** — Each registered tool adds to the system prompt and increases token usage for every conversation.
2. **Maintenance burden** — Tools require ongoing maintenance, testing, and security review.
## What To Do Instead
Instead of creating a new tool, consider:
1. **Create a skill**
2. **Use existing tools** - Many capabilities can be achieved by combining existing tools (bash, file operations, network tools) with skill instructions.
3. **External CLI tools** - If you need new functionality, consider whether it can be exposed as a CLI tool that the assistant can invoke via bash.
- ## Approved Exception: Credential Execution Service (CES) Tools
-
- The following three CES tools are approved exceptions that justify tool registrations over skills:
-
- | Tool | Purpose |
- | ---------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
- | `run_authenticated_command` | Execute a shell command with credential env vars injected by CES across a hard process boundary |
- | `make_authenticated_request` | Execute an authenticated HTTP request with credentials injected by CES; returns response body and status only |
- | `manage_secure_command_tool` | Register and manage secure command tool bundles in the CES toolstore; handles bundle lifecycle (registration, unregistration) for manifest-driven commands |
-
- These tools exist as `class ... implements Tool` registrations because:
-
- - They enforce hard process-boundary isolation - credential values are materialized only inside the CES process (`credential-executor/` package), never in the assistant process
- - Skills run inside the assistant process and cannot provide this isolation guarantee
- - The tools are thin RPC stubs; actual credential materialization and execution logic lives in the separate `credential-executor/` package
-
- **Key constraints**:
-
- - CES is a **separate package and image** - no direct source imports from `assistant/` to `credential-executor/` or vice versa
- - **Grants and audit logs are CES-owned** durable state - the assistant never reads or writes CES grant or audit tables directly
- - `host_bash` is **outside the strong CES secrecy guarantee** - it does not enforce credential isolation
- - Secure generic authenticated HTTP **must not** run through `run_authenticated_command` - use `make_authenticated_request` instead, which enforces domain validation and produces structured audit logs
- - Managed rollout requires a **third runtime image** (alongside assistant and gateway) and `vembda` pod-template changes
-
- See [`assistant/docs/credential-execution-service.md`](../../docs/credential-execution-service.md) for the full ADR.
-
## If You Have Approval
If the core team has approved your new tool:
1. The pre-commit hook will block your commit by default
2. Use `git commit --no-verify` to bypass the hook
3. Include the approval context in your PR description
## Questions?
Contact the core team before shipping a new tool.