aiterm-cli 0.9.3

AI-powered terminal assistant

>AITerm

🖥️ AITerm - Terminal AI Chat for Old-School Hackers 💾

Remember when the best tools lived in the terminal? AITerm brings that magic back. A retro-styled terminal interface, powered by Python, that connects you with the most powerful AI models: OpenAI's GPT, Anthropic's Claude, DeepSeek, and any OpenAI-compatible API.

🕹️ For true command-line devotees - Those old-school developers who prefer vim over VS Code, think GUIs are for rookies, and know that real productivity happens where the cursor blinks. ⚡ No breaking your workflow. No annoying windows. Just you, your favorite terminal, and the power of AI one command away. Because real developers never leave the terminal. 🤖

Vintage computing vibes meets cutting-edge AI ✨

✨ Features

Version

0.9.2 Stable Release

🌐 Multi-Provider Support

• OpenAI (GPT-3.5, GPT-4, GPT-4o, o1, o3)
• Anthropic Claude (Claude-3, Claude-3.5, Claude Sonnet 4)
• DeepSeek (DeepSeek-Chat, DeepSeek-Coder, DeepSeek-V3)
• Custom APIs (Any OpenAI-compatible endpoint)

💫 Smart Terminal Experience

• Interactive Setup - First-run configuration wizard
• Persistent Configuration - Your settings are saved automatically
• Session Logging - Optional conversation history with timestamps
• Audio Feedback - Customizable notification sounds (with quick disable)
• Smart Markdown Formatting - Beautiful headers, lists, tables, and code blocks
• Retro Mode - Clean slate after each response for focused interactions
• Table Support - Clean markdown table rendering with multiple border styles
• Color Toggle - Enable/disable colored output on the fly

⚡ Developer-Friendly

• Smart Code Detection - Automatically detects and preserves code formatting
• Context Management - Set custom system prompts for specialized tasks
• History Navigation - Review and clear conversation history
• Raw Output - View unformatted responses when needed
• Connection Testing - Verify API connectivity and model availability
• Debug Mode - Detailed timing and process information

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/fosilinx/aiterm.git
   cd aiterm
   

2. Install dependencies

   pip install openai
   # Optional for better unicode support
   pip install wcwidth
   

3. Run AITerm

   python aiterm.py
   

First Run Setup

On first launch, AITerm will guide you through configuration:

1. Choose your AI provider

   • Select from OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, or custom URL

2. Enter your API key

   • Your key is stored locally in aiterm_config.json

3. Select a model

   • Browse available models for your provider

4. Optional: Set system context

   • Define how the AI should behave

   Recommended system context for optimal performance of all features "You are an intelligent and helpful assistant. Respond concisely and accurately.\nAlways Always use markdown format for responses, avoid using ``` and the language name if it is code, and do not use emojis."

{
  "api_url": "https://api.openai.com/v1",
  "api_key": "your-api-key",
  "model": "gpt-4",
  "provider": "OpenAI",
  "system_context": "You are an intelligent and helpful assistant. Respond concisely and accurately.\nAlways Always use markdown format for responses, avoid using ``` and the language name if it is        code, and do not use emojis."
}

🎯 Usage

Basic Chat

> Hello, can you help me debug this Python function?

Available Commands

Command	Description
/exit, quit, exit	Exit the application
/clear	Clear screen and conversation history
/history	View conversation history
/raw	Show last unformatted response
/context	View current system prompt
/setcontext	Modify system prompt
/resetcontext	Reset system prompt
/config	View current configuration
/reconfig	Reconfigure API settings
/changeai	Change AI provider (resets configuration)
/beep	Toggle notification beep
/beepoff	Disable notification beep
/testbeep	Test notification sound
/testapi	Test API connection
/colors	Toggle color output
/tablestyle	Switch table border style (box/ascii)
/models	List available models
/debug	Toggle debug mode
/retro	Toggle retro answer mode
/help	Show all commands

Advanced Usage

Custom System Context

python aiterm.py -c "You are a senior Python developer focused on clean, efficient code."

Context from File

python aiterm.py -cf system_prompt.txt

Enable Session Logging

python aiterm.py --log

Silent Mode (No Beeps)

python aiterm.py --no-beep

Retro Mode (Fresh Start After Each Response)

python aiterm.py --retro

Debug Mode

python aiterm.py --debug

⚙️ Configuration

AITerm stores configuration in aiterm_config.json:

{
  "api_url": "https://api.openai.com/v1",
  "api_key": "your-api-key",
  "model": "gpt-4",
  "provider": "OpenAI",
  "system_context": "You are a helpful assistant."
}

Session Logs

When logging is enabled, conversations are saved to history_terminal_AI/session_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.txt with:

• Session metadata (provider, model, timestamp)
• Complete conversation history
• Command history
• Timestamps for each interaction

🎨 Customization

Custom Notification Sounds

Place your custom beep sound at sounds/beep-02.wav to override the default system beep.

Table Styles

Switch between two beautiful table styles:

• Box (default): Elegant Unicode borders ╔═╗║╚╝
• ASCII: Classic terminal style +-+||

Use /tablestyle to toggle between styles.

Code Detection

AIterm automatically detects code content and preserves formatting for:

• Programming languages (Python, JavaScript, Java, C++, Go, Rust, etc.)
• COBOL and legacy languages
• SQL queries
• Shell scripts
• Markup languages (HTML, XML)
• Configuration files

Triple backticks (```) in responses are properly handled by the markdown formatter.

🛠️ Advanced Features

Retro Mode

Perfect for presentations or teaching - each response is isolated:

1. Get AI response
2. Press Enter
3. Screen clears
4. Fresh conversation starts

Multiple Model Testing

Easily switch between models to compare responses:

> /models          # List available models
> /reconfig        # Switch to different model

Context Switching

Perfect for different types of tasks:

> /setcontext      # Change context for coding tasks
> /resetcontext    # Set up for writing tasks

API Debugging

> /testapi         # Verify connection
> /config          # Check current settings
> /raw             # See unprocessed responses
> /debug           # Toggle detailed logging

📋 Requirements

• Python 3.6+
• openai library (pip install openai)
• API key from your chosen provider
• wcwidth (optional, for better unicode support)

Optional Dependencies

For enhanced audio feedback:

• Windows: Built-in winsound
• Linux: aplay, paplay, or play
• macOS: afplay

🔧 Command-Line Arguments

usage: aiterm.py [-h] [-c CONTEXT] [-cf CONTEXT_FILE] [-nb] [-lo] [-d] [-r]

AI Terminal - Chat with various AI providers

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -c CONTEXT, --context CONTEXT
                        System context/prompt for the AI
  -cf CONTEXT_FILE, --context-file CONTEXT_FILE
                        File containing system context
  -nb, --no-beep        Disable notification beep
  -lo, --log            Enable session logging
  -d, --debug           Enable debug output
  -r, --retro           Enable retro answer mode

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Here are some ways you can help:

• 🐛 Bug Reports - Found an issue? Let us know!
• 💡 Feature Requests - Have an idea? We'd love to hear it!
• 🔧 Pull Requests - Code improvements and new features
• 📚 Documentation - Help improve our docs

Development Setup

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature-name
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly
5. Submit a pull request

📝 License

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

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built with the OpenAI Python SDK
• Inspired by terminal-based AI tools and developer workflows
• Thanks to all AI providers for their APIs

📞 Support

• 🐛 Issues: GitHub Issues
• 💬 Discussions: GitHub Discussions

☕ Support the Project

If AITerm has been helpful in your development workflow, consider buying me a coffee:

Your support helps maintain and improve AITerm, add new AI provider integrations, and keep the project actively developed.

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Made with ❤️ for old school computer users who live in the terminal