examexam 0.1.4

Let LLM generate tests, validate test, and then you take them. Useful for certs.

examexam

A CLI for creating, validating, converting, and taking multiple‑choice practice exams. Keep everything local as TOML question banks, generate new questions with an LLM, sanity‑check them, and study in a rich terminal UI.

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Install

Recommended: pipx

pipx install examexam

pipx keeps tools isolated and on your path. If you don’t use pipx, you can install with python -m pip install examexam or uv tool install examexam.

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Set up keys & environment

examexam reads a .env file (via python-dotenv) so you can keep secrets out of your shell history.

Create a .env next to where you run the commands:

# Use whichever providers you have
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=...
GEMINI_API_KEY=...

# Optional: default model name your setup understands
EXAMEXAM_DEFAULT_MODEL=gpt4

You’ll select a model with --model on commands that talk to an LLM (e.g., gpt4, claude, gemini-1.5-pro).

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Quick start

1. Make a topics file (one topic per line):

VPC
S3
ECS
IAM
RDS

2. Generate questions into a TOML bank (adds/extends the file):

examexam generate \
  --exam-name "AWS Associate Practice" \
  --toc-file topics.txt \
  --output-file data/aws-practice.toml \
  -n 10 \
  --model gpt4

3. Validate questions (model answers + Good/Bad triage):

examexam validate \
  --question-file data/aws-practice.toml \
  --exam-name "AWS Associate Practice" \
  --model claude

4. Take the exam in your terminal (resume supported):

examexam take --question-file data/aws-practice.toml

Optional: convert to pretty Markdown + HTML study notes:

examexam convert \
  --input-file data/aws-practice.toml \
  --output-base-name aws-practice

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What each command does (at a glance)

• generate — creates new multiple‑choice questions for your topics and appends them to a TOML question bank.
• validate — asks a model to answer each question and flags questions as Good/Bad with a short rationale, then saves that info back into the same file.
• take — launches a clean, keyboard‑only test UI with shuffling, per‑option explanations, progress, time stats, and resume.
• convert — turns a question bank into Markdown and HTML for easy reading.

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Where files go

• Question banks (TOML): store them wherever you like; many people use a data/ folder (e.g., data/aws-practice.toml).
• Session files: saved automatically to .session/<test-name>.toml so you can quit and resume later.
• Converted outputs: convert writes <base>.md and <base>.html alongside your working directory.

You don’t need to know the internal TOML schema—just point commands at your .toml files.

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Command reference

examexam generate --exam-name <str> --toc-file <path> --output-file <path> [-n 5] [--model <name>]
examexam validate --question-file <path> --exam-name <str> [--model <name>]
examexam convert  --input-file <path> --output-base-name <str>
examexam take     --question-file <path>

# Global
--verbose   Enable detailed logging

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Tips & FAQ

• Keys not picked up? Ensure your .env sits in the directory where you run examexam and contains the correct provider key for the --model you chose.
• Appending more questions: Re‑run generate with the same --output-file.
• Stuck session? Delete .session/<test-name>.toml to start fresh.
• Model naming: Use names your environment supports (e.g., gpt4, claude, gemini-1.5-pro).

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Credits

• Author: Matthew Dean Martin (matthewdeanmartin)
• Thanks to OpenAI and Google Gemini models used during generation/validation.

License

MIT License