Clify: Transform Natural Language into Terminal Commands

Ask "create a git branch from a tag" and get the exact commands you need. Clify converts natural language into executable terminal commands using AI.

Quick Start

# Install
brew tap aktagon/clify https://github.com/aktagon/clify
brew install clify

# Configure with your Anthropic API key
clify setup

# Ask questions
clify "find large files in current directory"

Output:

🟡 find . -type f -size +100M -exec ls -lh {} \;
    Find files larger than 100MB and show their sizes

🟢 du -ah . | sort -hr | head -20
    Show top 20 largest files and directories by size

🟢 ls -laSh | head -20
    List files sorted by size (largest first)

Why Choose Clify?

Tool	Strengths	Limitations
Clify	AI-powered, contextual, conversational	Requires API key
tldr	Fast, offline, community examples	Limited coverage
man	Comprehensive documentation	Complex, overwhelming

Clify understands context, suggests alternatives, and adapts to your operating system automatically.

Installation

macOS and Linux

brew tap aktagon/clify https://github.com/aktagon/clify
brew install clify

From Source

git clone https://github.com/aktagon/clify
cd clify
go build -o clify

Build with Make

make build
make install

Usage

Interactive Mode

clify

Start a session with autocomplete and command history.

Direct Queries

clify "compress multiple files into tar.gz"
clify "monitor network traffic on port 80"
clify "batch rename files with regex"

Configuration

Initial Setup

clify setup

Enter your Anthropic API key when prompted.

Configuration File

Clify stores settings in ~/.clify/config.yaml:

api_key: "your-api-key-here"
cache_file: "~/.clify/cache.json"
model: "claude-3-sonnet-20240229"

Environment Variables

Set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY to override the config file API key.

Features

• Smart Caching: Stores responses locally to eliminate duplicate API calls
• Autocomplete: Suggests previous questions as you type
• OS Detection: Provides commands specific to Linux, macOS, or Windows
• Multiple Solutions: Shows alternative approaches for complex tasks

Development

Requirements

• Go 1.21+
• Anthropic API key

Build

git clone https://github.com/aktagon/clify
cd clify
go build -o clify
# or make build

Test

go test ./...

Dependencies

• github.com/aktagon/llmkit - LLM integration
• github.com/charmbracelet/bubbletea - Terminal UI