Unix coreutils with XML/JSON output — built for AI agents, not humans.
Install · Quick start · All tools · MCP server · Claude Code · Benchmarks · Contributing
AI agents run ls, grep, and cat and get back human-readable plaintext. Then they spend tokens parsing column positions, guessing field widths, and handling inconsistent formats. This is fragile and wasteful.
-rw-r--r-- 1 user staff 2048 Apr 6 10:00 main.go ← which column is size?
-rw-r--r-- 1 user staff 1024 Apr 6 10:00 utils.go ← what's the language?
drwxr-xr-x 5 user staff 160 Apr 6 10:00 internal ← is this a directory?
aict reimplements 22 Unix tools with structured output the agent can read directly — no parsing required.
$ aict ls src/
<ls timestamp="1746123456" total_entries="3">
<file name="main.go" path="src/main.go" absolute="/project/src/main.go"
size_bytes="2048" size_human="2.0K" language="go" mime="text/x-go"
binary="false" executable="false" modified="1746120000" modified_ago_s="3456"/>
<file name="utils.go" path="src/utils.go" absolute="/project/src/utils.go"
size_bytes="1024" size_human="1.0K" language="go" mime="text/x-go"
binary="false" executable="false" modified="1746120000" modified_ago_s="3456"/>
<directory name="internal" path="src/internal" modified="1746120000"/>
</ls>Every field is labeled. Paths are always absolute. Timestamps are Unix integers. Language and MIME type are detected automatically — zero parsing needed.
brew tap synseqack/aict
brew install aictThis installs both aict and aict-mcp binaries, plus shell completions for bash and zsh.
go install github.com/synseqack/aict@latest
go install github.com/synseqack/aict/cmd/mcp@latest
git clone https://github.com/synseqack/aict
cd aict
go build -o aict .
go build -o aict-mcp ./cmd/mcp
Verify install:
aict --helpshould list all available tools.
# Default: XML output (best for AI agents)
aict ls src/
aict grep "func" . -r
aict cat main.go
aict diff old.go new.go
# JSON output
aict ls src/ --json
# Plain text (same as the original Unix tools)
aict ls src/ --plain
# Enable XML globally for all aict calls
export AICT_XML=122 tools across 5 categories. Every tool supports --xml (default), --json, and --plain.
| Category | Tools |
|---|---|
| File inspection | cat head tail file stat wc |
| Search & compare | ls find grep diff |
| Path utilities | realpath basename dirname pwd |
| Text processing | sort uniq cut tr |
| System & environment | env system ps df du checksums |
Additional: git (status, diff, log, ls-files, blame) · doctor (self-diagnostic)
All tools follow the same conventions:
| Field | Convention |
|---|---|
| Paths | Always absolute (absolute attr) |
| Timestamps | Unix epoch integers + _ago_s companion |
| Sizes | Bytes (size_bytes) + human-readable (size_human) |
| Booleans | "true" / "false" strings |
| Errors | <error code="" msg=""/> elements — never stderr |
| Empty results | Valid XML with zero counts, never an error |
aict-mcp exposes all 22 tools as callable MCP functions. AI assistants call them natively — no shell wrapping needed.
Build:
go build -o aict-mcp ./cmd/mcpConfigure Claude Desktop (~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json):
{
"mcpServers": {
"aict": {
"command": "aict-mcp",
"args": []
}
}
}If aict is not in PATH, set the binary location explicitly:
{
"mcpServers": {
"aict": {
"command": "aict-mcp",
"env": {
"AICT_BINARY": "/full/path/to/aict"
}
}
}
}Add to ~/.claude.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"aict": {
"command": "aict-mcp",
"args": []
}
}
}Once connected, Claude Code can call ls, grep, diff, and all other tools as native functions with typed arguments and structured JSON results.
aict trades some speed for semantic richness (language detection, MIME typing, absolute paths). The overhead is intentional.
| Tool | GNU | aict | Ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
ls (1000 files) |
~2ms | ~15ms | 7x | ✅ within target |
find (deep tree) |
~2ms | ~9ms | 5x | ✅ within target |
diff (1000 lines) |
~1ms | ~10ms | 10x | ✅ within target |
grep (100k lines) |
~1ms | ~100ms | 100x | language detection per file |
cat (100k lines) |
~1ms | ~23ms | 17x | encoding + MIME detection |
Use --plain to skip enrichment when you only need raw content.
Why XML and not JSON by default?
XML attributes are denser in a context window. <file size="1024" lang="go"/> is shorter than {"size":1024,"lang":"go"}. Use --json if you prefer JSON — the structure is identical.
Why not pipe GNU tools to jq?
ls, cat, stat, find, diff, and wc don't output JSON. jq can't help with them. aict provides structured output for the entire toolchain, not just grep.
How does this compare to ripgrep?
ripgrep is much faster for pure search. aict grep adds language detection, MIME type, and a consistent output format shared with every other tool. Use ripgrep for speed-critical search; use aict when the agent needs structured context.
How does this compare to eza / lsd?
eza and lsd are better ls for humans — great colors and formatting. aict outputs data structures, not formatted tables. They're solving different problems.
Does it work on Windows?
ls, cat, stat, wc, find, diff, grep, head, tail, sort, uniq, cut, tr, checksums, and path utilities work on Windows. ps, df, and system are Linux/macOS only.
Is this safe to run in a sandboxed environment?
Yes. aict is strictly read-only. No network requests (MIME detection uses the Go stdlib, not HTTP). No telemetry. No data collection. It only reads paths you explicitly pass to it.
Bug reports, feature requests, and PRs are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines, code style, and the tool implementation pattern.
Issues tagged good first issue are a good place to start.
MIT — built entirely by AI tools, for AI tools.