Agent tools
Every tool Computer adds to the harness, with parameters and per-runner limits
Under Claude Code these tools are one MCP server named calvin; approval prompts show the full id, mcp__calvin__<name>.
Availability
| Tool | One-machine mode (npm start) | Self-hosted gateway and host | Hosted |
|---|---|---|---|
send_file | yes | yes | yes |
post_card | yes | yes | yes |
checkout_repo | no | when the host has a workspace definition | yes |
spawn_thread | no | yes | yes |
read_thread | no | yes | yes |
post_thread | no | yes | yes |
request_secret | no | yes; fails unless the gateway has SP_STORE_KEY | yes |
preview, unpreview | no | offered, but the gateway refuses the call (see preview) | yes |
“Per runner” counts reset when the session’s runner restarts.
send_file
Posts a file into the session’s Slack thread. PNG, JPEG, GIF and WebP images render inline.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
path | string | yes | Absolute, or relative to the session directory. |
comment | string, up to 3,000 characters | no | Message posted with the file. |
title | string, up to 200 characters | no | Defaults to the file name. |
alt_text | string, up to 1,000 characters | no | Image description for screen readers. |
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| File | Regular, non-empty, at most 100 MiB, inside the session directory or the system temp directory |
| Count | 50 files per runner |
| Secrets | A file that contains the value of one of the session’s secrets is refused |
| Slack scope | files:write |
| From a script | calvin-send-file <path> [comment], on the runner’s PATH, same limits |
post_card
Posts a card (key facts, a table, charts, link buttons) into the session’s thread as Slack blocks.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
spec | object | yes | The card. |
spec.root | string | yes | Id of the root element, a Card. |
spec.elements | map | yes | Id to {type, props, children}. |
spec.state | object | no |
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Table | One; 100 rows, 20 columns |
| Charts | Two; title up to 50 characters, 12 series, 20 points, labels up to 20 characters |
| Fields | 10 |
| Slack blocks | 50 |
| Buttons | Links only |
| Invalid spec | Refused with the list of problems |
| Count | 50 cards per runner |
| Secrets | As for send_file |
checkout_repo
Adds workspace repositories to the session directory, each as a git worktree on the session’s branch, cloning first if needed. A repository already checked out is returned as it is. See Repositories.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
repos | array of 1 to 10 strings | yes | Repository names from the definition, or owner/name (case-insensitive). |
| Error | Cause |
|---|---|
no repository <x> in this workspace; the list is in AGENTS.md | Not in the definition |
<x> is not published yet | The repository is marked unpublished |
spawn_thread
Starts a session in a new Slack thread, with the same owner and permission mode. The gateway posts the task and a link to the brief as a top-level message in the parent’s channel, or in the owner’s direct messages when the parent is a code channel. See Linked and spawned threads.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
task | string, 3 to 150 characters, one line | yes | What the new thread should do. |
brief | string | yes | Path of a .md file inside the session directory, relative to it, with an optional #anchor. Must be on the fetched default branch of its repository. |
model | smart, fast or default | no | Model tier. Omitted: the parent’s model. |
Limit: 8 per runner.
read_thread
Returns a Slack thread’s first message, its latest replies (at most 40, 16,000 characters in all, 4,000 per message) and how many were left out, marked as data, not instructions. See Linked and spawned threads.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
url | string | url, or channel with ts | The thread’s Slack link. |
channel | string | Channel id (C… or G…). | |
ts | string | Timestamp of a message in the thread, for example 1700000000.000100. |
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Count | 40 per runner |
| Approval | Never asked |
| Readable conversations | The bot is in it, and the session’s owner and everyone who can read the session’s own conversation can see it. Otherwise the tool returns the reason. |
post_thread
Posts a reply inside another Slack thread, never at the channel’s top level.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
url, or channel with ts | as for read_thread | yes | The thread to post into. |
text | string, 1 to 4,000 characters | yes | Slack mrkdwn. |
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Count | 20 per runner |
| Approval | Asked outside bypassPermissions mode (see Permission modes) |
Channel-wide mentions (@channel, @here, @everyone, user groups) | Become plain text |
| Attribution | The gateway appends a Posted for line naming the session’s owner and linking the session’s thread |
request_secret
Posts a button; the person types the secret into a private Slack form. The agent ends its turn and is told when the secret is set; the value is then in the environment of the session’s next shell commands. See Secrets and variables.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
name | string, an environment variable name | yes | For example STRIPE_API_KEY. |
reason | string, 3 to 200 characters | yes | One line shown to the person. |
file | boolean | no | Store the secret as a file; $NAME holds its path. |
Limit: 10 per runner. Fails when a secret of that name is already set, or when a self-hosted gateway has no SP_STORE_KEY.
preview
preview and unpreview until a domain is set. Today the runner offers both tools and the self-hosted gateway refuses every call.Gives an HTTP server listening on a port of the computer a public URL. Anyone with the URL can open it. Plain HTTP on that port only; the URL works while the server runs. See Preview URLs.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
port | integer, 1 to 65535 | yes | The port the server listens on, on localhost. |
name | string, one DNS label (lowercase letters, digits, hyphens; up to 63 characters) | no | Omitted: a generated name, or the port’s existing one. |
Returns the URL, the name, and whether something was listening on the port.
unpreview
Takes down a preview URL.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
name | string | yes | The preview’s name, the label at the start of its URL. |