agents-toolbelt (atb)

Install the CLI toolbelt that autonomous and semi-autonomous coding agents need to do real work.

atb is a command-line installer and manager for the utilities AI coding agents depend on: code search tools, file discovery tools, JSON and YAML processors, API clients, text transformation tools, runtime managers, task runners, and infrastructure CLIs.

It is built on a simple assumption:

coding agents work best when they are given broad, verified access to the tools they need, not a thin environment with missing binaries and constant operational friction.

Instead of hand-assembling that environment across different package managers and machines, atb installs and manages it from one place.

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Installation

Install atb with a single curl | bash command. Go does not need to be installed on the host machine.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ametel01/agents-toolbelt/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

By default the installer:

• installs to ~/.local/bin for a normal user
• installs to /usr/local/bin only when run as root

It does not invoke sudo automatically.

To install to a different directory on your PATH:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ametel01/agents-toolbelt/main/scripts/install.sh | ATB_INSTALL_DIR="$HOME/.local/bin" bash

For a system-wide install, inspect the script first and then run it with explicit privileges:

curl -fsSLO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ametel01/agents-toolbelt/main/scripts/install.sh
less install.sh
sudo ATB_INSTALL_DIR=/usr/local/bin bash install.sh

If ~/.local/bin is not already on your PATH, add it:

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

To install a specific release tag instead of the latest:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ametel01/agents-toolbelt/main/scripts/install.sh | ATB_VERSION="v0.4.0" bash

Verify the installation:

atb --version

Manual release downloads are also available at:

https://github.com/ametel01/agents-toolbelt/releases

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Why atb exists

Autonomous coding agents are only as capable as the environment they are dropped into.

If an agent cannot search quickly, inspect files clearly, query APIs, parse structured output, compare changes, or move through a repository efficiently, it slows down or fails outright. In practice, many agent sessions start in incomplete environments where the necessary CLI tools are missing, inconsistently installed, or spread across different package managers.

atb exists to solve that problem.

It gives you:

• a curated catalog of CLI tools useful to coding agents
• a fast installer for assembling that toolbelt on a fresh machine
• automatic platform and package-manager detection
• post-install verification so the environment is actually usable
• a machine-readable inventory of what is available

The goal is not minimalism. The goal is operational completeness.

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Built for coding agents

atb is designed for environments where agents such as Claude Code or Codex are expected to act with a high degree of autonomy.

The generated skills are specifically for Claude Code and Codex. They are not intended as a generic skill format for other agent runtimes.

The underlying assumption is straightforward:

• agents perform better when they have complete tool access
• verified local binaries are better than implicit assumptions
• fewer operational constraints means less wasted agent effort
• a well-equipped terminal is a prerequisite for strong agent performance

After installation, atb automatically generates a cli-tools skill in the format expected by Claude Code and Codex, listing the verified CLI tools available on the machine.

This gives the agent immediate visibility into:

• which binaries exist
• how tools are grouped by category
• what is actually available right now, not what someone assumes is installed

The generated skill is intentionally minimal. It is there to expose capability, not to bury the agent in tutorials.

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What atb does

atb installs and manages a curated set of CLI tools that expand what coding agents can do in a terminal session.

It provides:

Interactive installation

Run one command to open a terminal UI where you can browse and select tools by category.

Tools are grouped and prioritized so you can assemble a useful default environment quickly:

• Must have tools are highlighted as the recommended baseline
• Should have tools are optional
• Nice to have tools are hidden until expanded

This lets you provision a strong baseline fast while keeping control over what gets installed.

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Automatic platform detection

atb detects your system and chooses the best installation method automatically.

Supported environments include:

• macOS
• Linux

Package managers are automatically discovered, including brew, apt, dnf, and pacman when available.

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Verification after install

Every installation is verified after it completes.

atb checks that the binary is actually available and working before recording it as usable. If an installation fails, the process continues and reports the failure at the end.

Existing tools already present on your system are detected automatically and reused.

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Inventory and machine state

atb keeps track of which tools are installed and which ones it manages.

You can inspect the current environment with:

atb status

This provides a clear overview of:

• installed tools
• binary locations
• whether they were installed by atb or already existed
• the last recorded verification state

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Typical workflow

A typical setup looks like this:

atb install

You will see an interactive interface where you can select tools to install.

After installation finishes, atb:

1. verifies each tool
2. records your tool inventory
3. generates the cli-tools skill for Claude Code and Codex
4. suggests optional shell integrations when needed

Once complete, the machine is ready to support agent-driven coding work with a broader and more reliable CLI surface area.

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Key commands

Install tools interactively:

atb install

Install recommended tools without prompts:

atb install -y

Check the status of installed tools:

atb status

View the available tool catalog:

atb catalog

Update the atb CLI itself:

atb update

Update tools installed by atb:

atb update tools

Uninstall tools managed by atb:

atb uninstall <tool>

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Operational usage

These are the core commands used after atb is installed.

Browse the available catalog

atb catalog

Use this to inspect the embedded tool catalog, including tier, category, and current detected install status.

Inspect the current machine state

atb status

This shows:

• whether each tool is installed
• whether it is managed by atb or external
• the detected binary path
• the last recorded verification result

Install in interactive mode

atb install

This opens the terminal picker so users can:

• review the recommended must tools
• optionally add should tools
• expand and choose nice tools

Install defaults without prompts

atb install -y

This runs in headless mode and installs the tools marked as default selections for the current platform.

Update the atb CLI

atb update

This checks GitHub Releases for a newer atb binary and replaces the current executable in place.

Update tools managed by atb

atb update tools

To update one managed tool only:

atb update tools rg

atb update tools does not update tools that are merely detected on PATH without an atb receipt.

Uninstall tools managed by atb

atb uninstall rg

To remove all managed tools:

atb uninstall --all

atb uninstall refuses to remove tools that were not installed by atb.

Shell integration behavior

Some tools such as direnv can add shell initialization lines.

atb can:

• suggest those shell hook lines
• record whether the user accepted or declined them
• apply confirmed changes idempotently

It does not modify shell rc files without explicit confirmation.

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Philosophy

atb is built around a clear operating model:

if you want strong coding-agent performance, give the agent a complete and verified CLI environment.

That means:

• more available tools
• fewer missing dependencies
• less time wasted on environment friction
• better odds that the agent can complete work end to end

atb does not replace those tools or abstract them away. It assembles and manages the toolbelt so agents can use the machine more effectively.

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Quick start

Run:

atb install

Choose the tools you want, let atb verify them, and the machine will be ready for agent-driven coding work in minutes.