git-camus 0.5.0

Craft Git commit messages with existential flair using local Ollama

git-camus

Craft Git commit messages with existential flair using Ollama, OpenAI, Claude, or the Claude CLI.

git-camus analyzes your staged changes and generates philosophical commit messages inspired by Albert Camus — reflecting on the absurdity, rebellion, and human condition behind every diff.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.9+
• One of the following LLM providers:
  • Ollama (default) — running locally or accessible via network, with a pulled model (default: llama3.2)
  • OpenAI — an API key with access to chat completions (default model: gpt-4o-mini)
  • Claude — an Anthropic API key (default model: claude-sonnet-4-20250514)
  • Claude CLI — a locally-installed Claude CLI with active login (no API key required)

Installation

Install the latest release directly from GitHub:

pip install git+https://github.com/rachlenko/git-camus.git

Or install a specific tag:

pip install git+https://github.com/rachlenko/git-camus.git@v0.5.0

A PyPI release is planned; once published, pip install git-camus will pull the same version.

Standalone install (isolated virtualenv + wrapper binary)

git clone https://github.com/rachlenko/git-camus.git
cd git-camus
./install.sh --prefix /usr/local

This creates an isolated virtual environment under PREFIX/lib/git-camus/ and places the git-camus executable in PREFIX/bin/. The default prefix is /usr/local.

# Install to a custom location
./install.sh --prefix ~/.local

# Install system-wide (may require sudo)
sudo ./install.sh --prefix /usr/local

From a local checkout

pip install .

For development:

pip install -e ".[dev]"

Usage

Stage your changes, then run:

git-camus

Options

Flag	Description
--show, -s	Preview the generated message without committing
--message, -m	Provide context to guide the philosophical reflection
--provider, -p	LLM provider: ollama (default), openai, claude, or claude-cli

Examples

# Generate and commit using Ollama (default)
git add .
git-camus

# Preview without committing
git-camus --show

# Provide context
git-camus -m "fixed auth token expiry"

# Use OpenAI
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."
git-camus --provider openai

# Use Claude
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."
git-camus --provider claude

# Set the default provider via environment variable
export GIT_CAMUS_PROVIDER=claude
git-camus

Configuration

Ollama (default provider)

Variable	Default	Description
OLLAMA_HOST	http://localhost:11434	Ollama API endpoint
OLLAMA_MODEL	llama3.2	Model to use for generation

OpenAI

Variable	Default	Description
OPENAI_API_KEY	(required)	OpenAI API key
OPENAI_API_HOST	https://api.openai.com/v1	OpenAI-compatible API endpoint
OPENAI_MODEL	gpt-4o-mini	Model to use for generation

Claude

Variable	Default	Description
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	(required)	Anthropic API key
ANTHROPIC_API_HOST	https://api.anthropic.com	Anthropic-compatible API endpoint
ANTHROPIC_MODEL	claude-sonnet-4-20250514	Model to use for generation

claude-cli provider

Generate the message with your locally-installed Claude CLI (claude -p), using the CLI's own login — no ANTHROPIC_API_KEY required:

git-camus -p claude-cli            # or: GIT_CAMUS_PROVIDER=claude-cli git-camus

Variable	Default	Description
GIT_CAMUS_CLAUDE_CLI_BIN	claude	Path to the Claude CLI binary

Requires the claude CLI on your PATH and logged in. Unlike the claude provider (Anthropic HTTP API, needs a key), claude-cli strips ANTHROPIC_API_KEY/ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN so the CLI authenticates the same way it does when you run it directly.

General

Variable	Default	Description
GIT_CAMUS_PROVIDER	ollama	Default provider (ollama, openai, claude, or claude-cli)

The OPENAI_API_HOST and ANTHROPIC_API_HOST variables allow using any compatible API proxy or gateway.

License

MIT