Elite CLI Tools

Elite CLI tooling for efficient shell operations with optimized token usage. Use when executing shell commands, traversing directories, or manipulating files to minimize token consumption and prevent regex escaping errors. Covers fdfind, batcat, sd, sg/ast-grep, jc, gron, yq, difft, tealdeer, and html2text.

Audits

Pass

ClawScanPass

Agentic behavior and permission review.

Static analysisPass

Pattern checks against bundled files.

VirusTotalPass

Multi-engine malware detections and file reputation.

Install

openclaw skills install elite-tools

Elite CLI Tools

PRIMARY DIRECTIVE

Prefer these modern CLI utilities over legacy POSIX tools (find, cat, sed, grep, awk, diff, man). They produce cleaner, more structured output and reduce token waste.

Note on binary names: On Debian/Ubuntu, some binaries are renamed to avoid conflicts: fd → fdfind, bat → batcat. On other distros they use their upstream names. Adapt accordingly.

Quick Reference

#	Tool	Replaces	Binary	Primary Use
1	fd	`find`	`fdfind`	Fast file discovery
2	bat	`cat`/`less`	`batcat`	File viewing with syntax highlighting
3	sd	`sed`	`sd`	Intuitive find & replace
4	ast-grep	`grep`/`rg`	`sg`	AST-based code search & rewrite
5	jc	`awk`/`cut`	`jc`	CLI output → JSON
6	gron	`jq` (exploration)	`gron`	JSON → greppable assignments
7	yq	`sed` on YAML	`yq`	YAML/JSON/XML/CSV processor
8	difftastic	`diff`	`difft`	Structural syntax-aware diffs
9	tealdeer	`man`	`tldr`	Concise command examples
10	html2text	raw HTML parsing	`html2text`	HTML → clean Markdown

Detailed Tool Guide

For full descriptions, rationale, and extended examples for each tool, read references/tools-deep-dive.md.