tools.md

All Tools

Use tl <command> for all operations. Run tl --help for the full list, tl <command> --help for details.

Every tool supports -l N (limit lines), -t N (limit tokens), -j (JSON output), -q (quiet), and -h (help).

Essential

The tools agents use 90% of the time.

Tool	Description	Example
tl symbols	Function/class signatures without bodies	tl symbols src/utils.ts or src/
tl snippet	Extract one function/class by name	tl snippet handleSubmit
tl impact	Blast radius — what depends on this file	tl impact src/auth.ts
tl run	Token-efficient command output (tests, builds)	tl run "npm test"
tl tail	Token-efficient log tailing and summarization	tl tail logs/app.log
tl guard	Pre-commit check (secrets, TODOs, unused, circular)	tl guard
tl commit-prep	Pre-commit context: status + diff stat + log	tl commit-prep
tl push	Stage, commit, push in one call	tl push "feat: caching"
tl structure	Project overview with token estimates	tl structure src/
tl browse	Fetch any URL as clean markdown	tl browse https://docs.example.com
tl context7	Look up library docs via Context7 API	tl context7 react "hooks"
tl component	React component analyzer (props, hooks, state)	tl component Button.tsx
tl parallel	Run commands in parallel, structured results	tl parallel "tl symbols f" "tl deps f"
tl analyze	Composite file profile (5 tools in 1)	tl analyze src/auth.ts
tl pack	Workflow context packs for common agent tasks	tl pack refactor src/auth.ts
tl advise	Recommend the next tokenlean commands for a task	tl advise "debug npm test"

Understanding Code

Structure and signatures without reading implementations.

Tool	Description	Example
tl context	Estimate token usage for files/dirs	tl context src/api/
tl types	Full TypeScript type definitions	tl types src/types/
tl exports	Public API surface of a module	tl exports src/lib/
tl docs	Extract JSDoc/TSDoc documentation	tl docs src/utils/
tl entry	Find entry points and main files	tl entry src/
tl scope	Show what symbols are in scope at a line	tl scope src/cache.mjs:52
tl schema	Extract DB schema from ORMs/migrations	tl schema
tl stack	Auto-detect project technology stack	tl stack

Before Modifying Files

Understand dependencies and impact.

Tool	Description	Example
tl deps	Show what a file imports (with tree mode)	tl deps src/api.ts --tree
tl related	Find tests, types, and importers	tl related src/Button.tsx
tl flow	Call graph — what calls this, what it calls	tl flow src/utils.ts
tl coverage	Test coverage info for files	tl coverage src/
tl complexity	Code complexity metrics	tl complexity src/ --threshold 10
tl errors	Map error types and throw points	tl errors src/
tl test-map	Map source files to their test files	tl test-map src/cache.mjs
tl style	Detect coding conventions from code	tl style src/

Understanding History

Track changes and authorship.

Tool	Description	Example
tl diff	Token-efficient git diff summary	tl diff --staged
tl history	Recent commits for a file	tl history src/api.ts
tl blame	Compact per-line authorship	tl blame src/api.ts
tl hotspots	Frequently changed files (churn)	tl hotspots --days 30
tl pr	Summarize PR/branch for review	tl pr feature-branch
tl changelog	Generate changelog from commits	tl changelog --from v1

Finding Things

Search and discover code patterns.

Tool	Description	Example
tl example	Find diverse usage examples	tl example useAuth
tl search	Run pre-defined search patterns	tl search hooks
tl secrets	Find hardcoded secrets & API keys	tl secrets --staged
tl todo	Find TODOs/FIXMEs in codebase	tl todo src/
tl env	Find environment variables used	tl env --required-only
tl unused	Find unused exports/files	tl unused src/
tl api	Extract REST/GraphQL endpoints	tl api src/routes/
tl routes	Extract routes from web frameworks	tl routes app/
tl npm	Quick npm package lookup/compare	tl npm express fastify

GitHub Workflows

Multi-step gh operations in single commands.

Tool	Description	Example
tl gh issue read	Read issue + direct sub-issues in one call	tl gh issue read -R owner/repo 434 --no-body
tl gh issue view	Alias for issue read	tl gh issue view -R owner/repo 434 --no-body
tl gh issue create-batch	Create issues in bulk from JSON/JSONL	echo '[...]' | tl gh issue create-batch -R owner/repo
tl gh issue create-tree	Create parent + children with sub-issue links	echo '{...}' | tl gh issue create-tree -R owner/repo
tl gh issue add-sub	Link existing issues as sub-issues	tl gh issue add-sub -R owner/repo --parent 10 42 43
tl gh issue close	Close one or more issues with optional comment	tl gh issue close -R owner/repo 1 2 3 -c "Done"
tl gh issue close-batch	Alias for issue close	tl gh issue close-batch -R owner/repo 1 2 3 -c "Done"
tl gh issue label-batch	Add/remove labels across multiple issues	tl gh issue label-batch -R owner/repo --add "P0" 1 2 3
tl gh pr digest	Full PR status: CI, reviews, comments, merge readiness	tl gh pr digest -R owner/repo 123
tl gh pr comments	Review comments grouped by file with resolution status	tl gh pr comments -R owner/repo 123 --unresolved
tl gh pr land	Check CI, merge, close linked issues, delete branch	tl gh pr land -R owner/repo 123
tl gh release notes	Auto-changelog from commits/PRs, create release	tl gh release notes -R owner/repo --tag v1.2.0

All issue-creating commands support --project owner/N to auto-add to a GitHub project board.

Utilities

Tool	Description	Example
tl audit	Analyze Claude/Codex sessions and plan token savings	tl audit --all --plan --github -R owner/repo
tl quota	Check AI subscription quota (Claude, Codex)	tl quota
tl hook	Install token-saving agent hooks	tl hook status --all
tl reddit	Read Reddit threads as clean text	tl reddit <url> -c 20
tl cache	Manage tokenlean caches	tl cache stats
tl config	Show/manage configuration	tl config --init
tl name	Check name availability (npm/GH/domains)	tl name myproject -s
tl playwright	Headless browser content extraction	tl playwright example.com
tl prompt	Generate AI agent instructions	tl prompt --minimal
tl completions	Shell tab completions (bash/zsh)	tl completions bash >> ~/.bashrc