cmdgui

A terminal tool for discovering, browsing, and composing CLI commands.

Instead of googling flags or re-reading man pages, cmdgui gives you a searchable, browsable interface for any CLI tool installed on your system.

Install

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/cmdgui.git
cd cmdgui
npm run setup

This builds the project and links it globally. After that, run cmdgui from anywhere.

To uninstall:

npm run uninstall
rm -rf ~/.cmdgui  # optional, removes saved tools and config

For development: npm run dev

How it works

Add any CLI tool by name. cmdgui parses its --help output to extract commands, flags, and options, then presents them in a browsable TUI.

cmdgui
> Add a tool
> curl

Found 12 options, 8 examples

If you configure an AI provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, or a local model like Ollama), it also generates practical examples, common errors, and usage tips for every command.

Features

• Add any tool — anything with --help works (ffmpeg, docker, kubectl, curl, etc.)
• Browse commands — scroll through subcommands, flags, and options
• Search — fuzzy search across all tools and commands
• Compose — toggle flags on/off, preview the command, copy to clipboard
• AI prompt — describe what you want in plain English, get the exact command
• Examples & errors — AI-generated practical examples and common error fixes
• Curated content — ships with hand-written Git documentation

Keybindings

Key	Action
j/k or ↑/↓	Navigate
Enter	Select / open
/	Search
a	Add a tool
y	Copy command
p	AI prompt
f	Favorite
e	Compose
Esc	Back
q	Quit (from home)

AI setup

Optional. Without it, tools still work — you just get raw --help data plus tldr-pages examples.

From the home screen, select Configure AI and pick a provider:

• Anthropic or OpenAI — needs an API key
• Local LLM — point to an Ollama or LM Studio instance (recommended model: qwen2.5:14b)

Stack

Built with Ink (React for the terminal), TypeScript, and Fuse.js for search.

Data stored in ~/.cmdgui/ (discovered tools, favorites, config).

License

MIT