The shell integration automatically wraps common package manager commands (npm, npx, yarn, pnpm, pnpx, bun, bunx, pip, pip3, uv, uvx, poetry, pipx) with Aikido's security scanning functionality. It also intercepts Python module invocations for pip when available: python -m pip, python -m pip3, python3 -m pip, python3 -m pip3. This is achieved by sourcing startup scripts that define shell functions to wrap these commands with their Aikido-protected equivalents.

Aikido Safe Chain supports integration with the following shells.

safe-chain setup

This command:

• Copies necessary startup scripts to Safe Chain's installation directory (~/.safe-chain/scripts)
• Detects all supported shells on your system
• Sources each shell's startup file to add Safe Chain functions for npm, npx, yarn, pnpm, pnpx, bun, bunx, pip, pip3, uv, uvx, poetry and pipx
• Adds lightweight interceptors so python -m pip[...] and python3 -m pip[...] route through Safe Chain when invoked by name

❗ After running this command, you must restart your terminal for the changes to take effect. This ensures that the startup scripts are sourced correctly.

safe-chain teardown

This command:

• Detects all supported shells on your system
• Removes the Safe Chain scripts from each shell's startup file, restoring the original commands

❗ After running this command, you must restart your terminal to restore the original commands.

The system modifies the following files to source Safe Chain startup scripts:

• Bash: ~/.bashrc
• Zsh: ~/.zshrc
• Fish: ~/.config/fish/config.fish
• PowerShell Core: $PROFILE (usually ~/.config/powershell/profile.ps1)

• PowerShell: Determined by $PROFILE variable
• PowerShell Core: Also determined by $PROFILE variable

Shell functions not working after setup:

• Make sure to restart your terminal
• Check that the startup file was modified to source Safe Chain scripts
• Check the sourced file exists at ~/.safe-chain/scripts/
• Verify your shell is reading the correct startup file

Getting 'command not found: aikido-npm' error:

This means the shell functions are working but the Aikido commands aren't installed or available in your PATH:

• Make sure Aikido Safe Chain is properly installed on your system
• Verify the aikido-npm, aikido-npx, aikido-yarn, aikido-pnpm, aikido-pnpx, aikido-bun, aikido-bunx, aikido-pip, aikido-pip3, aikido-uv, aikido-uvx, aikido-poetry and aikido-pipx commands exist
• Check that these commands are in your system's PATH

To verify the integration is working, follow these steps:

1. Check if startup scripts were sourced in your shell startup file:

   • For Bash: Open ~/.bashrc in your text editor
   • For Zsh: Open ~/.zshrc in your text editor
   • For Fish: Open ~/.config/fish/config.fish in your text editor
   • For PowerShell: Open your PowerShell profile file (run $PROFILE in PowerShell to see the path)

   Look for lines that source the Safe Chain startup scripts from ~/.safe-chain/scripts/

2. Test that shell functions are active in your terminal:

   After restarting your terminal, run these commands:

   • npm --version - Should show output from the Aikido-wrapped version
   • type npm - Should show that npm is a function

3. If you need to remove the integration manually:

   Edit the same startup file from step 1 and delete any lines that source Safe Chain scripts from ~/.safe-chain/scripts/.

For advanced users who prefer manual configuration, you can create wrapper functions directly in your shell's startup file. Shell functions take precedence over commands in PATH, so defining an npm function will intercept all npm calls:

# Example for Bash/Zsh
npm() {
  if command -v aikido-npm > /dev/null 2>&1; then
    aikido-npm "$@"
  else
    echo "Warning: safe-chain is not installed. npm will run without protection."
    command npm "$@"
  fi
}

Repeat this pattern for npx, yarn, pnpm, pnpx, bun, bunx, pip, pip3, uv, uvx, poetry and pipx using their respective aikido-* commands. After adding these functions, restart your terminal to apply the changes.

To intercept Python module invocations for pip without altering Python itself, you can add small forwarding functions:

# Example for Bash/Zsh
python() {
  if [[ "$1" == "-m" && "$2" == pip* ]]; then
    local mod="$2"; shift 2
    if [[ "$mod" == "pip3" ]]; then aikido-pip3 "$@"; else aikido-pip "$@"; fi
  else
    command python "$@"
  fi
}

python3() {
  if [[ "$1" == "-m" && "$2" == pip* ]]; then
    local mod="$2"; shift 2
    if [[ "$mod" == "pip3" ]]; then aikido-pip3 "$@"; else aikido-pip "$@"; fi
  else
    command python3 "$@"
  fi
}

Limitations: these only apply when invoking python/python3 by name. Absolute paths (e.g., /usr/bin/python -m pip) bypass shell functions.