ask-man is a simple and efficient command-line tool that uses OpenAI's GPT models to generate and explain shell commands from natural language instructions. Designed for developers and terminal users who want fast, accurate commands without searching documentation.

• 🛠 Natural Language to Shell Command: Describe your task in plain language and get the appropriate shell command instantly.
• 📖 Explanations (Optional): Understand what each command does with clear, concise explanations.
• 🤖 Powered by OpenAI: Uses GPT models via OpenAI's API for high-quality output.
• 💡 Minimal & Simple: Clean CLI interface with minimal dependencies, written in Rust.

1. Download the latest binary via curl

Replace <os> and <arch> with your platform values (macos or linux, x86_64 or aarch64):

curl -L https://github.com/aguillenv/ask-man/releases/download/latest/ask-man-<os>-<arch>.tar.gz -o ask-man.tar.gz

For example, for macOS on Intel (x86_64):

curl -L https://github.com/aguillenv/ask-man/releases/download/latest/ask-man-macos-x86_64.tar.gz -o ask-man.tar.gz

2. Extract the archive

tar -xzf ask-man.tar.gz

3. Move the binary to your $PATH

sudo mv ask-man /usr/local/bin/
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/ask-man

4. Verify installation

ask-man --help

5. Set your OpenAI API key

Create a .env file following the .env.template in your working directory with:

OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key_here

To generate a shell command from natural language:

ask-man "zip a folder"

To receive a command with explanation:

ask-man "list processes running on port 3000" --explain

• Prompts customization: Edit the following files to customize behavior:

  • prompt.txt – used for command generation.
  • explain.txt – used for command + explanation.

• Model selection: Change the OpenAI model in src/openai.rs (e.g., gpt-4, gpt-4o).

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Contributions and ideas are welcome! Feel free to open issues or submit pull requests.