ShellGPT

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

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 install -A --name=gpt https://deno.land/x/shellgpt/mod.ts

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

Commands and Arguments

Argument Alias Description
--help Show help
--config -cfg Configure the model and system prompt
- Read from stdin
--continue -cont, -c Continue the last conversation
--exec -x Run the output as a shell command
--name -n Name of chat from history to operate the command on
--retry -r Regenerate the last assistant message
--rewrite -rw, -w Rewrite the last user message
--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
--history -h List chat history
--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
--model -m Manually use a different OpenAI model

Features

Shell-GPT has some useful and unique features:

  • Execute shell commands with a confirmation step (just pass -x). Ideal for determining which command to run.
  • 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 -n "cat-tweets" "Generate more, please"

gpt --dump # Dumps entire chat history

Setting a system prompt and custom temperature:

gpt --temp 0.85 --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?"