Bashcrawl Agent Mode: AI Automation and Contribution
Automate Bashcrawl runs with agent mode, scripted commands, screenshot capture, and an optional open-source contribution finale.
You have conquered the Rift. But the dungeon holds one final secret — a mode where an AI plays alongside you, a mode where you automate the entire journey, a mode where you become the dungeon master. Welcome to Agent Mode.
🕹️ Try Bashcrawl in Your Browser
This page is your walkthrough and strategy guide. Agent Mode itself runs locally (see Install & Play Locally) — but you can explore the dungeon in the browser first.
🎯 Quest Objectives
- Launch Bashcrawl using
./main.sh --agent - Capture a walkthrough screenshot sequence to a directory
- Create and run a batch command file with
--batch - Use
--statusto generate a dungeon completion report - (Optional) Fork the upstream repo and submit an improvement
�️ Quest Prerequisites
- All 9 dungeon areas explored
- Comfortable with shell scripting and pipes
- (Optional) GitHub account for contribution track
⚡ Command Reference
| Mode | What It Does |
|---|---|
./main.sh --agent |
AI playtesting mode — AI navigates autonomously |
./main.sh --agent-bash |
Agent mode in classic bash-only interface |
./main.sh --batch commands.txt |
Execute a list of commands from a file |
./main.sh --command "cmd" |
Run a single command inside the dungeon |
./main.sh --screenshot-dir ./shots/ |
Capture terminal screenshots while playing |
./main.sh --status |
Print dungeon completion status |
./main.sh --demo |
Run the built-in demo walkthrough |
./main.sh --reset |
Reset the dungeon to initial state |
Or use the IT-Journey launcher from the hub directory:
./bash_crawl.sh agent # Launches --agent mode
./bash_crawl.sh tutorial # Launches --tutorial mode
🤖 Walkthrough
Part 1 — Watch the AI play
cd bashcrawl
./main.sh --agent
The Textual TUI launches. An AI agent (powered by llm if installed, otherwise heuristic-based) navigates the dungeon:
- Reads each room description
- Executes appropriate commands
- Collects items
- Defeats bosses
Watch to see if the AI takes different paths than you did. Note: the AI makes mistakes too.
Exit at any point: Ctrl+C or type quit.
Part 2 — Screenshot capture for teaching
mkdir -p ./walkthrough_screenshots
./main.sh --screenshot-dir ./walkthrough_screenshots --classic
# Play through the dungeon normally
# Screenshots auto-saved at each room
ls ./walkthrough_screenshots/
# entrance_01.png workshop_01.png cellar_01.png ...
This is the fastest way to create tutorial screenshots for blog posts, slide decks, or wiki contributions.
Part 3 — Batch automation
Create a file of commands to execute automatically:
cat > my_walkthrough.txt << 'EOF'
ls
cat scroll
cd ENTRANCE
ls -F
cat quest
cd WORKSHOP
ls -F
mkdir backpack
touch map.txt
echo "Items: sword, potion" > map.txt
cat map.txt
EOF
./main.sh --batch my_walkthrough.txt
Batch mode is ideal for:
- Regression testing after dungeon changes
- Creating automated demo videos
- Scripted teaching demonstrations
Part 4 — Status report
./main.sh --status
Output example:
Bashcrawl Status
================
Version: 3.0.0
Areas Explored: 9/9 (100%)
Items Collected: sword, potion, emerald_amulet, stone_key, tome, vault_key, crystal
Bosses Defeated: guardian, monster, ghost, pit_boss, satellite_boss, statue
Completion: DUNGEON CLEARED ✓
Pipe it to a file:
./main.sh --status > my_completion.txt
cat my_completion.txt
Part 5 — Demo mode walkthrough
./main.sh --demo
Demo mode runs a curated, annotated walkthrough that explains each command while executing it. Use this to:
- Onboard new players
- Refresh memory on commands
- Create tutorial material
Part 6 (Optional) — Contributing upstream
The upstream Bashcrawl repo is open source and welcomes contributions:
# Fork on GitHub then:
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/bashcrawl.git
cd bashcrawl
git checkout -b feature/my-improvement
# Make changes (new rooms, better documentation, bug fixes)
# Example: add a new combat command
echo 'cast_spell() { echo "You cast $1!"; }' >> lib/combat.sh
git add .
git commit -m "feat(combat): add cast_spell helper function"
git push origin feature/my-improvement
# Open a Pull Request on GitHub
Ideas for contributions:
- New dungeon rooms or branches
- Better error messages
- Translations
- Windows/PowerShell compatibility
- New agent strategies
💡 Troubleshooting
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
--agent fails |
llm not installed |
Install: pip install llm |
| Screenshots are blank | Terminal not supported | Try --classic mode with --screenshot-dir |
| Batch file hangs | A command waiting for input | Add \n for interactive prompts or use non-interactive commands |
--status shows incomplete |
Some area not fully explored | Check map inside the game |
✅ Validation
- You watched the AI agent navigate at least 3 rooms
- You captured at least 5 screenshots to a directory
- You created a batch file and ran it successfully
--statusshows all areas explored- (Optional) You submitted or drafted a contribution
🏆 Dungeon Master Certificate
Complete all 10 side-quests and you have earned the right to call yourself a Bashcrawl Dungeon Master:
| Badge | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 🏰 Explorer | All 9 chambers explored |
| ⚔️ Combatant | All bosses defeated |
| 📚 Scholar | All man pages consulted |
| 🤖 Automator | Batch file run successfully |
| 🌐 Contributor | Pull request submitted upstream |
➡️ What’s Next?
- Share your completion → Post in the IT-Journey Discussions
- Teach others → Use your screenshots to write a blog post
- Advanced Shell → Try
awk,sed,find,xargsquests at level 0001 - Back to hub → Bashcrawl Hub
🖥️ Advanced: Install & Play Locally
The embedded terminal above is the fastest way to play — but the advanced version runs Bashcrawl in a real shell on your own machine, with the full Textual TUI, agent mode, and a genuine filesystem sandbox. The walkthrough on this page works identically in either mode.
Option A — Clone the game
git clone https://github.com/bamr87/bashcrawl.git
cd bashcrawl
./setup.sh # one-time setup: dirs, permissions, help system
./main.sh # launch the adventure (interactive menu)
Option B — It already ships with IT-Journey
Bashcrawl lives in this repository as the submodules/bashcrawl
git submodule. If you cloned IT-Journey, pull it down and play in place:
git submodule update --init submodules/bashcrawl
cd submodules/bashcrawl
./setup.sh
./main.sh --interactive
Play modes
| Command | Mode | Best for |
|---|---|---|
./main.sh --interactive | Textual TUI (recommended) | A rich local interface — needs Python 3 + textual |
./main.sh --classic | Classic bash emulator | Systems without Python |
./main.sh --native | Native terminal | The full real-filesystem experience |
./main.sh --tutorial | Tutorial mode | Guided, step-by-step learning |
./main.sh --agent | Agent mode | AI automation and screenshots |
./main.sh --help | Help | All launcher options |
Want to host the browser build yourself? From the game directory run
make web-preview and open
http://127.0.0.1:8000.
The same static build is what powers the embedded terminal above
(bamr87.github.io/bashcrawl).
📚 External Resources
Continue your terminal adventure with these resources:
- Bashcrawl Web Demo — Play in your browser, no installation required
- Bashcrawl on GitHub — Source code, setup, and open contributions
- GNU Bash Manual — Official Bash reference for every master wizard
- IT-Journey Bashcrawl Hub — Full quest series and walkthroughs
- GitHub CLI Documentation — Become a hero contributor
The dungeon is complete. The AI learned. The bash shell is your wand. Go forth and automate. 🤖🏰✨
🕸️ Knowledge Graph
Structured wiki-links connect this quest to the IT-Journey knowledge graph. Open the Obsidian Graph View to explore connections.
Level hub: [[Level 0000 - Foundation & Init World]] Overworld: [[🏰 Overworld - Master Quest Map]] Prerequisites: [[Bashcrawl Rift: Pipes, Redirection, and the Final Boss]] Obsidian docs: [[Obsidian Knowledge Graph and Wiki Links]]
🎁 Rewards
🕸️ Quest Network
Referenced by
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