Tools

Amp runs tools and shell commands on your behalf to inspect code, run tests, and iterate quickly.

By default, Amp does not ask for approval before running tools.

Amp acts on content in your workspace. Untrusted repositories, MCP servers, and other external inputs can influence what Amp does. If you regularly work with untrusted sources, consider creating a custom policy plugin, or using an isolated development environment.

Built-in Tools

You can see Amp’s builtin tools by running amp tools list in the CLI.

Subagents

Amp can hand focused work to a subagent with the Task tool. A Task subagent runs the same model and reasoning effort as your thread, in its own context window. It has skills for read-only roles and loads the one that fits the work it gets:

  • Search code in your workspace.
  • Research another repository or a dependency by cloning it and reading its code.
  • Review a change.
  • Plan work before anyone writes code.

Amp decides on its own when to use a subagent, and you can also ask for one. If you ask Amp to “ask the oracle” or “use the librarian”, it sends a reviewing or researching subagent. Here are some examples:

Have a subagent review the last commit's changes. I want to make sure that the logic for when a notification sound plays has not changed.
Use a subagent to research how Zod implements discriminated unions, and show me the code that causes the error I'm seeing.

See Modes & Models for more on how subagents work.

Painter

Amp can generate and edit images using the Painter tool, powered by GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst.

Ask Amp for UI ideas or ask it to use Painter explicitly to generate or edit an image. You can also provide up to 3 reference images for style guidance or editing by @-mentioning image files in your prompt. Say what to keep from each reference and what may change.

See Designing UI With Amp for a workflow that starts with a screenshot, compares layouts, and refines a chosen design before implementing it. Painter generates one image per call; Amp can request several variants in one image or make separate calls.

For an isolated asset that will sit over existing content, such as a logo or sprite, ask for a transparent background. Painter supports transparent PNGs for generation and editing. Amp sets the tool’s background option to transparent; requesting transparency only in the image prompt is not reliable. Amp should check the PNG’s alpha channel and inspect it on light and dark backgrounds before delivering it.

Use Painter to make a cobalt-blue paper-airplane icon with a transparent background and no shadow. Check that the PNG has transparency and show it on light and dark backgrounds.

Keep an opaque background for a complete composition, such as a UI mockup or poster. An app icon with its own designed background should also stay opaque. You can request either background type; otherwise Painter uses auto.

See the Painter announcement for more information.

Permissions

Amp does not ask for approval before running tools.

Use a custom plugin to control tool use. Workspace admins can distribute it as a global workspace plugin.