Shell Execution

Crucible’s TUI allows you to execute shell commands directly and optionally share their output with the AI agent.

Quick Start

Type ! followed by a command and press Enter:

!ls -la
!git status
!cargo build

A modal window opens showing the command output in real-time.

When a shell command runs, a full-screen modal displays:

Command: The command being executed
Status: Running, completed (exit code), or failed
Output: Real-time streaming stdout/stderr

Key	Action
`j` / `Down`	Scroll down one line
`k` / `Up`	Scroll up one line
`d`	Scroll down half page
`u`	Scroll up half page
`G`	Jump to bottom
`g`	Jump to top
`Ctrl+C`	Cancel running command
`s`	Save and send full output to agent
`t`	Save and send truncated output (last 50 lines)
`e`	Open output in `$EDITOR`
`Enter` / `Escape`	Dismiss modal

Sending Output to Agent

After a command completes, you can share the output with the AI:

Press s to send the full output as context
Press t to send only the last 50 lines (useful for long build logs)

The agent receives the output formatted with the command, exit code, and working directory.

Output Persistence

Shell outputs are saved to your session directory:

<kiln>/.crucible/sessions/<session-id>/shell/<timestamp>-<command>.output

File format:

$ git status
Exit: 0
Duration: 0.15s
Cwd: /home/user/project
---
On branch main
Your branch is up to date with 'origin/main'.

nothing to commit, working tree clean

Use Cases

Running Tests

!cargo test

Then press t to send failures to the agent for debugging help.

Checking Git Status

!git diff --stat

Press s to share changes with the agent for commit message suggestions.

Build Errors

!cargo build 2>&1

Press s to let the agent help diagnose compilation errors.

Tips

Commands run in the current working directory (where you started cru chat)
Long-running commands show a spinner; press Ctrl+C to cancel
Use e to open output in your editor for manual selection/copying
The modal auto-scrolls to bottom during streaming; scroll up to pause