shell-use — security grade SAFE, quality 72/100

Security audit verdict: SAFE · quality 72/100

No red flags found in any of the 11 categories — no credential harvesting, no data exfiltration, no curl-pipe-shell installer. Scanned against the SlowMist agent-security taxonomy, refreshed every 8 hours. Full audit →

by microsoft · Agent Tool · ★ 218

Last updated: · Indexed by AgentSkillsHub · Auto-synced every 8h

🔒 Is shell-use safe to install? View the security audit →

About shell-use

shell-use [!WARNING] Work in progress. is still being built out, so commands and behavior may change between releases & installation instructions may not yet work. is a rust powered cli for controlling, inspecting, testing, and recording shell sessions and terminal apps. It supports all standard terminal actions (send keys, mouse clicks) & user actions (screenshot, record sessions), & testing (matches screenshot, contains text). supports Windows, Linux, & macOS and it supports a wide range of shells (see Supported shells). Install homebrew (macOS/linux) winget (windows) download from releases Download the latest release. Quick start Run a command and check the result: Drive a full-screen TUI the same way: sh shell-use run vim file.txt shell-use wait idle # let the screen settle shell-use press i shell-use type "some text" shell-use press Esc

ai-toolsautomationbashclie2e-testingfishllmpowershellpwshshell-use

Quick Facts

Stars218
Forks20
LanguageRust
CategoryAgent Tool
LicenseMIT
Quality Score72.1279623388104/100
Open Issues9
Last Updated2026-08-07
Created2024-01-25
Platformscli, rust
Est. Tokens~24k

Compatible Skills

These tools work well together with shell-use for enhanced workflows:

  • computer-use-linux — semantic(0.18)+complementary+same_lang+similar_pop+shared_platform (56%)
  • unifly — semantic(0.16)+complementary+same_lang+similar_pop+shared_platform (55%)
  • ralph — semantic(0.26)+complementary+rare_topics+similar_pop+shared_platform (54%)

shell-use alternative? Top 6 similar tools

Looking for a shell-use alternative? If you're comparing shell-use with other agent tool tools, these 6 projects are the closest alternatives on Agent Skills Hub — ranked by topic overlap, star count, and community traction.

  • toktrack by mag123c · ⭐ 184

    Ultra-fast token & cost tracker for LLM Token Usage (e.g. Claude Code)

  • hcom by aannoo · ⭐ 431

    Let AI agents message, watch, and spawn each other across terminals. Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity CLI, Curs

  • gob by juanibiapina · ⭐ 71

    Process manager for AI agents (and humans)

  • claude-model-router-hook by tzachbon · ⭐ 67

    Claude Code hooks that auto-switch model tier based on task complexity

  • tokentop by tokentopapp · ⭐ 66

    htop for your AI costs — real-time terminal monitoring of LLM token usage and spending across providers and co

  • agent-deck by asheshgoplani · ⭐ 734

    Terminal session manager for AI coding agents. One TUI for Claude, Gemini, OpenCode, Codex, and more.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is shell-use?

shell-use is 💻 Make the terminal / shell accessible for AI agents. Automate tasks with ease.. It is categorized as a Agent Tool with 218 GitHub stars.

What programming language is shell-use written in?

shell-use is primarily written in Rust. It covers topics such as ai-tools, automation, bash.

How do I install or use shell-use?

You can find installation instructions and usage details in the shell-use GitHub repository at github.com/microsoft/shell-use. The project has 218 stars and 20 forks, indicating an active community.

What license does shell-use use?

shell-use is released under the MIT license, making it free to use and modify according to the license terms.

What are the best alternatives to shell-use?

The top alternatives to shell-use on Agent Skills Hub include toktrack, hcom, gob. Each offers a different approach to the same problem space — compare them side-by-side by stars, quality score, and community activity.

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