File Operations

`read_file`

Read the contents of a file at a given path. Supports text files and images.

Permission: Read

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`path`	string	yes	The file path to read
`offset`	integer	no	Line number to start reading from (0-based)
`limit`	integer	no	Maximum number of lines to read
`regex`	string	no	Return matching lines (capped — exact value advertised in the tool’s parameter schema) instead of a line range. Skipped for image files.
`scratchpad`	string	no	Save output to the scratchpad under this name

Behavior

When offset and limit are both omitted, defaults to the first 2000 lines. If the file has more, a truncation notice is appended.
Use offset/limit to page through large files.
regex runs the pattern against each line and returns line:content rows (like grep -n). It bypasses offset/limit and is meaningless on image content.

Image files

Recognized image extensions are returned as base64-encoded multimodal content:

Provider-native (pass-through): .png, .jpg/.jpeg, .gif, .webp, .bmp
Convertible (decoded and re-encoded as PNG transparently): .tif/.tiff, .ico, .hdr, .exr, .tga, .pbm/.pgm/.ppm/.pnm, .qoi, .dds, .ff/.farbfeld
Unsupported (fall through to text read, which will fail on binary): .svg, .jxl, .heic, .avif

Images are rejected if the final payload exceeds 3.75 MB (~5 MB base64). Conversion can enlarge an image, so a small TIFF may produce a too-large PNG.

Only read image files when the current model supports vision input — text-only models will either error or silently drop the image block.

Examples

Read an entire file:

meka [r] > show me the contents of src/main.rs

Read lines 10-20:

meka [r] > show me lines 10 through 20 of src/main.rs

Modify a file. Supports two modes: replace (swap old_string for new_string) and insert (place content before or after old_string while preserving the anchor). The file must have been read with read_file first (unless force is set).

Permission: Write

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`path`	string	yes	The file path to edit
`old_string`	string	yes	The exact string to find (acts as anchor in insert modes)
`new_string`	string	one of three	Replace mode: replacement for `old_string` (an empty string deletes it)
`insert_before`	string	one of three	Insert mode: text inserted immediately before `old_string` (anchor preserved)
`insert_after`	string	one of three	Insert mode: text inserted immediately after `old_string` (anchor preserved)
`replace_all`	boolean	no	Apply to every occurrence (default: false). If false and `old_string` matches more than once, the edit is rejected as ambiguous
`force`	boolean	no	Bypass read-before-edit requirement (default: false)
`scratchpad`	string	no	Save output to the scratchpad under this name

Exactly one of new_string, insert_before, or insert_after must be provided. Mixing modes is rejected.

Behavior

If old_string matches more than once and replace_all is not set, the edit is rejected — add surrounding context to make the anchor unique, or set replace_all to change every occurrence.
To delete text, use replace mode with an empty new_string.
The file must have been previously read with read_file on the same path. This prevents blind edits. Set force to bypass this requirement.
If old_string is not found, the tool returns an error (without modifying the file).
On success, the response includes a small ±3-line snippet (with line numbers, lines truncated at 200 chars) around the first edited site so you can confirm the change landed without re-reading the file.

`write_file`

Create or overwrite a file with the given content.

Permission: Write

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`path`	string	yes	The file path to write
`content`	string	yes	The content to write to the file
`scratchpad`	string	no	Save output to the scratchpad under this name

Behavior

Creates parent directories if they do not exist.
Overwrites the file if it already exists.

Keyboard shortcuts

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