@sensecall/govuk-rewrite-cli

A minimal CLI that rewrites text into GOV.UK-style content. Supports one-shot rewrites, piped input, and an interactive chat mode.

Install

npm install -g @sensecall/govuk-rewrite-cli

Quick start

govuk-rewrite setup
govuk-rewrite "Please kindly complete the form below"
# Complete the form below.

Commands

One-shot rewrite

govuk-rewrite "Please kindly complete the form below"

Piped input

echo "Click here to find out more" | govuk-rewrite
cat content.txt | govuk-rewrite

Flags

| Flag | Description | |---|---| | --explain | Print short explanation bullets after the rewrite | | --check | Check for style issues without rewriting | | --diff | Show a line diff of changes | | --json | Output structured JSON | | --provider | Override provider (openai, anthropic, openrouter) | | --model | Override model name | | --mode | Content type hint (see below) | | --context | Additional context for the rewrite | | --no-spinner | Suppress the spinner | | --copy | Copy rewritten text to clipboard |

Content modes

govuk-rewrite --mode error-message "Please enter a valid date"

Available modes: page-body, error-message, hint-text, notification, button

Interactive chat

govuk-rewrite chat

Stays open until /quit or Ctrl+C when input is empty. Paste text to rewrite, use /help for shortcuts. Paste multiline content, then press Enter to send it. The composer stays single-line and switches to a clear PASTE READY state with:

• explicit actions (Enter to send, Ctrl+C to clear)
• an unsent preview of the first 2 lines
• a +N more lines summary when applicable

Chat commands:

/help
/provider <openai|anthropic|openrouter>
/model <name>
/mode <page-body|error-message|hint-text|notification|button>
/context <text>
/context clear
/explain on|off
/check on|off
/diff on|off
/json on|off
/tokens on|off
/show
/quit

Chat shortcuts:

Ctrl+C            Clear input (or exit if empty)
?                 Toggle shortcut help

Setup wizard

govuk-rewrite setup

Writes provider, model, and timeout settings to your config file. API keys are never stored — the wizard prints the exact export command to add to your shell profile.

Configuration

Precedence: CLI flags > environment variables > config file > defaults.

Config file location

• macOS/Linux: ~/.config/govuk-rewrite/config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\govuk-rewrite\config.json

Environment variables

OPENAI_API_KEY
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
OPENROUTER_API_KEY
GOVUK_REWRITE_PROVIDER
GOVUK_REWRITE_MODEL
GOVUK_REWRITE_TIMEOUT_MS
GOVUK_REWRITE_BASE_URL

Exit codes

| Code | Meaning | |---|---| | 0 | Success | | 1 | Runtime / provider / config error | | 2 | Usage error |

Library

If you want to use the rewrite engine directly in your own code, install @sensecall/govuk-rewrite instead.

Repository

github.com/sensecall/govuk-rewrite