Story

I want to share Ask CLI, a tool I developed to get help with commands and coding directly from the terminal. It is a simple app designed to do one thing well: provide instant command assistance. This isn't a complex coding agent like Claude Code; it is built specifically to get short, fast answers without context switching.

As a developer, I’ve always struggled to remember every command and its specific options. Whenever I need to use tools like Docker, Git, or psql, I find myself leaving the terminal to check documentation or scrolling through verbose --help text just to recall a specific flag. I usually know what I want to do, but I forget the exact syntax. I didn't want to waste time switching to Google or ChatGPT just to find a one-line command.

I developed Ask CLI to solve this. It has been a game-changer for my workflow. Now, when I forget a command, I simply ask my terminal. It gives me a fast, precise answer—exactly what I need—without breaking my flow.

It is incredibly easy to use: just select an AI model, set your API key, and start chatting naturally with your terminal.

Examples:

$ ask how to run a docker container with env variables

$ ask how to setup my local git account

You can also use the "what" and "how" aliases for a more natural feel:

$ what is chmod

$ how to print all the env variables

You can use Ask CLI with popular hosted models (Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT) or with local models and external providers that support OpenAI-compatible APIs (Ollama, llama.cpp, LM Studio, etc.).

Ask CLI is free and open-source. Check it out here:

https://github.com/david-minaya/ask