What your AI can do with Shellway
Shellway gives ChatGPT, Claude and other AI apps these 20 tools on a computer you have paired. Your AI picks the right one for what you ask, and you see what it does in the chat. Start the Shellway app with --readonly and every tool marked "off in read-only mode" is switched off, so your AI can look but not change anything.
Run programs and commands
run_command: Run a command and get its output. Off in read-only mode.start_process: Start a program that keeps running, such as a dev server, a Python or Node session, or ssh. Off in read-only mode.interact_with_process: Type into a program you started and see what it answers. Off in read-only mode.read_process_output: See what a running program has printed since you last looked.list_sessions: List the programs Shellway started and whether they are still running.force_terminate: Stop a program Shellway started. Off in read-only mode.list_processes: Show the programs running on the computer, busiest first.
Read and change files
read_file: Read a text file.read_multiple_files: Read up to 20 text files in one go.write_file: Create, overwrite or add to a file. Off in read-only mode.edit_block: Replace exact text inside a file. If the text is missing or appears more times than expected, nothing changes. Off in read-only mode.move_file: Move or rename a file or folder. It never overwrites an existing file. Off in read-only mode.create_directory: Create a folder. Off in read-only mode.list_directory: List what is inside a folder.get_file_info: Show a file's size, dates and permissions.
Search
search_files: Quick search by file name or by text inside files.start_search: Start a bigger search in the background: by name or text, optional regular expression, file-type filter such as *.js, and lines of context around each match.get_more_search_results: Read the next page of results of a search.stop_search: Stop a search that is still running.
Your computers
list_devices: List the computers paired to your account and whether they are online.
Good to know
- Shellway reads plain text files. For Excel, Word or PDF files your AI can use programs already installed on your computer, such as Python. Built-in support for those formats is not available yet.
- Programs started through Shellway are limited to 5 at a time. One that nobody touches for 30 minutes is stopped, and all of them stop when the Shellway app stops.
- There is no screen or keyboard, so full-screen programs and password prompts do not work. Use SSH keys instead of passwords.
- Run the Shellway app as a normal user, not as an administrator.
- Your files and command output are not stored. Privacy