File System Skill

Type

file_system

Variants

Read Only, Full Access, Sandboxed

Purpose: The File System skill provides agents with controlled access to the local filesystem, enabling them to read, write, list, and search files and directories.

Common Use Cases

Reading configuration filesAccess application configs, environment files, and settings

Creating and managing log filesWrite logs, audit trails, and operational data

Searching for specific files or contentLocate files by name patterns or search content within files

Monitoring file changesTrack modifications, detect configuration drift

Variants Overview

Variant	Security	Key Permissions	Best For	Create Command
Read Only 🟢	Safe	Read, list, search only	Log monitoring, audits	`--variant read_only`
Full Access 🟡	Recommended	Read, write, create, delete	General file operations	`--variant full_access`
Sandboxed 🔵	Secure	Isolated to specific directory	Testing, untrusted operations	`--variant sandboxed`

Choosing a variant: Start with Read Only, upgrade only as needed following the principle of least privilege. See Variant Configuration for detailed differences.

Configuration

Example Configuration:

{
  "enable_read_file": true,
  "enable_save_file": false,
  "base_dir": "/var/log",
  "allowed_extensions": ["log"]
}

📋 Full Configuration Reference

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`enable_read_file`	boolean	true	Allow file reading
`enable_save_file`	boolean	variant-specific	Allow file writing
`enable_list_files`	boolean	true	Allow directory listings
`enable_search_files`	boolean	true	Allow content search
`base_dir`	string	”/“	Root directory restriction
`allowed_extensions`	array	[]	Whitelist file types
`max_file_size`	string	”10MB”	Maximum file size
`follow_symlinks`	boolean	false	Follow symbolic links

⚙️ Variant-Specific Defaults

Read Only:

enable_save_file: false (locked)
enable_delete: false (locked)

Full Access:

All operations enabled

Sandboxed:

base_dir: "/sandbox" (locked)
Full access within sandbox only

See: Variant Configuration Guide

Quick Start

# Create skill with variant
kubiya skill create --name "Log Reader" --type file_system --variant read_only --enabled

# Associate with agent
kubiya skill associate agent <agent-id> <skill-id>

View Complete Examples

See full production deployment patterns, multi-step workflows, and troubleshooting guides

Security Best Practices

Use base_dir to restrict access

Always specify a base_dir to limit file operations to a specific directory tree.

base_dir: "/opt/myapp"  # Agent can only access files under /opt/myapp

Whitelist file extensions

Use allowed_extensions to restrict which file types the agent can interact with.

allowed_extensions: ["yaml", "json", "log"]

Start with Read Only

Begin with the most restrictive variant and only upgrade when write operations are necessary.

Permission Denied Errors

Solutions:

Verify base_dir includes the target files
Check file extensions are in allowed_extensions
Confirm worker process has OS-level read permissions

Cannot Write Files

Solutions:

Ensure variant is not Read Only
Verify enable_save_file: true in configuration
Check OS-level write permissions on target directory

Files Outside base_dir Not Accessible

This is expected behavior for security. Either adjust base_dir to include needed paths or create multiple File System skills with different base_dir values.

Shell Skill

Execute commands to manipulate files

Python Skill

Process files with Python scripts

File Generation

Create formatted files (PDF, CSV, JSON)

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Introduction

Quick Start

Web Interface

Core Concepts

Infrastructure

File System Skill

Type

Variants

Common Use Cases

Variants Overview

Configuration

Quick Start

View Complete Examples

Security Best Practices

Shell Skill

Python Skill

File Generation

View All Skills

Type

Variants

​Common Use Cases

​Variants Overview

​Configuration

​Quick Start

View Complete Examples

​Security Best Practices

​Troubleshooting & Related Skills

​Related Skills

Shell Skill

Python Skill

File Generation

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Common Use Cases

Variants Overview

Configuration

Quick Start

Security Best Practices

Troubleshooting & Related Skills

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