songbird-ai 0.1.13

A terminal-based AI coding companion that runs on local LLMs

Songbird

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A terminal-based AI coding companion with 11 professional tools, smart task management, and persistent memory

Downloading

With uv (recommended)

uv tool install songbird-ai

With pipx (if available)

pipx install songbird-ai

With pip (traditional)

pip install songbird-ai

Quick Start

Option 1: With Gemini (Recommended)

# Install Songbird
pipx install songbird-ai

# Get your free Gemini API key
# Visit: https://aistudio.google.com/app/apikey

# Set your API key
export GEMINI_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

# Start coding with AI
songbird

# Set your default provider (one-time setup)
songbird --default

# Continue your previous session
songbird --continue

# Resume from any previous session
songbird --resume

Option 2: With GitHub Copilot

# Install Songbird
pipx install songbird-ai

# Get your GitHub Copilot access token from VS Code or JetBrains IDE
# VS Code: Command Palette → "GitHub Copilot: Generate Access Token"
# JetBrains: Settings → Tools → GitHub Copilot → Generate Token

# Set your access token
export COPILOT_ACCESS_TOKEN="your-copilot-token-here"

# Start coding with GitHub Copilot
songbird --provider copilot

# Set Copilot as your default (one-time setup)
songbird default copilot

# Continue previous session with Copilot
songbird --provider copilot --continue

Option 3: With Local Ollama

# Install Songbird
pipx install songbird-ai

# Install Ollama
curl -fsSL https://ollama.ai/install.sh | sh

# Start Ollama and pull a model
ollama serve
ollama pull devstral:latest

# Start coding with AI
songbird --provider ollama

# Set Ollama as your default (one-time setup)  
songbird default ollama

# Continue previous session with Ollama
songbird --provider ollama --continue

Features

11 Professional Tools for complete development workflows:

• Enhanced File Operations: file_search, file_read, file_create, file_edit with syntax highlighting and diff previews
• Smart Task Management: todo_read, todo_write with automatic prioritization and session persistence
• Advanced File Discovery: glob pattern matching, grep regex search, enhanced ls directory listing
• Atomic Operations: multi_edit for safe bulk file changes with rollback capabilities
• Shell Integration: shell_exec with live output streaming and cross-platform support

Intelligent Task Management

• LLM-Powered Auto-Completion: Automatically detects and completes tasks from natural language - just say "I implemented the JWT tokens" and the system intelligently marks related todos as complete
• Session-Aware Todos: Create, track, and complete development tasks with automatic priority assignment
• Smart Prioritization: AI analyzes task content to assign appropriate priority levels
• Clean Visual Display: Simple bullet points with strikethrough for completed tasks
• Semantic Understanding: The LLM understands context - "JWT token system" matches "JWT tokens for authentication"

Smart Todo Management Example:

# Create todos naturally
"I need to implement JWT authentication and user registration"
✓ Creates: "Implement JWT authentication" and "Add user registration"

# Complete todos intelligently  
"I finished the JWT token system and it's working"
✓ Auto-completes: "Implement JWT authentication" (semantic match)
✓ Shows updated list with strikethrough for completed items

# No manual marking needed - just describe what you did!

Advanced File Discovery & Search

• Glob Patterns: Find files with patterns like **/*.py, src/**/*.js, *test*.{py,js}
• Regex Content Search: Powerful regex search with context lines and highlighting
• Enhanced Directory Listing: Rich formatted output with sorting and metadata
• Smart File Detection: Automatically detects filename vs content searches
• Type-Specific Search: Filter by file extensions (py, js, md, txt, json, yaml, etc.)

Atomic Multi-File Operations

• Bulk Editing: Edit multiple files simultaneously with safety guarantees
• Beautiful Previews: Unified diff display for all changes before applying
• Rollback Protection: Automatic rollback if any operation fails
• Atomic Transactions: All-or-nothing approach ensures consistency

Persistent Memory System

• Session Persistence: Automatic conversation saving with project-aware storage
• Seamless Continuation: Resume exactly where you left off with --continue
• Session Browser: Interactive menu to select from previous sessions with --resume
• Project Isolation: Each git repository gets separate session storage
• Visual Replay: Perfect restoration of conversation history with tool outputs

Dynamic Command System

• In-Chat Commands: Type / for instant command access without leaving conversation
• Real-Time Model Switching: Change models with /model command - no session restart needed
• Model Persistence: Model changes automatically save and restore across sessions
• Help System: Comprehensive /help command with examples and documentation
• Session Management: /clear command for conversation management

Multi-Provider AI Support

• 6 AI Providers: OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, GitHub Copilot, Ollama, and OpenRouter
• Automatic Provider Selection: Intelligent fallback based on available API keys
• Cloud & Local: Use powerful cloud models or private local models
• Dynamic Switching: Switch models and providers instantly during conversations

Safety & Security

• Repository Sandboxing: Cannot access files outside your project
• Diff Previews: Review all changes before applying with beautiful unified diffs
• Atomic Operations: Safe multi-file editing with automatic rollback
• Input Validation: Comprehensive validation for all tool operations

Installation

Recommended: pipx (for CLI tools)

# Install with pipx (isolated, globally available)
pipx install songbird-ai

# Verify installation
songbird --help

Alternative: uv (fast package manager)

# Install with uv
uv tool install songbird-ai

# Verify installation
songbird --help

Traditional: pip

# Install with pip (may conflict with other packages)
pip install songbird-ai

Getting Started

1. Install Ollama

Linux/WSL

curl -fsSL https://ollama.ai/install.sh | sh

macOS

# Using Homebrew
brew install ollama

# Or download from https://ollama.ai/download

Windows

Download and install from https://ollama.ai/download

2. Start Ollama Server

ollama serve

3. Pull a Coding Model

# Recommended: Devstral (enhanced coding capabilities)
ollama pull devstral:latest

# Alternatives
ollama pull codellama:7b        # Meta's CodeLlama
ollama pull llama3.2:3b         # General purpose, faster
ollama pull deepseek-coder:6.7b # DeepSeek Coder

4. Start Songbird

# Launch interactive chat (uses Gemini if API key is set, otherwise Ollama)
songbird

# Use specific provider
songbird --provider gemini
songbird --provider ollama

# Use specific model (or change models during conversation with /model)
/model gemini-2.0-flash-001    # Switch models in conversation
/model qwen2.5-coder:7b        # No restart needed

# Check available providers
songbird --list-providers

# Check version and commands
songbird --help
songbird version

For detailed setup instructions, model comparisons, and troubleshooting for all providers, see the Complete Provider Guide.

Usage Examples

# Basic chat session (auto-selects best provider)
songbird

# Use Gemini (powerful, cloud-based)
songbird --provider gemini

# Use GitHub Copilot (subscription-based)
songbird --provider copilot

# Use Ollama (private, local)
songbird --provider ollama

# List available providers
songbird --list-providers

# Set default provider (no need to specify --provider every time)
songbird --default               # Interactive menu to set defaults
songbird default gemini          # Set Gemini as default provider
songbird default copilot gpt-4o  # Set Copilot with specific model
songbird default ollama qwen2.5-coder:7b  # Set Ollama with specific model

# After setting defaults, just use:
songbird                 # Uses your configured defaults

# Session management
songbird --continue      # Continue latest session
songbird --resume        # Pick from previous sessions

# Print mode - One-off commands with clean output
songbird -p "What is 2+2?"                    # Shows tool execution + answer
songbird -p "Create a Python hello world"     # Transparent mode (default)
songbird -p "List files in current directory" # Shows tools used

# Ultra-quiet mode - Final answer only (perfect for scripting)
songbird -p "What is 2+2?" --quiet           # Only shows: "4"
songbird -p "Create hello.py" --quiet         # Only shows: "File created successfully..."
songbird -p "Current time" --quiet            # Clean output for automation

# Show available commands
songbird --help

# Display version
songbird version

In-Chat Commands

Once in a conversation, use these powerful commands:

# Model switching (no session restart needed!)
/model                    # See available models and switch interactively
/model devstral:latest    # Switch to specific model directly
/model gemini-2.0-flash-001  # Switch to Gemini model

# Help and information
/help                     # Show all available commands
/help model               # Get help for specific command
/                         # Quick command menu

# Session management
/clear                    # Clear conversation history
/clear --force            # Clear without confirmation

Configuration

Default Provider & Model Setup

Songbird lets you set default providers and models so you don't have to specify them every time:

# Interactive setup - shows menu to choose provider and model
songbird --default

# Direct setup - set provider only (uses provider's default model)
songbird default gemini
songbird default copilot  
songbird default ollama

# Direct setup - set both provider and specific model
songbird default openai gpt-4o-mini
songbird default claude claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022
songbird default gemini gemini-2.0-flash-001
songbird default ollama qwen2.5-coder:7b
songbird default copilot gpt-4.1-2025-04-14

# After setting defaults, simply run:
songbird  # Uses your configured provider and model

Configuration File

Songbird stores your preferences in ~/.songbird/config.json:

{
  "llm": {
    "default_provider": "gemini",
    "default_models": {
      "openai": "gpt-4o",
      "claude": "claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022", 
      "gemini": "gemini-2.0-flash-001",
      "ollama": "qwen2.5-coder:7b",
      "copilot": "gpt-4.1-2025-04-14"
    }
  }
}

Environment Variable Overrides

You can override any configuration with environment variables:

export SONGBIRD_DEFAULT_PROVIDER="gemini"
export SONGBIRD_MAX_TOKENS=8192
export SONGBIRD_TEMPERATURE=0.3

Development

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 or higher
• uv (recommended) or pip

Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Spandan7724/songbird
cd songbird

# Install with uv (recommended)
uv sync
uv pip install -e .

# Or with traditional tools
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -e .

Testing

# Run all tests
pytest

# Run with coverage
pytest --cov=songbird

# Run specific test file
pytest tests/test_cli.py -v

# Run LLM integration tests (requires Ollama)
pytest tests/llm/ -v

Building

# Build wheel and source distribution
python -m build

# Test local installation
uv tool install ./dist/songbird_ai-*.whl

Troubleshooting

Ollama Connection Issues

# Check if Ollama is running
curl http://localhost:11434/api/tags

# Restart Ollama service
ollama serve

# Check available models
ollama list

Model Not Found Errors

# Pull the required model
ollama pull qwen2.5-coder:7b

# List available models
ollama list

Gemini API Issues

# Check if API key is set
echo $GEMINI_API_KEY

# Get a free API key
# Visit: https://aistudio.google.com/app/apikey

# Set API key permanently
echo 'export GEMINI_API_KEY="your-key-here"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

# Test Gemini provider
songbird --provider gemini

GitHub Copilot Issues

# Check if access token is set
echo $COPILOT_ACCESS_TOKEN

# Get access token from VS Code
# Command Palette → "GitHub Copilot: Generate Access Token"

# Get access token from JetBrains IDE
# Settings → Tools → GitHub Copilot → Generate Token

# Set token temporarily
export COPILOT_ACCESS_TOKEN="ghu_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"

# Set token permanently
echo 'export COPILOT_ACCESS_TOKEN="your-token-here"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

# Test Copilot provider
songbird --provider copilot

# Check available models
songbird --provider copilot --list-providers

Installation Issues

# Update pipx
pipx upgrade songbird-ai

# Or reinstall
pipx uninstall songbird-ai
pipx install songbird-ai

License

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

Acknowledgments

• Ollama - Local LLM runtime
• Typer - CLI framework
• Rich - Terminal formatting
• ripgrep - Fast text search

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