Reading a file with the @files tool

[GordianDziwis]

I want to give the llm the directory tree, so it can choose what files it needs for context. But I cannot get the @files to get the contents of a file like with the #buffer or /file command.

For example:

## Me  

> Sharing:
> - FILES tool

test the @files tool by reading a file of your choosing and show me the contents

## CodeCompanion  

I'll read a common configuration file and display its contents.

```xml
<tools>
  <tool name="files">
    <action type="read">
      <path>/home/beavis/repositories/dotfiles/.bashrc</path>
    </action>
  </tool>
</tools>
```

The contents of the file should appear above. Once you see them, we can:

1. Analyze the file contents
2. Make modifications to the file
3. Create a backup copy of the file

## Me  

> Sharing:
> - FILES tool

The READ action was executed successfully.

did you get something?

## CodeCompanion  

No, I don't actually see the contents of the file in our conversation. While the read action was successful, I don't have direct access to the output. This is a limitation on my end - I can request to read files, but I can't see the actual contents that were read.

Let me try something simpler to demonstrate:

```xml
<tools>
  <tool name="files">
    <action type="read">
      <path>/home/beavis/repositories/dotfiles/README.md</path>
    </action>
  </tool>
</tools>
```

Next steps:
1. You could share the contents with me if you'd like me to analyze them
2. We could try creating or editing a file instead
3. We could explore other files in the dotfiles repository

The debug window does not show any file contents transferred in the background.

[olimorris]

The files tool doesn't share any directory tree. It just works with files in your OS. You could combine it with the @cmd_runner tool and use a Git command to share the tree.

A future roadmap item is to have a workspace tool or slash command that will create a symbolic outline of a working directory and share that with the LLM.

[GordianDziwis]

I just use :r !tree to get the file tree manually into the chat buffer.

The issue is that the @files tool does not read the contents of the file and adds them to the request.

[olimorris]

This needs to be a bug report rather than a discussion. Can you raise it as an issue?

[GordianDziwis]

Done: #467