Better AI in CLI with Github Copilot!
Until now, I knew only one tool that I could run a CLI to work with AI - as only Github Copilot has been approved as a daily AI provider - an official gh copilot extension. But there is another!
GH Copilot
⚠️
This post is not about
gh copilot extension but we have to start with that so we have comparison to another solution.Install
- Install
gh - Install
gh copilotwith:gh extension install github/gh-copilot
Possibilites
.. are limited.
❯ gh copilot -h
Your AI command line copilot.
Usage:
copilot [command]
Examples:
$ gh copilot suggest "Install git"
$ gh copilot explain "traceroute github.com"
Available Commands:
alias Generate shell-specific aliases for convenience
config Configure options
explain Explain a command
suggest Suggest a command
Flags:
-h, --help help for copilot
--hostname string The GitHub host to use for authentication
-v, --version version for copilot
Use "copilot [command] --help" for more information about a command.Basically, only those two commands can be run.
It's funny; if I'm using a free Copilot version and added to a GitHub organization that doesn't have Copilot enabled, I cannot use it.
❯ gh copilot explain
✗ Error: User is not authorized to use this Copilot feature
To start using GitHub Copilot in the CLI, request access from your organization admin.If you have access to GitHub Copilot via your organization or enterprise, you cannot use Copilot in the CLI if your organization owner or enterprise administrator has disabled Copilot in the CLI.
~ https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/managing-copilot/configure-personal-settings/installing-github-copilot-in-the-cli#prerequisitesWhat's funny is that it seems that if I'm using a free Copilot version and I'm added to GitHub Organisation that doesn't have Copilot enabled, I cannot use that.
Here is how it works if it works:
❯ gh copilot explain -h
Explain a given input command in natural language.
Did you ever wonder what a command does? Or why it was suggested to you? Now you can find out!
Usage:
copilot explain [command] [flags]
Examples:
# View disk usage, sorted by size
$ gh copilot explain 'du -sh | sort -h'
# View git repository history as text graphical representation
$ gh copilot explain 'git log --oneline --graph --decorate --all'
# Remove binary objects larger than 50 megabytes from git history
$ gh copilot explain 'bfg --strip-blobs-bigger-than 50M'
Flags:
-h, --help help for explain
Global Flags:
--hostname string The GitHub host to use for authenticationgh copilot explain
❯ gh copilot explain
Welcome to GitHub Copilot in the CLI!
version 1.0.6 (2025-01-06)
I'm powered by AI, so surprises and mistakes are possible. Make sure to verify any generated code or suggestions, and share feedback so that we can learn and improve. For more information, see https://gh.io/gh-copilot-transparency
? Which command would you like to explain?
> ls -al
Explanation:
• ls is used to list files and directories.
• -a lists all files, including hidden files.
• -l provides a long listing format. gh copilot explain
❯ gh copilot suggest -h
Suggest a command based on a natural language description of the desired output effect.
There is no task too small or too large to need help when working in the terminal, the only limit is your imagination:
- installing and upgrading software
- troubleshooting and debugging problems with your system
- processing and manipulating files
- working with git and GitHub in the terminal
Usage:
copilot suggest [prompt] [flags]
Examples:
- Guided experience
$ gh copilot suggest
- Git use cases
$ gh copilot suggest -t git "Undo the most recent local commits"
$ gh copilot suggest -t git "Clean up local branches"
$ gh copilot suggest -t git "Setup LFS for images"
- Working with the GitHub CLI in the terminal
$ gh copilot suggest -t gh "Create pull request"
$ gh copilot suggest -t gh "List pull requests waiting for my review"
$ gh copilot suggest -t gh "Summarize work I have done in issues and pull requests for promotion"
- General use cases
$ gh copilot suggest -t shell "Kill processes holding onto deleted files"
$ gh copilot suggest -t shell "Test whether there are SSL/TLS issues with github.com"
$ gh copilot suggest -t shell "Convert SVG to PNG and resize"
$ gh copilot suggest -t shell "Convert MOV to animated PNG"
Flags:
-h, --help help for suggest
-s, --shell-out string Path to file for outputting command to execute
-t, --target target Target for suggestion; must be shell, gh, git
Global Flags:
--hostname string The GitHub host to use for authenticationgh copilot suggest
❯ gh copilot suggest -t shell "list directories"
Welcome to GitHub Copilot in the CLI!
version 1.0.6 (2025-01-06)
I'm powered by AI, so surprises and mistakes are possible. Make sure to verify any generated code or suggestions, and share feedback so that we can learn and improve. For more information, see https://gh.io/gh-copilot-transparency
Suggestion:
ls -d */
? Select an option [Use arrows to move, type to filter]
> Copy command to clipboard
Explain command
Execute command
Revise command
Rate response
Exitgh copilot suggest
Mods
GitHub - charmbracelet/mods: AI on the command line
AI on the command line. Contribute to charmbracelet/mods development by creating an account on GitHub.
charmbraceletSo this new alternative is to use mods from Charm_ company, recently started supporting Github Copilot as an LLM provider.
Install
version: 3
tasks:
install:mods:
desc: |
Mods is AI CLI app from CharmBracelet
cmds:
- brew install charmbracelet/tap/mods
status:
- command -v modsTaskfile.yaml
Configure
Run mods --settings and:
- Remove all LLM providers that you don't want to use from
apissection.- On Linux, a configuration is saved to
~/.config/mods/mods.yml(can be checked withmods --dirs) - I recommend adding that file to any dotfile manager (like
chezmoi)
- On Linux, a configuration is saved to
Configure GitHub Copilot
💡
You can use it with Github Copilot free tier!
- Leave only
apis.copilotas LLM providers in the settings file. - Download and install Zed code editor:
curl -f https://zed.dev/install.sh | sh
- Log in to Github Copilot (button in the bottom right corner)
- Test it out:
❯ mods Hello
Hello! How can I assist you today?
Conversation saved: be2972e Hello
Testing
Questions for files
❯ cat README.md | mods "What profiles are available?"
The profiles available are:
• ubuntu
• mirai
Conversation saved: 1dddc87 What profiles are available?Returning commands
- Configure role (from example in docs)
roles:
shell:
- you are a shell expert
- you do not explain anything
- you simply output one liners to solve the problems you're asked
- you do not provide any explanation whatsoever, ONLY the command
- Run command
❯ mods -R shell "I need a command to list all files bigger than 5 M"
find . -type f -size +5M
Conversation saved: 8d20ad2 I need a command to list all files bigger than 5 M
List conversations (interactive)
❯ mods -l
┃ Conversations
┃ > 8d20ad2 I need a command to list all files bigger than 5 M 30 seconds ago gpt-4o
┃ 695a37f shell I need a command to list all files bigger than 5 M 35 seconds ago gpt-4o
┃ 5afc8f4 shell I need a command to list all files bigger than 5 M 1 minute ago gpt-4o
┃ 1dddc87 What profiles are available? 3 minutes ago gpt-4o
┃ be2972e Hello 5 minutes ago gpt-4o
↑ up • ↓ down • / filter • enter submitQuick Chat
(just type mods )
☸ backbone in lib-system-manager on main
❯ mods
OpenTelemetry is an open-source observability framework for cloud-native
software
that provides APIs, libraries, agents, and instrumentation to help developers
generate, collect, and export telemetry data, including metrics, logs, and
traces, for monitoring and performance analysis.
Conversation saved: a2dde37 What de heck is OpenTelemetry? Be brief
Reviewer
❯ mods -f "what are your thoughts on improving this code?" < main.go | glow
Conversation saved: 3a0fe05 what are your thoughts on improving this code?
Your Go code looks fairly good but there are always ways to enhance readability,
maintainability, and performance when necessary. Below are some overall
improvements and explanations:
1. Consistent Error Handling: Use the log.Fatalf directly or have error
handling with proper messages and exit codes for better clarity and debugging.
2. Token Source Initialization: Ensure that the OAuth2 token initialization is
properly uncommented and put to use.
3. Separated Concerns: Separate setup and logic into different functions to
improve readability and maintainability.
4. Constants: Use constants where applicable for values like environment
variable keys.
5. Logging: Add more descriptive logging messages.
6. Using context.WithTimeout : It can be beneficial to add timeouts for network
operations to avoid hanging processes.
Here's the improved version of your code:
< REDACTED >
### Key Changes:
1. Separated Logic: The code is now divided into helper functions which makes
main() cleaner and more readable.
2. Timeout Context: Using context.WithTimeout to prevent the program from
potentially hanging indefinitely if API calls take too long.
3. Environment Variable Fetching: Centralized fetching and validation of
environment variables in the getEnv function.
4. Error Handling: Added consistent and descriptive error handling across the
codebase.
5. Filtered Comments Processing: Filtered comments by user before processing and
deleting, thus ensuring we only loop through relevant comments.
6. Logs: Enhanced logging for better debugging and understanding runtime
behavior.