Terminal Command Execution
Overview
Use this skill to run terminal commands with minimal risk and predictable outcomes. Prefer fast inspection, explicit intent checks, and verification after each state-changing step.
Workflow
- Clarify goal and scope.
- Infer the exact command target from context (path, service, tool, environment).
- If request is ambiguous and risky, ask one concise clarifying question.
- Pre-flight checks.
- Confirm working directory and required binaries.
- Inspect current state before changing it (for example
ls, git status, process/listen state). - Prefer non-destructive probes first.
- Execute commands incrementally.
- Run the smallest command that advances the task.
- For multi-step tasks, validate each step before continuing.
- Use reproducible commands and avoid interactive flows when non-interactive options exist.
- Handle failures systematically.
- Read stderr first and identify root cause class: permission, path, missing dependency, syntax, network, or runtime state.
- Apply one fix at a time, then re-run only the affected command.
- If privileged/destructive action is required, request user approval before proceeding.
- Verify outcomes.
- Check exit status and observable state changes.
- For installs, verify with a version/health command.
- For edits, verify resulting files and behavior.
- Report clearly.
- Summarize what ran, what changed, and current status.
- Include exact next command only when additional user action is required.
Safety Rules
- Avoid destructive commands by default (
rm -rf, force resets, broad chmod/chown) unless explicitly requested. - Never assume network, permissions, or package managers are available; test first.
- Prefer scoped operations (specific files/paths/services) over global changes.
- Keep secrets out of command output and logs.
Command Patterns
- Discovery:
pwd, ls -la, rg --files, which - Validation:
--version, health/status commands, targeted smoke tests - Diagnostics: inspect logs/errors first, then adjust one variable at a time