Files
shockbot/mcp/shell.ts
T
Colin McDonnell b8ac42e875 mcp: embed example calls in top-level tool descriptions (#723)
* mcp: embed example calls in top-level tool descriptions

agents (esp. claude sonnet) hallucinate param names from training-data
priors — `pr_number` instead of `pull_number`, `summary` instead of
`body`, full subcommand strings jammed into `git({command})` like it
were `shell({command})`. each error burns a tool round-trip plus a
follow-up ToolSearch, ~40+ events / 24h, no observable recovery cost
to us but visible to users in agent logs.

cheapest fix: add a sample formatted function call to every affected
tool's top-level description. example anchors are more reliable than
schema descriptions alone because the model treats descriptions as
narrative but call examples as canonical structure. for `git` and
`shell` (whose `command` fields collide), include explicit
counter-examples disambiguating which tool owns which shape.

no schema aliases / coercion yet — try the cheap thing first; if the
next audit window still shows the same hallucination rate, layer
aliases on top per #585's recommendation.

closes #585, closes #701

* mcp: drop negative anchors from tool descriptions

negation is a footgun in tool descriptions — telling the model "NOT
pr_number" makes pr_number more salient, not less. let the positive
example carry the schema and trust the model to read it.

removes:
- "the parameter is pull_number (a number), NOT pr_number" and
  similar across checkout_pr, get_pull_request, list_pull_request_reviews,
  get_review_comments, create_pull_request_review
- "NOT summary, message, or content" on report_progress
- "WRONG: git({ command: 'log --oneline' })" counter-example on git
- redundant param-type restatements after the example (e.g. "depth is a
  number, not a string" on git_fetch, "description is required" on shell)

keeps a single positive example per tool. for tools with multiple call
shapes (git, git_fetch, push_branch), two positive examples instead of
one + a counter-example.
2026-05-13 22:45:08 +00:00

356 lines
12 KiB
TypeScript

// changes to shell security (filterEnv, spawnShell) should be reflected in wiki/security.md and docs/security.mdx
import { type ChildProcess, type StdioOptions, spawn, spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
import { randomUUID } from "node:crypto";
import { closeSync, openSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
import { userInfo } from "node:os";
import { join } from "node:path";
import { setTimeout as sleep } from "node:timers/promises";
import { type } from "arktype";
import { ensureBrowserDaemon } from "../utils/browser.ts";
import { log } from "../utils/log.ts";
import { resolveEnv } from "../utils/secrets.ts";
import type { ToolContext } from "./server.ts";
import { execute, tool } from "./shared.ts";
export const ShellParams = type({
command: "string",
description: "string",
"timeout?": type.number.describe(
"Timeout in MILLISECONDS (not seconds). Default 30000 (30s), max 120000 (2m). e.g. timeout: 180000 for 3 minutes; timeout: 180 means 180ms and will kill the process almost immediately."
),
"working_directory?": "string",
"background?": "boolean",
});
type SpawnParams = {
command: string;
env: Record<string, string | undefined>;
cwd: string;
stdio: StdioOptions;
};
export type SandboxMethod = "unshare" | "sudo-unshare" | "none";
/** cached result of sandbox capability check */
let detectedSandboxMethod: SandboxMethod | undefined;
/** get the current sandbox method (for testing/diagnostics) */
export function getSandboxMethod(): SandboxMethod {
return detectSandboxMethod();
}
/** detect which sandbox method is available on this system */
function detectSandboxMethod(): SandboxMethod {
if (detectedSandboxMethod !== undefined) {
return detectedSandboxMethod;
}
// only attempt in CI environments - sandbox has overhead and is primarily for untrusted code
if (process.env.CI !== "true") {
detectedSandboxMethod = "none";
log.debug("sandbox disabled (CI !== true)");
return "none";
}
// try unprivileged unshare first (works on some systems)
try {
const result = spawnSync("unshare", ["--pid", "--fork", "--mount-proc", "true"], {
timeout: 5000,
stdio: "ignore",
});
if (result.status === 0) {
detectedSandboxMethod = "unshare";
log.debug("PID namespace isolation enabled (unprivileged unshare)");
return "unshare";
}
} catch {
// continue to try sudo
}
// sudo unshare (works on GHA runners)
try {
const result = spawnSync("sudo", ["unshare", "--pid", "--fork", "--mount-proc", "true"], {
timeout: 5000,
stdio: "ignore",
});
if (result.status === 0) {
detectedSandboxMethod = "sudo-unshare";
log.debug("PID namespace isolation enabled (sudo unshare)");
return "sudo-unshare";
}
} catch {
// no sandbox available
}
detectedSandboxMethod = "none";
log.info("PID namespace isolation not available");
return "none";
}
// strip inherited proc mount that sits underneath --mount-proc's overlay.
// --mount-proc mounts fresh proc on top, but `umount /proc` peels it off and exposes the
// host's proc with all host PIDs — allowing /proc/<pid>/environ exfiltration.
// double-umount removes both layers, then a clean mount gives only sandbox PIDs.
// on unprivileged systems where umount fails, --mount-proc still provides isolation
// (the agent also can't umount in that case).
const PROC_CLEANUP =
"umount /proc 2>/dev/null; umount /proc 2>/dev/null; mount -t proc proc /proc 2>/dev/null;";
function spawnShell(params: SpawnParams): ChildProcess {
const spawnOpts = { env: params.env, cwd: params.cwd, stdio: params.stdio, detached: true };
const sandboxMethod = detectSandboxMethod();
const ci = process.env.CI === "true";
if (ci && sandboxMethod === "none") {
throw new Error(
"pid namespace isolation is required in CI but unavailable (both unshare and sudo unshare failed)"
);
}
if (sandboxMethod === "unshare") {
return spawn(
"unshare",
["--pid", "--fork", "--mount-proc", "bash", "-c", `${PROC_CLEANUP} ${params.command}`],
spawnOpts
);
}
if (sandboxMethod === "sudo-unshare") {
const envArgs: string[] = [];
for (const [k, v] of Object.entries(params.env)) {
if (v !== undefined) {
envArgs.push(`${k}=${v}`);
}
}
// drop back to original user after PROC_CLEANUP so files aren't owned by root.
// sudo is only needed for unshare; the actual command should run as the normal user
// to avoid ownership mismatches with files created by the Node.js parent process.
const username = userInfo().username;
// su -p resets PATH on many Linux systems (ALWAYS_SET_PATH in /etc/login.defs).
// restore it from the SANDBOX_PATH env var that survives the su transition.
// biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noTemplateCurlyInString: we need to restore the PATH variable
const pathRestore = 'export PATH="${SANDBOX_PATH:-$PATH}"; ';
const escaped = (pathRestore + params.command).replace(/'/g, "'\\''");
envArgs.push(`SANDBOX_PATH=${params.env.PATH ?? ""}`);
return spawn(
"sudo",
[
"env",
...envArgs,
"unshare",
"--pid",
"--fork",
"--mount-proc",
"bash",
"-c",
`${PROC_CLEANUP} exec su -p -s /bin/bash ${username} -c '${escaped}'`,
],
{ ...spawnOpts, env: {} }
);
}
return spawn("bash", ["-c", params.command], spawnOpts);
}
/** kill process and its entire process group */
async function killProcessGroup(proc: ChildProcess): Promise<void> {
if (!proc.pid) return;
try {
process.kill(-proc.pid, "SIGTERM");
await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 200));
process.kill(-proc.pid, "SIGKILL");
} catch {
try {
proc.kill("SIGKILL");
} catch {
/* already dead */
}
}
}
function getTempDir(): string {
const tempDir = process.env.PULLFROG_TEMP_DIR;
if (!tempDir) {
throw new Error("PULLFROG_TEMP_DIR not set");
}
return tempDir;
}
/** detect git as a command invocation (not as part of another word like .gitignore) */
function isGitCommand(command: string): boolean {
const trimmed = command.trim();
if (trimmed === "git" || trimmed.startsWith("git ")) return true;
if (trimmed.startsWith("sudo git")) return true;
return /[;&|]\s*(?:sudo\s+)?git(?:\s|$)/.test(trimmed);
}
export function ShellTool(ctx: ToolContext) {
return tool({
name: "shell",
description: `Execute shell commands securely. Environment is filtered to remove API keys and secrets.
Example: \`shell({ command: "pnpm test", description: "run the test suite" })\`.
Use this tool to:
- Run shell commands (ls, cat, grep, find, etc.)
- Execute build tools (npm, pnpm, cargo, make, etc.)
- Run tests and linters
Do NOT use this tool for git commands — use the dedicated git tools instead.`,
parameters: ShellParams,
execute: execute(async (params) => {
if (isGitCommand(params.command)) {
throw new Error(
"git commands are not allowed in the shell tool. use the dedicated git tools instead:\n" +
"- git: local operations (status, log, diff, add, commit, checkout, merge, rebase, etc.)\n" +
"- push_branch: push to remote (handles authentication)\n" +
"- git_fetch: fetch from remote (handles authentication)\n" +
"- checkout_pr: check out PR branches"
);
}
const timeout = Math.min(params.timeout ?? 30000, 120000);
const cwd = params.working_directory ?? process.cwd();
const env = resolveEnv(ctx.payload.shell === "enabled" ? "inherit" : "restricted");
if (params.command.includes("agent-browser")) {
const daemonError = ensureBrowserDaemon(ctx.toolState);
if (daemonError) {
return {
output: `browser daemon unavailable: ${daemonError}`,
exit_code: 1,
timed_out: false,
};
}
const binDir = ctx.toolState.browserDaemon?.binDir;
if (binDir) {
env.PATH = `${binDir}:${env.PATH ?? ""}`;
}
}
if (params.background) {
const tempDir = getTempDir();
const handle = `bg-${randomUUID().slice(0, 8)}`;
const outputPath = join(tempDir, `${handle}.log`);
const pidPath = join(tempDir, `${handle}.pid`);
const logFd = openSync(outputPath, "a");
let proc: ChildProcess;
try {
proc = spawnShell({
command: params.command,
env,
cwd,
stdio: ["ignore", logFd, logFd],
});
} finally {
closeSync(logFd);
}
if (!proc.pid) {
throw new Error("failed to start background process");
}
proc.unref();
writeFileSync(pidPath, `${proc.pid}\n`);
ctx.toolState.backgroundProcesses.set(handle, { pid: proc.pid, outputPath, pidPath });
return {
handle,
outputPath,
pidPath,
message: `started background process ${handle} (pid ${proc.pid})`,
};
}
const proc = spawnShell({
command: params.command,
env,
cwd,
stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"],
});
let stdout = "",
stderr = "",
timedOut = false,
exited = false;
proc.stdout?.on("data", (chunk: Buffer) => {
stdout += chunk.toString();
});
proc.stderr?.on("data", (chunk: Buffer) => {
stderr += chunk.toString();
});
const timeoutId = setTimeout(async () => {
if (!exited) {
timedOut = true;
await killProcessGroup(proc);
}
}, timeout);
const exitCode = await new Promise<number | null>((resolve) => {
const done = (code: number | null) => {
exited = true;
clearTimeout(timeoutId);
resolve(code);
};
proc.on("exit", done);
proc.on("error", () => done(null));
});
let output = stderr ? (stdout ? `${stdout}\n${stderr}` : stderr) : stdout;
if (timedOut)
output = output
? `${output}\n[timed out after ${timeout}ms]`
: `[timed out after ${timeout}ms]`;
const finalExitCode = exitCode ?? (timedOut ? 124 : -1);
if (finalExitCode !== 0) {
log.info(`shell command failed with exit code ${finalExitCode}: ${params.command}`);
if (output) log.info(`output: ${output.trim()}`);
}
return {
output: output.trim(),
exit_code: finalExitCode,
timed_out: timedOut,
};
}),
});
}
export const KillBackgroundParams = type({
handle: type.string.describe("The handle of the background process to kill (e.g., bg-a1b2c3d4)"),
});
export function KillBackgroundTool(ctx: ToolContext) {
return tool({
name: "kill_background",
description: `Kill a background process by its handle. Use this to stop dev servers or other long-running processes started with shell({ background: true }).`,
parameters: KillBackgroundParams,
execute: execute(async (params) => {
const proc = ctx.toolState.backgroundProcesses.get(params.handle);
if (!proc) {
return {
success: false,
message: `no background process with handle ${params.handle}`,
};
}
try {
process.kill(-proc.pid, "SIGTERM");
} catch {
// already dead
}
await sleep(200);
try {
process.kill(-proc.pid, "SIGKILL");
} catch {
// already dead
}
ctx.toolState.backgroundProcesses.delete(params.handle);
return {
success: true,
message: `killed background process ${params.handle} (pid ${proc.pid})`,
};
}),
});
}