CLI-AI (cai)

cai turns a plain-English request into a shell command you can run in your terminal.

Install

Requires Node.js 18 or newer.

npm install -g @nnlr/cai

Git-based installs such as npm install -g nnlr/cai are not supported. Install from the npm registry instead.

First run

Run:

cai --bootstrap
# or
cai -b

Or simply run:

cai

With no arguments, cai prints a short usage message.

If ~/.cai/config.json does not exist, cai will bootstrap itself:

• it reads OPENAI_API_KEY if available, or prompts for an API key
• it lists supported OpenAI models for agent-style tasks
• it asks you to choose a model
• it creates ~/.cai/config.json
• it runs a quick smoke test and prints a reply such as Ready to go!

~/.cai/config.json stores the saved API key, default model, and optional base URL.

Usage

cai find all jpg files modified in the last 7 days

Useful commands:

• cai --bootstrap or cai -b
• cai --raw "write a haiku about bash" or cai -r "write a haiku about bash"
• cai --list-models or cai -l
• cai --pick-model or cai -p
• cai --model <model> "<request>" or cai -m <model> "<request>"
• cai --memory-edit or cai -e
• cai --history 10 or cai -n 10
• cai --history-clear or cai -N
• cai --bash-bind or cai -B
• cai --help for the full help message

Behavior notes:

• In normal command mode, cai may inspect the current working directory with read-only tools before producing a final command.
• For multi-step tasks, cai can write a temporary script and return one runner command for it.
• When stderr is a TTY, cai shows a lightweight status animation while waiting on API responses.
• Use --no-memory to skip ~/.cai/memory.md for one request and --no-history to avoid recording an invocation.

More Docs

• Advanced setup and configuration: docs/REFERENCE.md
• Development notes: DEVELOPMENT.md