Features Overview

EdgeCrab ships as a single static binary with enterprise-grade features. No Python venv, no Node.js — just one executable.

Input --> ContextBuilder --> AgentLoop --> ToolRegistry --> Security checks
                                 ^                              |
                                 +---- ToolResult <------------+

Core Features

Autonomous ReAct Loop

EdgeCrab runs a Reason-Act-Observe loop — it reasons about a task, calls a tool, observes the result, then repeats. The loop runs up to model.max_iterations tool calls (default: 90) before stopping.

Ratatui TUI

A full-featured terminal UI with:

Streaming token display with cost tracking
Tool execution feed with per-tool timing
Slash command autocomplete (all installed skills appear as commands)
Keyboard-driven interface
Customizable skins, symbols, and personality presets

See TUI Interface

13+ LLM Providers

Switch provider and model without restarting:

/model anthropic/claude-opus-4
/model openai/gpt-4o
/model ollama/llama3.3
/model copilot/gpt-4.1-mini

See LLM Providers

Skills System

Reusable Markdown workflows that teach EdgeCrab domain-specific tasks:

Skills are directories containing a SKILL.md file
EdgeCrab can create and improve skills during sessions
Compatible with agentskills.io

See Skills System

Persistent Memory

Agent memory stored in ~/.edgecrab/memories/:

Auto-written after each session when memory.auto_flush: true
Injected into the system prompt at session start
Honcho integration for cross-session user modeling

See Memory

Browser Automation

Built-in browser control via Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP):

Navigate, click, type, scroll, take screenshots
Console log capture
Vision analysis of screenshots
Session recording as WebM

See Browser Automation

Multi-Platform Messaging Gateway

Run EdgeCrab as a persistent bot on 10 platforms:

Telegram, Discord, Slack, Signal, WhatsApp
Matrix, Mattermost, DingTalk, SMS, Email

See Messaging Gateway

Security

Built-in defense in depth (6 layers):

Path traversal prevention (SanitizedPath compile-time type)
SSRF guard with DNS-rebinding protection
Aho-Corasick command scanner (8 danger categories, 38 patterns)
Prompt injection detection
Output redaction (API keys, tokens)
Approval policy (off / smart / manual)

See Security Model

Checkpoints and Rollback

Shadow git commits before every destructive file operation. Roll back at any time:

/rollback       # interactive checkpoint browser

See Checkpoints

Cron / Scheduled Tasks

Built-in cron scheduler with agent-managed jobs:

edgecrab cron add "0 9 * * 1-5" "morning standup summary"

See Cron Jobs

Tool Inventory

All tools sourced from CORE_TOOLS constant in crates/edgecrab-tools/src/toolsets.rs.

Toolset Aliases

Alias	Expands to
`core`	file + meta + scheduling + delegation + code_execution + session + mcp + browser (runtime-gated)
`coding`	file + terminal + search + code_execution
`research`	web + browser + vision
`debugging`	terminal + web + file
`safe`	web + vision + image_gen + moa
`minimal`	file + terminal
`data_gen`	file + terminal + web + code_execution
`all`	every registered tool (no filtering)

File Tools (`file`)

Tool	Description
`read_file`	Read file contents with optional line range
`write_file`	Write or overwrite a file (creates checkpoint)
`patch`	Apply a unified diff patch to a file (creates checkpoint)
`search_files`	Regex or glob search across file tree

Terminal Tools (`terminal`)

Tool	Description
`terminal`	Run a shell command and capture output
`run_process`	Start a long-running background process
`list_processes`	List running background processes
`kill_process`	Kill a process by ID
`get_process_output`	Get stdout/stderr from a background process
`wait_for_process`	Block until a process exits
`write_stdin`	Send input to a process’s stdin

Web Tools (`web`)

Tool	Description
`web_search`	DuckDuckGo search (SSRF-guarded)
`web_extract`	Extract text content from a URL
`web_crawl`	Recursive site crawl with optional depth limit

Browser Tools (`browser`)

Runtime-gated: requires Chrome or Chromium. If no browser is reachable, these tools are silently absent from the tool list.

Tool	Description
`browser_navigate`	Navigate to a URL
`browser_snapshot`	Get page accessibility tree as text
`browser_screenshot`	Take a screenshot
`browser_click`	Click an element
`browser_type`	Type text into an input
`browser_scroll`	Scroll the page
`browser_console`	Capture browser console logs
`browser_back`	Navigate back
`browser_press`	Press a keyboard key
`browser_close`	Close the browser
`browser_get_images`	Get images from the page
`browser_vision`	Analyze page screenshot with vision model

Memory Tools (`memory`)

Tool	Description
`memory_read`	Read a memory file
`memory_write`	Write or update a memory file
`honcho_conclude`	Commit a Honcho cross-session memory entry
`honcho_search`	Search the Honcho user model
`honcho_list`	List Honcho memory entries
`honcho_remove`	Remove a Honcho entry
`honcho_profile`	Update the Honcho user profile
`honcho_context`	Get relevant Honcho context for current task

Skills Tools (`skills`)

Tool	Description
`skills_list`	List available skills
`skills_categories`	List skill categories
`skill_view`	View a skill’s content
`skill_manage`	Install / uninstall / update a skill
`skills_hub`	Browse the agentskills.io hub

Scheduling Tools (`scheduling`)

Tool	Description
`manage_cron_jobs`	Create / list / delete / enable / disable cron jobs

Meta Tools (`meta`)

Tool	Description
`manage_todo_list`	Create and track a session todo list
`clarify`	Ask the user a clarifying question (TUI and gateway only)

Delegation Tools (`delegation`)

Tool	Description
`delegate_task`	Spawn a subagent for a parallel subtask
`mixture_of_agents`	Multi-model consensus reasoning

Code Execution (`code_execution`)

Tool	Description
`execute_code`	Execute Python, Node.js, or Bash code in isolation

Session Tools (`session`)

Tool	Description
`session_search`	Full-text search (FTS5) across all session history

MCP Tools (`mcp`)

Tool	Description
`mcp_list_tools`	List tools from connected MCP servers
`mcp_call_tool`	Call a tool on an MCP server
`mcp_list_resources`	List resources from MCP servers
`mcp_read_resource`	Read a resource from an MCP server
`mcp_list_prompts`	List prompts from MCP servers
`mcp_get_prompt`	Get a prompt from an MCP server

Media Tools (`media`)

Tool	Description
`text_to_speech`	Convert text to speech (edge-tts, OpenAI, ElevenLabs)
`vision_analyze`	Analyze an image file with a vision model
`transcribe_audio`	Transcribe an audio file with Whisper
`generate_image`	Generate an image (runtime-gated: requires provider support)

Home Assistant Tools (`homeassistant`)

Runtime-gated: requires HA_URL and HA_TOKEN environment variables.

Tool	Description
`ha_list_entities`	List all Home Assistant entities
`ha_get_state`	Get current state of an entity
`ha_list_services`	List available Home Assistant services
`ha_call_service`	Call a Home Assistant service

Core Tools (`core`)

Tool	Description
`checkpoint`	Create / list / restore / diff filesystem checkpoints

Messaging Tools (runtime-gated)

Only available in gateway sessions (Telegram, Discord, Slack, etc.):

Tool	Description
`send_message`	Send a message to the current chat (gateway only)

What’s Next?

ReAct Tool Loop — How the autonomous reasoning engine works
TUI Interface — Full keyboard shortcuts and slash commands
Skills System — Creating and using reusable skills
Memory — Persistent memory and Honcho user modeling
Browser Automation — Browser automation with CDP
SQLite State and Search — Session persistence and FTS5 search
Security Model — 6-layer defense stack

Feature Coverage at a Glance

User Input
    |
    v
[Context Builder]  <-- SOUL.md + AGENTS.md + memories + skills
    |
    v
[Agent Loop]       -- LLM reasons, calls tools, observes results
    |
    +--[Security checks]  <-- path jail + SSRF + command scan + approval
    |
    +--[Tool Dispatch]    <-- file / terminal / web / browser / memory / mcp
    |
    v
[State DB (SQLite)]  -- every message stored, FTS5 indexed
    |
    v
[TUI / Gateway]     -- rendered in ratatui or sent to Telegram/Discord/...

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What’s the difference between “tools” and “skills”?

Tools are atomic Rust functions (read a file, run a command, search the web). Skills are Markdown documents that guide how the agent uses tools. A skill says “when doing a security audit, first do X, then Y, then Z.” Tools are the verbs; skills are the recipe.

Q: How does EdgeCrab compare to agentic frameworks like LangChain?

EdgeCrab is a self-contained binary, not a framework. It’s designed to be run, not extended programmatically (though SDKs exist). You configure it via YAML and Markdown, not code. For programmatic use, the Python/Node.js SDKs provide an API surface.

Q: Can EdgeCrab run without internet access?

Yes. Use --model ollama/llama3.3 (local Ollama) and --toolset file,terminal,memory. All tools used by those toolsets work offline.

Q: How many tools can be active at once?

All registered tools (60+) can be active simultaneously. The LLM receives tool schemas in the system prompt. Limiting toolsets to what’s needed keeps the system prompt shorter and the LLM more focused.

Q: Edge case: Can the agent call the same tool infinitely?

No. tools.max_loop_depth (default: 20) limits total tool calls per user turn. The LLM also receives tool results that typically converge toward an answer. Infinite loops in practice are extremely rare and always bounded by the depth limit.

Features Overview

Core Features

Autonomous ReAct Loop

Ratatui TUI

13+ LLM Providers

Skills System

Persistent Memory

Browser Automation

Multi-Platform Messaging Gateway

Security

Checkpoints and Rollback

Cron / Scheduled Tasks

Tool Inventory

Toolset Aliases

File Tools (file)

Terminal Tools (terminal)

Web Tools (web)

Browser Tools (browser)

Memory Tools (memory)

Skills Tools (skills)

Scheduling Tools (scheduling)

Meta Tools (meta)

Delegation Tools (delegation)

Code Execution (code_execution)

Session Tools (session)

MCP Tools (mcp)

Media Tools (media)

Home Assistant Tools (homeassistant)

Core Tools (core)