why-cli 1.1.3

Track why you installed every tool on your machine.

whydatApp (why?)

Track why you installed every tool on your machine.

why? watches for installs (brew install, npm i -g, pip install, cargo install, git clone, …) via a tiny shell hook, and asks five quick questions: name, what it does, project, why, and what to do with it (document, add to setup script, experimental, remove later, ignore). Local-only SQLite. Local web UI for search, sort, and sharing. Privacy-focused — nothing leaves your machine.

Install

From PyPI (recommended):

uv tool install 'why-cli[web]'   # or: pipx install 'why-cli[web]'
why init                          # interactive setup; edits your shell rc

From source (for development or pre-release):

git clone https://github.com/Nostoi/whydatapp.git
cd whydatapp
uv tool install --from . 'why-cli[web]'
why init

Restart your shell, then try brew install ripgrep (or any tracked manager).

Full install instructions, including building from a wheel: Install guide.

Quick reference

Command	What it does
why init	Interactive first-run setup
why log -- <cmd>	Manually log an install
why review	Drain the skipped/incomplete review queue
why list	Print installs as a table
why export	Export to Markdown or JSON
why serve	Open the local web UI at 127.0.0.1:7873
why uninstall	Remove the hook (and optionally the data)

Detailed usage with examples: Usage guide.

Documentation

• Install — Requirements, install paths (PyPI / source / wheel), what why init does, uninstall.
• Usage — Every CLI subcommand with examples.
• Web UI — Walkthrough of the local web interface.
• Configuration — ~/.why/*.toml files, env vars, ignore rules.
• Troubleshooting — Hook not firing, prompt missed, address-in-use, restoring data, filing bugs.
• Development — Clone, set up, run tests, build the wheel, project layout, contribute.
• Design spec — Architecture, data model, decisions, post-MVP roadmap.

Privacy

• All data lives in ~/.why/data.db. No network calls.
• The web UI binds to 127.0.0.1 only.
• All static assets vendored locally — no CDN, no Google Fonts, no analytics.
• The shell hook ignores any install triggered by another tracked installer (no false positives from brew resolving deps).

Status

1.0 — published to PyPI. Sync, auth, AI enrichment, source scraping, and one-click remote install are on the roadmap. See the development guide for priority order.

License

MIT