thelapyae

The personal CLI of La Pyae (@thelapyae) – a collection of mental models for clear thinking, decision making, and problem solving, powered by AI.

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🚀 Introduction

thelapyae is a command-line tool designed to help you think better. It provides instant access to a curated library of 98 mental models (like Inversion, First Principles, Circle of Competence).

It features a Think-with-AI mode where it acts as a consultant, analyzing your specific life or work problems using these mental models to provide actionable advice. Even without AI, it provides powerful offline synthesis combining multiple perspectives.

✨ What's New in v0.5.0

• 🎨 Unified TUI Experience: Entirely redesigned terminal interface with consistent branding (#f3c12b).
• ⌨️ Slash Command Power: New /new and /exit commands for better session management.
• 🔍 Integrated CLI-to-TUI: Run thelapyae "question" to jump directly into a TUI consultation.
• 📑 Inline Views: Help, Configuration, and Sessions now display inline for a smoother workflow.
• ⌨️ Esc to Back: Standardized Esc key navigation to return to the welcome screen from anywhere.
• 🎯 Fixed Input: Resolved double-character and Vim mode issues for a fluid typing experience.

Previous Updates (v0.2.0-v0.3.0)

• 🔐 Secure Storage: API keys now stored in OS keychain (not plain text)
• 🔍 Better Search: Fuzzy matching with typo tolerance
• 🧠 Offline Mode: Multi-model synthesis without requiring API key
• 🎨 Beautiful Output: Colors, spinners, and better formatting
• 🛡️ Error Handling: Helpful error messages with suggestions
• ✅ Tested: 34 unit tests ensuring quality
• 📝 More Commands: Comprehensive CLI with flags and options

📦 Installation

You don't need to install anything if you just want to run it once:

npx thelapyae "I feel overwhelmed"

To install it globally for faster access:

npm install -g thelapyae

💡 Usage

TUI Mode (Recommended) 🎨

The new rich terminal interface provides a beautiful, interactive experience:

$ thelapyae

# You'll see a stunning centralized interface:
# - Header: Brand logo and version
# - Content: Consultations, Help, or History
# - Bottom: Responsive input box

# Commands:
# /help     - Show interactive help
# /new      - Start a new session
# /exit     - Cleanly quit
# /random   - Get a random model
# /list     - List all models
# /sessions - View past sessions
# /config   - Setup API key

# Navigation:
# Enter     - Submit question/command
# Esc       - Back to Welcome / Clear input
# Ctrl+C    - Force Quit

Features:

• 🎨 Beautiful interface with brand colors
• ⌨️ Intuitive slash commands
• 🔍 Live autocomplete as you type /
• 💬 Interactive AI consultations
• 📚 Browse session history inline
• 🎯 Zero mouse required

Interactive Mode (Classic)

Just run thelapyae to enter an immersive interactive session:

$ thelapyae

╭ thelapyae v0.3.0 ──────────────────────────────╮
│                                                 │
│   Welcome! Ask me anything about thinking,     │
│   decisions, or life.                           │
│                                                 │
│   💡 Tips                                       │
│   Just type your question and press Enter      │
│   Commands: /random /list /sessions /help      │
│                                                 │
╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

> Should I quit my job?

[Interactive consultation with reflection questions...]

> /random

[Shows random mental model...]

> /exit

In interactive mode:

• Just type your question and press Enter
• Use /help to see available commands
• Use /random, /list, /sessions, /config
• Use /exit to quit

Quick Commands

You can also use thelapyae directly from the command line:

# Get AI-powered advice
thelapyae "I feel overwhelmed"

# Get offline advice (no API key needed)
thelapyae consult "I feel anxious" --no-ai

# Get a random mental model
thelapyae random

# Search for models
thelapyae search "decision making"

# List all models
thelapyae list

# List by category
thelapyae list --category "Economics"

# View history
thelapyae sessions

# Setup AI (one-time)
thelapyae config

Commands

thelapyae consult <query>

Get AI-powered or offline advice using mental models.

# AI mode (requires API key)
thelapyae "I'm feeling overwhelmed with too many projects"

# Offline mode (no API key needed)
thelapyae consult "Should I take this job?" --no-ai

# Use more models
thelapyae consult "How do I prioritize?" --model-count 5

thelapyae search <query>

Search for mental models with fuzzy matching.

# Find models about thinking
thelapyae search "thinking"

# Limit results
thelapyae search "decision" --limit 3

# Search handles typos
thelapyae search "invertion"  # Finds "inversion"

thelapyae list

List all mental models or filter by category.

# List all
thelapyae list

# Filter by category
thelapyae list --category "General Thinking"

# Table format
thelapyae list --format table

# JSON format
thelapyae list --format json

thelapyae random

Get a random mental model for daily inspiration.

thelapyae random

thelapyae config

Manage your API key and preferences.

# Interactive setup
thelapyae config

# Show current config
thelapyae config --show

# Test API key
thelapyae config --test

# Reset (delete API key)
thelapyae config --reset

Global Options

--help, -h          Show help
--version, -v       Show version
--no-color          Disable colored output
--verbose           Show detailed output

🔑 Configuration (AI Setup)

To enable the AI consulting feature, you need a Google Gemini API Key.

1. Get your free key from Google AI Studio.
2. Run the config command:

thelapyae config

3. Paste your API key when prompted. It will be saved securely in your OS keychain.

Note: Your API key is stored securely in:

• macOS: Keychain
• Windows: Credential Manager
• Linux: Secret Service

Old plain-text keys are automatically migrated on first run.

🧠 Mental Models

This CLI includes 98 models from various disciplines:

• General Thinking Tools (Inversion, Second-Order Thinking, First Principles)
• Stoicism (Circle of Control, Premeditatio Malorum)
• Decision Making (Opportunity Cost, Regret Minimization)
• Economics (Sunk Cost, Compound Interest, Supply and Demand)
• Human Nature (Confirmation Bias, Social Proof, Incentives)
• Systems Thinking (Feedback Loops, Leverage Points)
• And many more...

🧪 Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run tests
npm test

# Run tests with coverage
npm run test:coverage

# Run tests in watch mode
npm run test:watch

📝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

📄 License

MIT © La Pyae

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Mental models curated from various sources
• Powered by Google Gemini AI
• Built with Node.js, Commander.js, Chalk, Ora, Fuse.js, and more