AI CLI Tools Cheat Sheet

Quick Reference: Essential AI Command Line Tools

A fast reference guide for the most useful AI-powered CLI tools for developers and DevOps engineers.

GitHub Copilot CLI

Installation

# Install GitHub CLI
brew install gh

# Install Copilot extension
gh extension install github/gh-copilot

# Authenticate
gh auth login

Essential Aliases

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
alias '??'='gh copilot suggest'
alias 'explain'='gh copilot explain'

Common Commands

# Get command suggestions
?? find all files larger than 100MB

# Explain a command
explain "tar -czf backup.tar.gz --exclude='node_modules' ."

# Git operations
?? show commits by author in last week

# Docker cleanup
?? remove all stopped containers

# Process management
?? what process is using port 3000

Cost

  • $10/month (individual)
  • $19/user/month (business)
  • Includes IDE Copilot + CLI + Chat

ShellGPT

Installation

pip install shell-gpt

# Set API key
export OPENAI_API_KEY="your-key-here"

Usage Patterns

# Ask questions
sgpt "how do I list all docker containers"

# Generate scripts
sgpt "bash script to backup mysql database"

# Explain commands
sgpt --explain "awk '{s+=$1} END {print s}'"

# Generate code
sgpt --code "python function to parse JSON"

# Execute mode (use with caution)
sgpt --shell "compress all log files"

Configuration

# Use GPT-3.5 for cost savings
sgpt --model gpt-3.5-turbo "your query"

# Use GPT-4 for complex tasks
sgpt --model gpt-4 "your query"

Cost

  • Pay-per-use OpenAI API
  • GPT-3.5: ~$0.002 per query
  • GPT-4: ~$0.03 per query
  • Average: $2-10/month

Warp Terminal

Installation

# macOS
brew install --cask warp

# Linux beta - check warp.dev

AI Features

Command Search - Cmd+K (macOS) / Ctrl+K (Linux)

Type natural language:
"compress this folder"
"find python files modified today"
"check port 8080"

Workflows - Save reusable commands

name: Docker Cleanup
commands:
  - docker container prune -f
  - docker image prune -f
  - docker volume prune -f

AI Command Completion - Automatic suggestions as you type

Cost

  • Free for individuals
  • Teams plan: $15/user/month

Aider - AI Pair Programming

Installation

pip install aider-chat

# Set API key
export OPENAI_API_KEY="your-key"

Usage

# Start aider with files
aider src/app.py src/utils.py

# Chat commands
> Add error handling to database connections
> Refactor to use async/await
> Add unit tests for UserService
> Create a new function to validate emails

# Git integration
> /commit  # Commits with AI-generated message
> /diff    # Show changes
> /undo    # Undo last change

Best Practices

# Be specific
aider --message "Add type hints to all functions in utils.py"

# Use with git
aider --auto-commits  # Auto-commit each change

# Specify model
aider --model gpt-4  # For complex refactoring

Cost

  • Free software, pays OpenAI API costs
  • GPT-4: ~$0.03-0.06 per change
  • Average: $5-15/month

k8sgpt - Kubernetes Troubleshooting

Installation

# macOS
brew tap k8sgpt-ai/k8sgpt
brew install k8sgpt

# Linux
curl -sL https://github.com/k8sgpt-ai/k8sgpt/releases/latest/download/k8sgpt_linux_amd64.tar.gz | tar xz
sudo mv k8sgpt /usr/local/bin/

Setup

# Add backend (OpenAI)
k8sgpt auth add openai

# Configure
export K8SGPT_MODEL=gpt-3.5-turbo

Common Commands

# Analyze cluster
k8sgpt analyze

# Analyze with explanations
k8sgpt analyze --explain

# Analyze specific namespace
k8sgpt analyze --namespace production

# Filter by issue type
k8sgpt analyze --filter Pod,Service

# Output as JSON
k8sgpt analyze --output json

Example Output

$ k8sgpt analyze --explain

- Pod api-server is CrashLooping
  Reason: Container exited with code 137 (OOMKilled)
  Solution: Increase memory limits:
    resources:
      limits:
        memory: "512Mi"  # Increase from current value

Cost

  • Free software
  • OpenAI API costs: ~$0.01-0.05 per analysis

Mods - Simple ChatGPT CLI

Installation

brew install charmbracelet/tap/mods

Usage

# Ask questions
mods "explain kubernetes ingress"

# Pipe input
git diff | mods "summarize these changes"

# Generate content
mods -f "write terraform module for S3 bucket"

# Continue conversation
mods -c "tell me more about that"

# Use different model
mods -m gpt-4 "complex query here"

Tricks

# Code review
git diff main | mods "review this code for bugs and improvements"

# Documentation
cat script.sh | mods "add comments explaining this script"

# Learning
mods "explain async/await in JavaScript with examples"

Cost

  • Free software
  • OpenAI API costs: ~$0.002-0.03 per query

Comparison Table

Tool Best For Cost/Month Context Aware Language
GitHub Copilot CLI General purpose $10 fixed Any
ShellGPT Flexibility $2-10 usage Partial Any
Warp macOS terminal Free-$15 Any
Aider Code editing $5-15 usage ✅ (code) Code
k8sgpt Kubernetes $1-5 usage ✅ (k8s) YAML
Mods Quick queries $2-5 usage Any

Quick Decision Guide

Choose GitHub Copilot CLI if:

  • You want one tool for everything
  • You prefer fixed monthly cost
  • You already use Copilot in your IDE

Choose ShellGPT if:

  • You want maximum flexibility
  • You need offline model support
  • You want pay-per-use pricing

Choose Warp if:

  • You’re on macOS
  • You want the best UI/UX
  • You want built-in terminal improvements

Choose Aider if:

  • You do lots of refactoring
  • You want AI to directly edit files
  • You work in large codebases

Choose k8sgpt if:

  • You manage Kubernetes clusters
  • You need specialized K8s diagnostics
  • You want automated troubleshooting

Choose Mods if:

  • You want something simple and fast
  • You just need quick ChatGPT access
  • You prefer minimal setup

Cost Optimization Tips

1. Use GPT-3.5 for Simple Tasks

# ShellGPT
sgpt --model gpt-3.5-turbo "simple query"

# Aider
aider --model gpt-3.5-turbo

# Mods
mods -m gpt-3.5-turbo "query"

2. Cache Common Queries

# Create aliases for frequent queries
alias explain-docker='sgpt "explain docker commands"'
alias k8s-help='mods -f k8s-help.txt'

3. Combine Free + Paid

  • Use Copilot CLI ($10/mo fixed) for 80% of tasks
  • Use ShellGPT for specialized needs
  • Total cost: ~$10-15/month

Pro Tips

Combine Tools Effectively

# Use Copilot for command generation
?? find all TypeScript errors

# Use ShellGPT for explanation
sgpt --explain "<paste complex command>"

# Use Aider for code fixes
aider src/app.ts
> Fix the TypeScript errors found

Context is King

# Bad
?? fix this

# Good
?? fix PostgreSQL connection timeout in Node.js Express app

# Bad
sgpt "optimize"

# Good
sgpt "optimize this PostgreSQL query for a table with 10M rows"

Safety First

# Always review before executing
?? delete old files
# Review the command before running!

# Use --explain for dangerous commands
explain "rm -rf /"  # Understand before executing!

Common Workflows

1. Debugging Production Issue

# Step 1: Diagnose with k8sgpt
k8sgpt analyze --namespace production

# Step 2: Get logs
?? get last 100 lines of failed pod logs

# Step 3: Analyze error
<paste error> | sgpt "explain this error and suggest fix"

# Step 4: Fix code
aider src/api/handler.ts
> Fix the error mentioned in the logs

2. Learning New Technology

# Understand concept
mods "explain GraphQL vs REST with examples"

# Generate starter code
sgpt --code "GraphQL server with Apollo"

# Get specific commands
?? set up GraphQL server with Node.js

3. Daily Development

# Morning: Check overnight changes
?? summarize git commits from last 24 hours

# During work: Quick lookups
?? regex to match email addresses

# End of day: Commit message
git diff --cached | mods "write clear commit message"

Troubleshooting

API Key Issues

# Check if key is set
echo $OPENAI_API_KEY

# Set in profile
echo 'export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Rate Limits

# OpenAI rate limits - wait and retry
# Or use GPT-3.5 for higher limits

# GitHub Copilot - no rate limits

Command Not Found

# Ensure tool is in PATH
which gh
which sgpt
which mods

# Reinstall if needed
pip install --upgrade shell-gpt

Resources


Last updated: November 21, 2025


 Categories: #ai | #developer tools


Tech tips and command line fu found within this dojo

 2025