ShellGPT

[ Introducing ShellGPT ]

A command-line tool that allows you to interact with GPT-4 directly from your terminal.

https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/4052466/230909567-3569f34c-b145-4cd8-8e55-5445bba00ba8.mp4

Basic Usage

To use ShellGPT, simply run the command with your input message:

gpt "What is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything?"
# ... often humorously said to be the number 42 ...

You can also run shell commands with -x:

gpt -x "Undo my last git commit"
# git reset HEAD~1
# Are you SURE you wish to run the above command? (y/N): y

gpt -x "Download the wikipedia page for Capybaras with all images"
# wget -r -l 1 -H -t 1 -nd -N -np -A jpg,jpeg,gif,png -erobots=off https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capybara

And pipe input and output, transforming files and commands (pass - to accept stdin):

cat mod.ts | gpt "Generate a helpful README file for this project" - > README.md

cat crash.log | gpt "Why is this crash occurring?" -

gpt "Output a CSV of 10 notable cities in Japan with their name in English & Japanese plus a fun fact enclosed in quotes" > japan.csv

Installation

  1. Install the Deno runtime.

  2. Run the following command to install ShellGPT:

deno run -rA https://deno.land/x/shellgpt/install.ts
  1. Ensure $HOME/.deno/bin is in your PATH.
export PATH="$HOME/.deno/bin:$PATH"

After restarting your shell, that's it! You can now use gpt [my request] - or whatever you named the script during installation.

Configuration

You must set the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable in your current shell, using a key obtained from https://platform.openai.com/account/api-keys:

export OPENAI_API_KEY=...

To use the GPT-4 model (recommended as it produces much better results), you'll need to apply for access via this link. Note that it is more expensive, however.

To configure the specific ChatGPT model, system prompt used, and more, you can type gpt --config

Commands and Arguments

Global Commands

These commands are used for general ShellGPT-wide operations.

Argument Alias Description
--help Show help
--config --cfg Configure the model and system prompt
--update Update ShellGPT to the latest version
--history -h List all past conversations

Chat Commands

These commands are for specific chats, either new or existing.

Argument Alias Description
- Read from stdin
--continue --cont, -c Continue the last conversation
--exec -x Run the output as a shell command
--code Returns code as the response
--name -n Name of chat from history to operate the command on
--repl Enters a REPL mode with continuous chat
--retry -r Regenerate the last assistant message
--rewrite --rw, -w Rewrite the last user message & regenerate response
--print -p Print the last message in the conversation
--pop Remove the last message in the conversation
--slice -s Remove the first message in the conversation
--dump -d Dump the entire chat history
--fast -f Use the GPT-3.5-turbo model
--system --sys Set a system prompt or context
--temperature --temp, -t Control the model's creativity
--wpm Words per minute, control the speed of typing output
--max_tokens --max Maximum number of tokens to generate
--model -m Manually use a different OpenAI model
--debug Print OpenAI API information

Features

Shell-GPT has some useful and unique features:

  • Execute shell commands with a confirmation step (just pass -x).
  • Supports input/output piping for simple file creation and transformation (see Basic Usage).
  • Utility commands for convenient chat history viewing and editing.
  • Smooth, streaming output, resembling human typing rather than delayed or choppy responses.
  • Built in Deno for better performance, granular permissions, and easier script modification.

Examples

Continuing the conversation:

gpt "Give me 5 examples of auto-antonyms"
# Sanction, Bolt, Peruse, Trim, Overlook

gpt -c "Give 5 more"
# Cleave, Dust, Weather, Consult, Off

Regenerating the last assistant message:

gpt "Generate a tweet from the perspective of a cat"
# "Just spent 5 hours napping and now I can't decide if I should eat, stare out the window, or nap some more. #CatLife 🐾😽💤" ...

gpt -r
# Just knocked my hooman's coffee off the counter again... you'd think they'd learn by now nothing is safe at paw level 😹 #LivingLifeOnTheEdge #NineLives

Viewing and resuming past conversation history:

gpt --history
# shellgpt-demo-chat
# cat-tweets
# ...

gpt --name "cat-tweets" "Generate more, please"

gpt --dump # Dumps entire chat history

Setting a system prompt and custom temperature:

gpt --temp 0.85 --max 250 --sys "An AI personal trainer" "What exercises should I do for leg day?"

Increasing the speed of the output using GPT-3.5-turbo and custom WPM:

gpt --fast --wpm 1500 "How can I improve my programming skills?"

Interactive coding session:

gpt --code --repl "Write a typescript function that prints the first 100 primes"