diff --git a/internal/recipe/runner.go b/internal/recipe/runner.go
index f69076f..d480722 100644
--- a/internal/recipe/runner.go
+++ b/internal/recipe/runner.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 
 	"gmgauthier.com/grokkit/internal/grok"
@@ -49,9 +50,8 @@ func (r *Runner) Run() error {
 			r.handleApplyStep(refactorJSONs)
 			continue
 
-		// Explicit trigger for read-only shell commands
-		case strings.Contains(titleLower, "read-only shell") ||
-			strings.Contains(titleLower, "shell read-only"):
+		// Explicit trigger for read-only shell
+		case strings.Contains(titleLower, "read-only shell") || strings.Contains(titleLower, "shell read-only"):
 			r.executeReadOnlyShell(step, previousResults)
 			continue
 
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ func createUnifiedPatch(changes []FileChange, patchPath string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// executeReadOnlyShell — safe, whitelisted, read-only shell execution with user confirmation
+// executeReadOnlyShell — now handles numbers in args (like tree -L 3)
 func (r *Runner) executeReadOnlyShell(step Step, previousResults []string) {
 	prompt := fmt.Sprintf(`You need additional context from the filesystem for this step.
 
@@ -281,7 +281,7 @@ Return ONLY a JSON array of read-only commands. Example:
   },
   {
     "command": "tree",
-    "args": ["."]
+    "args": [".", "-L", 3]
   }
 ]
 
@@ -308,11 +308,11 @@ Only use safe read-only commands from the allowed list.`,
 	}
 
 	jsonStr := response[start:end]
-	jsonStr = strings.ReplaceAll(jsonStr, "\\\"", "\"") // fix escaped quotes
+	jsonStr = strings.ReplaceAll(jsonStr, "\\\"", "\"")
 
 	type ShellCommand struct {
-		Command string   `json:"command"`
-		Args    []string `json:"args"`
+		Command string        `json:"command"`
+		Args    []interface{} `json:"args"` // allows strings and numbers
 	}
 
 	var cmds []ShellCommand
@@ -322,9 +322,24 @@ Only use safe read-only commands from the allowed list.`,
 	}
 
 	for _, cmd := range cmds {
+		// Build argument list, converting numbers to strings
+		args := make([]string, len(cmd.Args))
+		for i, arg := range cmd.Args {
+			switch v := arg.(type) {
+			case string:
+				args[i] = v
+			case float64:
+				args[i] = strconv.FormatFloat(v, 'f', -1, 64)
+			case int, int64:
+				args[i] = fmt.Sprintf("%v", v)
+			default:
+				args[i] = fmt.Sprintf("%v", v)
+			}
+		}
+
 		fullCmd := cmd.Command
-		if len(cmd.Args) > 0 {
-			fullCmd += " " + strings.Join(cmd.Args, " ")
+		if len(args) > 0 {
+			fullCmd += " " + strings.Join(args, " ")
 		}
 
 		fmt.Printf("   Grok wants to run: %s\n   Allow this command? [y/N] ", fullCmd)
@@ -353,7 +368,7 @@ Only use safe read-only commands from the allowed list.`,
 		}
 
 		// Run with strict cwd
-		execCmd := exec.Command(cmd.Command, cmd.Args...)
+		execCmd := exec.Command(cmd.Command, args...)
 		execCmd.Dir = r.resolveWorkDir()
 		output, err := execCmd.CombinedOutput()