// MCP TOOL REFERENCE

TERMINAL TOOLS

15 tools from the Terminal MCP Server, categorised by risk level.

READ TOOLS

terminal_get_history Get past output from a terminal session. terminal_list List active terminal sessions. terminal_read Read new output from a terminal session.

WRITE TOOLS

terminal_resize Resize terminal dimensions. 2/5 terminal_send_key Send a key to the terminal. 2/5 terminal_write Write raw data to a terminal session. 2/5 terminal_write_file Write content to a file. 3/5

EXECUTE TOOLS

terminal_diff Run two commands and return a unified diff. 3/5 terminal_exec Execute a command in a terminal session and wait for it to finish. 4/5 terminal_retry Retry a command with backoff. 3/5 terminal_run Run a binary directly; avoid shell quoting. 5/5 terminal_run_paged Run a read-only command and return one page of output. 4/5 terminal_start Start a new interactive terminal session. 4/5 terminal_stop Stop and clean up a terminal session. 3/5 terminal_wait Wait for a pattern to appear in terminal output. 3/5

// FAQ

How many tools does the Terminal MCP server have? +

The Terminal MCP server exposes 15 tools across 3 categories: Read, Write, Execute.

How do I enforce policies on Terminal tools? +

Use Intercept, the open-source MCP proxy. Write YAML rules for each tool — rate limits, argument validation, or deny rules — then run Intercept in front of the Terminal server.

What risk categories do Terminal tools fall into? +

Terminal tools are categorised as Read (3), Write (4), Execute (8). Each category has a recommended default policy.

Enforce policies on Terminal

Open source. One binary. Zero dependencies.

npx -y @policylayer/intercept

github.com/policylayer/intercept →