shell_cat
Concatenate and display file contents
LABSCO SUMMARY
What an assistant can run is fixed at install time, because there is no general execute tool to fall through to.
A request outside the named commands has nowhere to go, which is a different posture from a shell guarded by a deny list. The set leans towards inspection — listing, reading, searching, and reporting system and network state — and each command keeps its own flags through an args parameter. shell_ip is the one whose underlying command also changes things, since it manages routing, devices, interfaces and tunnels as well as showing them.
What it is
A shell surface split into one tool per command, covering file inspection, system state, hardware inventory and network lookups.
What you get
- Filesystem: directory listings, file contents, the working directory, file search across a hierarchy, pattern search inside files, and the binary, source and manual page behind a command name.
- System state: process status, memory use, disk usage, uptime, the system date, and who is logged in and what they are running.
- Hardware inventory: PCI devices and USB devices.
- Network: interfaces, routing and tunnels, connection state, DNS through both dig and nslookup, and WHOIS registration data for a domain.
- Arguments passed per call, so each command keeps its own flags.
Requirements
A host that provides the commands these tools wrap, and read access to whatever you point them at.
Setup effort
One command — npx -y @kevinwatt/shell-mcp
USE CASES
01
Finding out what is consuming a machine's resources
Processes, memory, disk and uptime together separate a leak from a full disk from a box that just rebooted.
02
Hunting a string across a directory tree
Locating the files and searching inside them are separate commands, and reading one back confirms the match in context.
03
Chasing a name resolution or connectivity problem
Two DNS tools, the socket table and the interface configuration cover the usual suspects without leaving the conversation.
04
Checking what hardware a box actually contains
Remote inventories go stale; the buses report what is physically attached right now.
20 tools
Counted once with only startup setup. Other versions, modes or optional credentials may expose a different list.
shell_date
Show system date and time
shell_df
Show disk usage
shell_dig
DNS lookup utility
shell_echo
Display text
shell_find
Search for files in a directory hierarchy
shell_free
Show memory usage
shell_grep
Search text patterns in files
shell_ip
Show / manipulate routing, network devices, interfaces and tunnels
shell_ls
List directory contents
shell_lspci
List PCI devices
shell_lsusb
List USB devices
shell_netstat
Network connection information
shell_nslookup
Query DNS records
shell_ps
Show process status
shell_pwd
Show current working directory
shell_uptime
Show system uptime
shell_w
Show who is logged on and what they are doing
shell_whereis
Locate the binary, source, and manual page files for a command
shell_whois
Query WHOIS domain registration information
BEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
20 tools when we connected.
Requires
- npx on PATH
- Node.js 18+
CONTEXT COST
Light Standing cost
Rated by the size of the 20 tool definitions that ride along on every turn, not by how many there are
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Add the block to your client, or run the command directly.
Server setup
Configuration file
JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"shell-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@kevinwatt/shell-mcp"
]
}
}
}npx
TERMINAL
npx -y @kevinwatt/shell-mcp
