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Add direct shell escape command (e.g. !command or /shell) #7941

@agrawalamod

Description

@agrawalamod

Kiro Product

CLI

Feature Description

Currently there's no way to run a shell command from within Kiro CLI without going through the AI agent.
Simple commands like git status, ls, or npm test that I already know I want to run require a full AI
round-trip, burning tokens and adding latency for no reason.

Request: Add a shell escape — either ! syntax (like vim/python REPL) or a /shell
slash command — that executes directly in the user's shell and prints output without involving the AI.

Why it matters:

  • Developers frequently need to run quick commands mid-workflow (check git state, run a build, list
    files)
  • The current flow wastes tokens and time on zero-intelligence tasks
  • Every major REPL and interactive tool supports this pattern (! in Python, :! in vim, etc.)

Use Case

Use case:

I'm working with Kiro to implement a feature across multiple files. Between asking the agent to make
changes, I want to quickly run git diff to see what's changed, npm test to check if tests pass, or ls
src/ to remind myself of the file structure. These are commands I already know — I don't need AI to run
them for me. Today I either burn tokens asking the agent, or I switch to another terminal and lose my
flow. A simple !git diff would take milliseconds instead of seconds and cost nothing.

Why it matters:

  • Developers frequently need to run quick commands mid-workflow (check git state, run a build, list
    files)
  • The current flow wastes tokens and time on zero-intelligence tasks
  • Every major REPL and interactive tool supports this pattern (! in Python, :! in vim, etc.)

Additional Context

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