terminalai

AI-powered terminal command generator. Type natural language, get shell commands.

$ ai find all jpg files larger than 1mb
find . -name "*.jpg" -size +1M

Features

• Natural language to shell commands - Just describe what you want
• Pre-fills your command line - Review and edit before executing
• Free to use - Uses free AI models via OpenRouter (free API key required)
• Multi-shell support - Zsh, Bash, and Fish

Installation

# Install globally
npm install -g terminalai-app

# Set up shell integration (creates the 'ai' command)
terminalai setup

# Restart your terminal or run: source ~/.zshrc

On first run, you'll be prompted for a free API key from OpenRouter. The key is saved to ~/.config/terminalai/config.json.

Or try it without installing:

npx terminalai "find all jpg files"

Usage

After setup, use the ai command:

# Find files
ai find all python files modified today

# System info
ai show disk usage by folder

# Git operations
ai show commits from last week

# Text processing
ai count lines in all js files

# Network
ai show what is using port 3000

The generated command appears in your terminal ready to execute. Press Enter to run it, or edit it first.

How It Works

1. You type ai <your request>
2. terminalai sends your request to a free AI model via OpenRouter
3. The AI generates the appropriate shell command
4. The command is pre-filled in your terminal
5. You review, optionally edit, and press Enter to execute

Configuration

API Key

On first run, terminalai will prompt you for an API key and save it automatically.

Get a free key from OpenRouter (takes 30 seconds). The free tier is sufficient for personal use.

Model Selection

On first run, you'll be prompted to select a model. You can change it anytime:

# Interactive model selection
ai model

# Set a specific model directly
ai model anthropic/claude-sonnet-4

Available free models:

• mistralai/devstral-2512:free - Coding-focused (recommended)
• deepseek/deepseek-r1-0528:free - Strong reasoning
• meta-llama/llama-3.3-70b-instruct:free - General purpose

Browse all models at: https://openrouter.ai/models

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
OPENROUTER_API_KEY	Override saved API key
TERMINALAI_MODEL	Override saved model
TERMINALAI_SHELL	Override detected shell (zsh, bash, fish)

Config is stored at: ~/.config/terminalai/config.json

Shell Support

Shell	Pre-fill Support	Notes
Zsh	Full	Uses print -z
Fish	Full	Uses commandline -r
Bash	Partial	Adds to history, prints command

Manual Shell Setup

If you prefer to set up manually, add one of these to your shell config:

Zsh (~/.zshrc):

function ai() {
  local cmd=$(terminalai "$*")
  [[ -n "$cmd" ]] && print -z "$cmd"
}

Fish (~/.config/fish/config.fish):

function ai
  set cmd (terminalai $argv)
  test -n "$cmd" && commandline -r "$cmd"
end

Bash (~/.bashrc):

function ai() {
  local cmd=$(terminalai "$*")
  [[ -n "$cmd" ]] && history -s "$cmd" && echo "$cmd"
}

Safety

• Commands are never auto-executed - you always review first
• The AI avoids destructive commands by default
• You can edit any generated command before running

More Free Tools

I build free developer tools. Follow me on X to get notified about new releases:

@eibrahim

License

MIT