Machine-readable reference for all 40 ashlr MCP tools — purpose, key arguments, typical token savings, and whether a genome is required.

This page is the single reference for AI agents and scripts that need to pick the right tool. All 40 public tools are listed. ashlr__pipe is experimental and not counted here (see ashlr__pipe).

How to read this table

Savings is the typical reduction vs the equivalent native Claude Code tool on the same input.
Genome required? — No means the tool works fully offline with no .ashlrcode/genome/ present. Better with genome means it falls back gracefully but savings improve when a genome exists.

Efficiency tools (drop-in replacements)

Tool	Purpose	Key args	Typical savings	Genome required?
`ashlr__read`	Read a file with snipCompact (head+tail) truncation	`path`, `bypassSummary`	−60–90% on files ≥2KB; 0% below	No
`ashlr__grep`	Search for a pattern — genome-RAG when genome exists, ripgrep fallback	`pattern`, `cwd`, `bypassSummary`, `include_prs`, `include_issues`, `since_days`	−70–90%	Better with genome
`ashlr__edit`	Single search/replace in one file — returns diff summary only	`path`, `search`, `replace`, `strict`	−80% (no full file re-sent)	No
`ashlr__multi_edit`	Batch search/replace across multiple files atomically	`edits[]` (`path`, `search`, `replace`, `strict`)	−80% + eliminates N round-trips	No
`ashlr__edit_structural`	AST-aware rename across files — Unicode identifiers, shadowing guard	`file`, `oldName`, `newName`, `anchorFile`, `maxFiles`, `dryRun`	Varies (correctness, not token savings)	No
`ashlr__savings`	Show session + lifetime token savings ledger	(none)	— (meta tool)	No
`ashlr__flush`	Flush pending accounting writes to disk	(none)	— (meta tool)	No

Shell tools

Tool	Purpose	Key args	Typical savings	Genome required?
`ashlr__bash`	Run a shell command with auto-compressed stdout	`command`, `cwd`, `compact`, `bypassSummary`, `timeout_ms`	−60–90% on verbose commands	No
`ashlr__bash_start`	Start a long-running background command	`command`, `id`, `cwd`	—	No
`ashlr__bash_stop`	Stop a background command started with `bash_start`	`id`	—	No
`ashlr__bash_tail`	Tail recent output from a background command	`id`, `lines`	—	No
`ashlr__bash_list`	List running background commands	(none)	—	No
`ashlr__test`	Run tests and parse output — bun/vitest/jest/pytest/go test	`command`, `cwd`, `filter`	−70–85% (compresses noise to failure blocks)	No
`ashlr__write`	Write a file — equivalent to native Write but logs to the session	`path`, `content`	— (write op)	No
`ashlr__rename_file`	Rename or move a file	`from`, `to`	— (write op)	No

Data and web tools

Tool	Purpose	Key args	Typical savings	Genome required?
`ashlr__sql`	Run a SQL query against SQLite or Postgres	`query`, `db`, `mode` (`explain`/`schema`/`query`)	−70% on large result sets	No
`ashlr__http`	HTTP fetch with readable-extract for HTML, array-elide for JSON	`url`, `method`, `headers`, `body`	−60–80%	No
`ashlr__webfetch`	Fetch and summarize a web page	`url`, `budget`	−70–90% on web content	No
`ashlr__websearch`	Web search with summarized results	`query`, `n`	−70%	No
`ashlr__logs`	Tail a log file with level filter, dedupe, and LLM summary	`path`, `level`, `lines`, `follow`	−70–85%	No

Tool	Purpose	Key args	Typical savings	Genome required?
`ashlr__tree`	Gitignore-aware directory tree with size/LOC modes	`path`, `depth`, `loc`, `sizes`, `pattern`, `maxEntries`	−80% vs recursive `find`	No
`ashlr__glob`	Gitignore-aware file glob with size/LOC metadata	`pattern`, `cwd`, `loc`, `sizes`	−70%	No
`ashlr__ls`	Directory listing with size metadata	`path`, `sizes`, `maxEntries`	−60%	No
`ashlr__orient`	Codebase orientation — entry points, key files, dependency graph	`cwd`	−85% vs reading each file	No

Diff and review tools

Tool	Purpose	Key args	Typical savings	Genome required?
`ashlr__diff`	Adaptive git diff (stat/summary/full) with LLM summary on big diffs	`args`, `cwd`, `mode`	−60–80%	No
`ashlr__diff_semantic`	Semantic diff with meaning-aware change grouping	`before`, `after`	−50–70%	No

Genome tools

Tool	Purpose	Key args	Typical savings	Genome required?
`ashlr__genome_propose`	Propose a genome update from a tool result	`content`, `cwd`, `tool`	— (write op)	No (creates genome)
`ashlr__genome_consolidate`	Merge pending proposals into genome files	`cwd`	— (write op)	Yes
`ashlr__genome_status`	Report genome health, staleness, and section counts	`cwd`	— (meta tool)	Yes

GitHub tools

Tool	Purpose	Key args	Typical savings	Genome required?
`ashlr__pr`	Read a GitHub PR (diff, comments, checks)	`pr`, `repo`, `mode`	−70%	No
`ashlr__pr_comment`	Post a comment on a PR	`pr`, `body`, `repo`	— (write op)	No
`ashlr__pr_approve`	Approve a PR (with self-approval guard)	`pr`, `repo`	— (write op)	No
`ashlr__issue`	Read a GitHub issue	`issue`, `repo`	−60%	No
`ashlr__issue_create`	Create a GitHub issue	`title`, `body`, `repo`, `labels`	— (write op)	No
`ashlr__issue_close`	Close a GitHub issue	`issue`, `repo`	— (write op)	No

AI / task tools

Tool	Purpose	Key args	Typical savings	Genome required?
`ashlr__ask`	Ask a question, get a structured answer with citations	`question`, `cwd`	−60–80%	Better with genome
`ashlr__task_get`	Get a task by ID from the Claude Code task list	`id`	−60%	No
`ashlr__task_list`	List tasks with status filter	`status`, `limit`	−70%	No

Notebook tools

Tool	Purpose	Key args	Typical savings	Genome required?
`ashlr__notebook_edit`	Edit a Jupyter notebook cell	`path`, `cell_index`, `content`, `cell_type`	−80% (no full notebook re-sent)	No

Search tools

Tool	Purpose	Key args	Typical savings	Genome required?
`ashlr__search_replace_regex`	Regex-based search and replace across files	`pattern`, `replacement`, `paths`, `flags`	−80% (returns match count + diff summary)	No

Tool count

The public count is 40 tools. The table above contains 40 rows. ashlr__pipe is experimental and flag-gated (ASHLR_PIPE_ENABLE=1) — it is not in the count. See ashlr__pipe for details.

Tools index — per-tool documentation pages
Env vars — configuration for each tool
ashlr__pipe — experimental pipeline tool (beyond the 40)
Savings math — how savings percentages are computed

Tool capabilities matrix