UTCP CLI Plugin

Command-line interface plugin for UTCP, enabling integration with command-line tools and processes.

Features

• Multi-Command Execution: Execute multiple commands sequentially in a single subprocess
• State Preservation: Directory changes and environment persist between commands
• Cross-Platform Script Generation: PowerShell on Windows, Bash on Unix/Linux/macOS
• Flexible Output Control: Choose which command outputs to include in final result
• Argument Substitution: UTCP_ARG_argname_UTCP_END placeholder system
• Output Referencing: Access previous command outputs with $CMD_0_OUTPUT, $CMD_1_OUTPUT
• Environment Variables: Secure credential and configuration passing
• Working Directory Control: Execute commands in specific directories
• Timeout Management: Configurable execution timeouts
• Error Handling: Comprehensive subprocess error management

Installation

pip install utcp-cli

Quick Start

from utcp.utcp_client import UtcpClient

# Multi-step CLI tool
client = await UtcpClient.create(config={
    "manual_call_templates": [{
        "name": "file_analysis",
        "call_template_type": "cli",
        "commands": [
            {
                "command": "cd UTCP_ARG_target_dir_UTCP_END",
                "append_to_final_output": false
            },
            {
                "command": "find . -type f -name '*.py' | wc -l"
            }
        ]
    }]
})

result = await client.call_tool("file_analysis.count_python_files", {"target_dir": "/project"})

Configuration Examples

Basic Multi-Command Operation

{
  "name": "file_analysis",
  "call_template_type": "cli",
  "commands": [
    {
      "command": "cd UTCP_ARG_target_dir_UTCP_END",
      "append_to_final_output": false
    },
    {
      "command": "ls -la"
    }
  ],
  "working_dir": "/tmp"
}

With Environment Variables and Output Control

{
  "name": "python_pipeline",
  "call_template_type": "cli",
  "commands": [
    {
      "command": "python setup.py install",
      "append_to_final_output": false
    },
    {
      "command": "python script.py --input UTCP_ARG_input_file_UTCP_END --result \"$CMD_0_OUTPUT\"",
      "append_to_final_output": true
    }
  ],
  "env_vars": {
    "PYTHONPATH": "/custom/path",
    "API_KEY": "${API_KEY}"
  }
}

Cross-Platform Git Operations

{
  "name": "git_analysis",
  "call_template_type": "cli",
  "commands": [
    {
      "command": "git clone UTCP_ARG_repo_url_UTCP_END temp_repo",
      "append_to_final_output": false
    },
    {
      "command": "cd temp_repo",
      "append_to_final_output": false  
    },
    {
      "command": "git log --oneline -10",
      "append_to_final_output": true
    },
    {
      "command": "echo \"Repository has $(find . -name '*.py' | wc -l) Python files\"",
      "append_to_final_output": true
    }
  ],
  "env_vars": {
    "GIT_AUTHOR_NAME": "UTCP Bot",
    "GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL": "bot@utcp.dev"
  }
}

Referencing Previous Command Output

{
  "name": "conditional_processor",
  "call_template_type": "cli",
  "commands": [
    {
      "command": "git status --porcelain",
      "append_to_final_output": false
    },
    {
      "command": "echo \"Changes detected: $CMD_0_OUTPUT\"",
      "append_to_final_output": true
    }
  ]
}

Cross-Platform Considerations

Command Syntax

Commands should use appropriate syntax for the target platform:

Windows (PowerShell):

{
  "commands": [
    {"command": "Get-ChildItem UTCP_ARG_path_UTCP_END"},
    {"command": "Set-Location UTCP_ARG_dir_UTCP_END"}
  ]
}

Unix/Linux/macOS (Bash):

{
  "commands": [
    {"command": "ls -la UTCP_ARG_path_UTCP_END"},
    {"command": "cd UTCP_ARG_dir_UTCP_END"}
  ]
}

Universal Commands

Some commands work across platforms:

{
  "commands": [
    {"command": "git status"},
    {"command": "python --version"},
    {"command": "node -v"}
  ]
}

Security Considerations

• Commands execute in isolated subprocesses with controlled environment
• Environment variables provide secure credential passing
• Previous command outputs should be used carefully to avoid injection
• Commands should use platform-appropriate syntax

Error Handling

from utcp.exceptions import ToolCallError

try:
    result = await client.call_tool("cli_tool.multi_command", {
        "repo_url": "https://github.com/example/repo.git",
        "target_dir": "analysis_temp"
    })
except ToolCallError as e:
    print(f"CLI tool execution failed: {e}")
    # Script execution failed - check individual command outputs

Common Use Cases

• Multi-step Builds: setup → compile → test → package
• Git Workflows: clone → analyze → commit → push
• Data Pipelines: fetch → transform → validate → output
• File Operations: navigate → search → process → report
• Development Tools: install dependencies → run tests → generate docs
• System Administration: check status → backup → cleanup → verify
• Custom Workflows: Any sequence of command-line operations

Testing CLI Tools

import pytest
from utcp.utcp_client import UtcpClient

@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_multi_command_cli_tool():
    client = await UtcpClient.create(config={
        "manual_call_templates": [{
            "name": "test_cli",
            "call_template_type": "cli",
            "commands": [
                {
                    "command": "echo UTCP_ARG_message_UTCP_END",
                    "append_to_final_output": false
                },
                {
                    "command": "echo \"Previous: $CMD_0_OUTPUT\""
                }
            ]
        }]
    })
    
    result = await client.call_tool("test_cli.echo_chain", {"message": "hello"})
    assert "Previous: hello" in result

Related Documentation

• Main UTCP Documentation
• Core Package Documentation
• HTTP Plugin
• MCP Plugin
• Text Plugin

Examples

For complete examples, see the UTCP examples repository.