Dash CLI

AI-powered Git CLI for commit messages, PRs, and GitHub workflows.

Install

npm install -g dash-git

Then run:

dash setup

Note: If you have the system shell dash installed (common on Debian/Ubuntu), use dash-cli instead of dash for all commands.

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• Git
• Groq API Key from console.groq.com/keys
• GitHub CLI (optional) - for PR/issue commands. Get it at cli.github.com

Quick start

dash config set GROQ_API_KEY=gsk_your_key_here

dash setup

dash
dash commit
dash c -m "chore: hide testimonials"

dash pr

Commands

dash commit / dash c

dash commit [-g <n>] [-x <files>] [-a] [-t <type>] [-m <context>]

| Flag | Description | | ----------------------- | ---------------------------- | | -g, --generate <n> | Generate n messages (max: 5) | | -x, --exclude <files> | Exclude files | | -a, --all | Stage all changed files | | -t, --type <type> | Use conventional format | | -m, --message <text> | Extra AI context for message |

Examples:

dash
dash commit
dash c
dash commit -m "chore: hide testimonials"
dash commit --all
dash commit --exclude dist/ --generate 3
dash commit --type conventional

dash opens a staging selector before it commits. "Stage all changed files" is selected by default, and you can switch to manual mode with the arrow keys to choose files with Space and submit with Enter.

dash commit uses your current staged changes. If nothing is staged, it now asks whether you want to stage everything or select files manually before generating the commit message.

For larger diffs, dash can generate a multi-line commit message with a conventional subject line plus - bullet points for the major changes.

dash pr

dash pr [create|list|view|merge] [flags]

| Subcommand | Description | | ---------- | ---------------- | | create | Create/edit PR | | list | List open PRs | | view | View current PR | | merge | Merge current PR |

Create flags:

| Flag | Description | | --------------------- | --------------- | | -b, --base <branch> | Base branch | | -d, --draft | Create as draft |

Merge flags:

| Flag | Description | | -------------- | ------------ | | -s, --squash | Squash merge | | -m, --merge | Merge commit | | -r, --rebase | Rebase merge |

Examples:

dash pr
dash pr --draft --base develop
dash pr list
dash pr merge --squash

dash issue

dash issue list [-s <state>] [-l <n>]

| Flag | Description | | --------------------- | ------------------------ | | -s, --state <state> | open, closed, all | | -l, --limit <n> | Max issues (default: 20) |

Examples:

dash issue list
dash issue list --state all --limit 10

dash config

dash config <get|set> <key=value...>

Examples:

dash config set GROQ_API_KEY=gsk_xxx
dash config set model=openai/gpt-oss-120b
dash config get GROQ_API_KEY model

dash hook

dash hook <install|uninstall>

Installs git hook for auto-message generation.

dash setup

dash setup

Checks dependencies and configures GitHub CLI integration.

Configuration

Config stored in ~/.dash:

| Option | Default | Description | | -------------- | ------------------ | ------------------ | | GROQ_API_KEY | - | API key (required) | | model | openai/gpt-oss-20b | AI model | | generate | 1 | Commit suggestions | | type | - | Use conventional | | max-length | 100 | Max message length | | locale | en | Message language | | timeout | 10000 | API timeout (ms) | | gh_enabled | true | Enable gh features |

Custom prompts

Create a .dash folder in your repository:

• .dash/commit.md - Overrides commit prompt
• .dash/pr.md - Overrides PR prompt

When these files exist, dash uses them instead of the built-in prompts.

Monorepo support: Dash searches up the directory tree, so you can have:

monorepo/
├── .dash/commit.md              # Root rules
└── packages/
    ├── api/.dash/commit.md      # API rules
    └── web/.dash/commit.md      # Web rules

Each package can have its own prompts.

Environment variables

| Variable | Description | | -------------- | ----------- | | GROQ_API_KEY | API key | | HTTPS_PROXY | HTTP proxy |

GitHub CLI

Requires gh:

• dash pr
• dash issue

Works without gh:

• dash commit
• dash hook
• dash config
• dash setup

Troubleshooting

"dash" runs the system shell instead of the CLI

Many Linux systems (Debian, Ubuntu, etc.) have /usr/bin/dash (the Debian Almquist Shell) installed. If your npm bin directory is lower in PATH priority, the system shell runs instead.

Solution: Use dash-cli instead of dash:

dash-cli setup
dash-cli commit
dash-cli pr

Both dash and dash-cli are provided as binary names. Use whichever works on your system.

Alternative: Fix your PATH to prioritize npm globals:

# Check where dash resolves to
which dash

# Check npm global bin location
npm bin -g

# Add npm bin to PATH (in .bashrc/.zshrc)
export PATH="$(npm bin -g):$PATH"

Development

git clone https://github.com/koushikxd/dash-git.git
cd dash/packages/cli

pnpm install
pnpm build
pnpm dev
pnpm test

Structure

packages/cli/
├── src/
│   ├── commands/      # Command implementations
│   ├── utils/         # Git, config, API helpers
│   ├── errors.ts
│   └── index.ts
├── tests/
└── dist/

Contributing

1. Fork it
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make changes
4. Run tests: pnpm test
5. Use dash to commit: dash commit
6. Use dash for PR: dash pr

Acknowledgments

Inspired by noto by Sithija Nelusha Silva.

License

MIT