Coding Tools

The coding server provides tools for reading and writing files, running shell commands, searching codebases, fetching web content, and using LSP-backed code intelligence. See Tools for settings.

Configuration

.aether/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "coding": {
      "type": "in-memory",
      "args": ["--rules-dir", ".aether/skills"]
    }
  }
}

Supported args:

Arg	Description
--root-dir <path>	Workspace root. Users don’t need to set this as Aether sets this automatically.
--rules-dir <path>	Directory to load Rules from. Repeatable.
--permission-mode always-allow|auto|always-ask	Approval behavior for write/edit/bash tools. Default is always-allow.
--disable-lsp	Do not attach LSP-backed coding tools.

Permission modes:

Mode	Behavior
always-allow	Tool calls execute without eliciting approval. This is the default.
auto	File writes auto-execute; destructive bash commands ask for approval.
always-ask	write_file, edit_file, and bash ask for approval; read-only tools are ungated.

File operations

Tool	Description
read_file	Read a file with optional line range.
write_file	Write content to a file, creating or overwriting it.
edit_file	Exact string replacement within a file.
list_files	List directory contents with metadata.

Search

Tool	Description
grep	Regex search across files with context, file type filters, glob filters, and output modes.
find	Find files by glob pattern.

Bash

Tool	Description
bash	Execute a shell command in a persistent shell session. Supports foreground and background mode.
read_background_bash	Read new output from a background bash command.

Web

Tool	Description
web_fetch	Fetch a URL, extract main article content, and convert it to Markdown.
web_search	Search the web via Brave Search API. Requires BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY.

LSP tools inside coding

Unless --disable-lsp is set, Aether wires LSP-backed tools into the coding server.

Tool	Description
lsp_symbol	Definition, references, hover, implementation lookup, and call hierarchy.
lsp_workspace_search	Search for symbols across the workspace by name.
lsp_document	Document symbol outline for a file.
lsp_check_errors	Compiler diagnostics without running a full build command.
lsp_rename	Rename a symbol across the workspace.