AskCommand
Open source CLI that turns natural language into safe Linux commands using GPT based suggestions with examples and flags so you can go from intent to executable quickly.
Overview
AskCommand is a small open source utility that helps you translate plain English into shell commands you can trust. You type your intent such as list all JPEGs in subfolders and sort by size and AskCommand proposes a concrete command with flags plus a concise explanation. It is designed for terminal first workflows and pairs well with tools like grep, find, awk and ripgrep.
Under the hood it calls a large language model then returns a minimal command so you stay in control of execution and edits. Typical use spans day to day file operations, archiving with tar or zip, quick text processing with sed or awk and scaffolding one liners that would normally take time to recall from man pages. Because results are suggestions you can copy, edit, or run them after review which keeps risk bounded and helps you learn options as you go.
The project is MIT licensed and welcomes contribution via issues or pull requests so teams can adapt it to their dotfiles and aliases.
Key features
- Natural language to shell commands with short explanations
- Single binary workflow that prints a suggested command not auto executes
- Examples focused output to reveal flags and safe defaults
- Model powered drafting that accelerates awk sed grep usage
- MIT licensed and easy to fork for internal standards
- Works offline for review because it only prints the suggestion
- Encourages learning by showing minimal reproducible commands
- Simple arguments and helpful usage for getting started fast
Best for
- Draft safe file operations rename copy move and delete with previews
- Generate grep find and awk pipelines for text hunts and logs
- Compose tar and zip archiving commands with include or exclude rules
- Build cURL or wget calls for quick API tests with headers
- Create systemctl or journalctl lines for service debugging
- Produce git commands for branching stashes and partial commits
- Prepare ffmpeg invocations for fast media conversions
- Teach junior engineers core Unix flags through readable output
Capabilities
Natural Language to CLI
Convert an English request into a concrete command and explanation while keeping execution manual and auditable.
Flags and Options
Expose key flags and sane defaults so users understand why a command works and how to adapt it quickly.
Pipelines and One liners
Suggest chained commands for grep, awk, find and xargs to solve multi step tasks efficiently.
Fork and Extend
Fork the MIT repo integrate into dotfiles and add organization conventions or safety checks.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does pricing start?
AskCommand is an open source GitHub project distributed under the MIT license and is free to download and use.
Does it auto run commands?
No it prints a suggested shell command and explanation so you review and execute manually.
Is internet access required?
The suggestion step uses an API call while review and editing happen locally in your terminal.
Can I customize the output style?
Yes you can fork the repo and add templates prompts or safety guards that fit your team standards.
Is there Windows support?
It is aimed at Linux and macOS shells though WSL works for many setups.
What models are used?
It calls a modern GPT style model to draft commands and returns minimal results.
Is there telemetry?
The open source repo shows no tracking and contributions are welcome to keep it lean.
Can I contribute new examples?
Yes open issues or pull requests to propose examples flags or docs.
