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The Terminal Tool enables DinoAI to suggest and execute terminal commands, helping you with Git operations, dbt runs, and other command-line tasks directly from your DinoAI interface.
With the Terminal Tool, DinoAI can help you navigate Git workflows, execute dbt commands, and troubleshoot issues by analyzing command outputs - all without leaving your development environment.

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Capabilities

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Using the Terminal Tool

  1. Open DinoAI and describe what you’re trying to accomplish
  2. DinoAI suggests a terminal command based on your goal
  3. Review the suggested command carefully when DinoAI asks for approval. Whether it asks depends on your approval mode and your terminal command allowlist
  4. Approve the command execution if it looks correct
  5. DinoAI runs the command in your terminal and analyzes the output
  6. If errors occur, DinoAI suggests fixes based on the error messages

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Example Use Cases

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Summarizing Documentation

  • Prompt: "I need to create a branch to fix the issue described in JIRA-123"
  • Result: DinoAI suggests and runs the Git command to create a properly named branch (e.g., git checkout -b fix/JIRA-123-description)

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Extracting Information

  • Prompt: "Can you fix the failing model in our production pipeline?"
  • Result: DinoAI identifies the failing model, suggests edits, runs 'dbt run' to test the fix, and helps resolve any compilation or runtime errors

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Extracting Information

  • Prompt: "I've fixed the issue, can you commit and push my changes?"
  • Result: DinoAI creates a descriptive commit message, commits the changes, and pushes to the remote repository
Always review suggested commands before execution. While DinoAI is designed to be helpful, you should verify that the commands won’t have unintended consequences.

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In agents

In programmable, Slack, and Bolt agents, run_terminal_command runs one program per call, without a shell. It can run dbt, git, gh, glab, and az.
  • Pipes, redirects, command chaining, and variable expansion aren’t supported, so an unquoted |, &, ;, <, >, or $ is refused.
  • To pass one of those characters as text, quote the argument, for example git log --format='%H|%ad|%s'.
  • Text in single quotes is passed exactly as written, including $ and backticks. Inside double quotes, $NAME, $(...), and backticks are refused.
  • working_directory can be relative to the repository root, an absolute path inside the repository, or the path of a repository the agent cloned.

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Working with Error Messages

One of the most powerful features of the Terminal Tool is its ability to understand and resolve errors:
  1. When a command fails, DinoAI analyzes the error output
  2. DinoAI suggests fixes based on the specific error message
  3. After applying fixes, DinoAI can re-run the command to verify the solution

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Integration with Other Tools

The Terminal Tool works seamlessly with other DinoAI tools:
  • Jira Tool: Execute workflows based on Jira ticket requirements
  • File System Tool: Make changes to files and then commit them with proper Git commands
  • Warehouse Tool: Run dbt commands to test models created based on warehouse metadata
Best Practices
  1. Be specific about your goals - Tell DinoAI what you’re trying to accomplish, not just what command you want to run
  2. Review before executing - Always check suggested commands before approving them
  3. Use for workflows - The Terminal Tool is most powerful when automating multi-step workflows
  4. Leverage for debugging - Let DinoAI help identify issues in command outputs and suggest fixes