Shell execution

bash_exec, one of the built-in tools, runs any shell command and streams output to the terminal. Two keyboard shortcuts change its behavior mid-run:

Key	Effect
`Ctrl+C`	Cancel the running tool. Partial output is returned to the LLM as a result so it can decide what to do next. Works for any built-in tool, not only `bash_exec`.
`Ctrl+Z`	Detach the process as a background job. `bash_exec` immediately returns `{"status":"backgrounded","job_id":N}` to the LLM.

Ctrl+C is read directly from the terminal while a tool runs, so it cancels even long-running tools (e.g. a slow search_local or web_scraper) - the REPL does not rely on the terminal delivering a signal.

Ctrl+Z at the REPL prompt (no tool running) suspends kdeps normally (fg to resume).

Background jobs are managed with two companion tools:

Tool	Description
`bash_job_list`	Show all background jobs with status (`running`/`done`/`failed`), elapsed time, and command
`bash_job_wait`	Block until a job completes and return its full output. Pass `job_id` from the backgrounded result.

Set KDEPS_ALLOW_BASH=false to disable all three bash_* tools.

Token savings with rtk (optional)

rtk is a CLI proxy that compresses command output before it reaches the LLM. git status costs ~300 tokens; rtk git status costs ~60 for the same information. If rtk is installed, bash_exec uses it automatically - nothing to configure.

text

LLM calls bash_exec("go test ./...")
  -> kdeps asks: rtk rewrite "go test ./..."
  -> rtk answers: rtk go test ./...
  -> kdeps runs the rewritten command
  -> LLM sees filtered output (up to 90% fewer tokens)

Install it with brew install rtk, or skip it - kdeps runs your commands unchanged when rtk is absent.

Env var	Effect
(none)	Auto-detect. rtk is used when it is on `PATH` and passes verification.
`KDEPS_RTK=off`	Never use rtk, even if installed.
`RTK_DISABLED=1`	Also honored. rtk's own escape hatch, so one variable turns it off everywhere.

What this does not change:

Your commands still run. If rtk is missing, too old, wedged, or has no compression for a command, kdeps runs the original. rtk can never block execution.
Permissions are unaffected. kdeps gates shell commands itself. rtk is only a compressor here, so its own permission verdicts are ignored rather than double-gating you.
Workflow mode is untouched. Only agent loop bash_exec uses rtk. Workflow exec resources keep raw output, because pipelines parse it downstream.

Verifying the right rtk

An unrelated crate on crates.io is also named rtk. kdeps does not trust the name - it verifies the binary by behavior, so an impostor on your PATH is ignored rather than producing broken commands. Check yours with rtk gain: it works on the real one.

Shell execution ​

Token savings with rtk (optional) ​

See also ​

Shell execution

Token savings with rtk (optional)

See also