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Shellm: A Simple Ollama Client

shellm header image

Shellm is a lightweight client for interacting with the Ollama API, written entirely in a single Bash script. It provides a simple interface to generate responses from language models, interact with custom tools, and integrate AI capabilities into everyday Linux workflows.

Features

  • Single File Script: No complex dependencies—just a single Bash file.
  • API Integration: Interacts with an Ollama API server to generate predictions.
  • Tool Execution: Support for toolchain execution using custom JSON-defined tools.
  • Expandable: Tools are read from config.yaml files according to XDG Base Dir spec. Add your own!
  • Model Download: Transparently instructs Ollama to download unknown models
  • Piping and Chaining: Seamless integration into shell commands for input/output manipulation.
  • Verbose Mode: Detailed debugging for troubleshooting or learning.

Installation

  1. Save the shellm Bash script to a directory of your choice, e.g., /usr/local/bin.
  2. Make the script executable: 
    chmod +x /usr/local/bin/shellm
  3. Download the config YAML and place it in one of the recognized paths
  4. Ensure the Ollama API is running on localhost:11434 or set the API_URL environment variable to your specific endpoint.

Usage

Basic Command

shellm "What is the weather like today?"

This will generate a response using the default model.

Options

Option Description
-u API URL (default: http://localhost:11434/api)
-m Model name (default: qwen2.5:3b-instruct-q5_K_M)
-n Number of predictions to generate (default: 200)
-v [0-3] Log level (verbosity) mode for debugging
-t Activate tool use, allowing Shellm to use and chain tools as specified in JSON configuration files.
prompt The prompt for the model. If reading from stdin, this will prepend to the input.

Example Commands

Simple Prompt

Generate a response to a simple question:

shellm "Why is the sky blue?"

Custom Model

Use a different model:

shellm -m "newmodel-v1:6b" "Summarize the plot of 'The Great Gatsby'."

Use Tools

Enable tool usage mode:

shellm -t "Translate the following text to French: 'Hello, how are you?'"

Advanced Usage

Chaining Multiple Invocations

Shellm supports chaining multiple invocations, allowing the user to pass the output of one command as the input to the next. This is useful for refining AI responses or handling complex tasks:

response=$(shellm "What is the capital of France?")
shellm "Is $response a popular tourist destination?"

Integration with Linux Tasks

Shellm can be easily integrated into daily Linux workflows using piping. Here are a few examples:

Example: File Content Summarization

To summarize the contents of a file:

cat myfile.txt | shellm "Summarize this text"

Example: AI-Powered Directory Listing

Generate a human-readable summary of files in a directory:

ls -l | shellm "Explain what these files are."

Example: Translating System Logs

To translate system logs to another language:

journalctl -xe | shellm -t "Translate this to Spanish."

Tool Calling

Shellm supports user-defined tools specified in JSON files. This allows Shellm to perform operations beyond simple language model predictions, such as executing shell commands or interacting with APIs. This functionality is highly experimental and new tools will be added as soon as the underlying tool pipeline is more robust.

Tools are read from the config.yaml file which is searched in the following directories (priority order):

  1. $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/shellm/config.yaml
  2. ~/.config/shellm/config.yaml
  3. ~/config.yaml
  4. $(dirname "$0")/config.yaml (same directory as the script)

Tool Definition Example

Here’s a sample tool configuration within config.yaml:

execute_shell_command:
  type: function
  function:
     name: execute_shell_command
     description: >-
        Executes the specified shell command. Bash syntax allowed. The command string must be complete with all arguments, parameters, redirections and pipes. Multi-line commands are allowed.
     parameters:
        type: object
        properties:
           command:
              type: string
              description: >-
                 The shell command with all arguments. Warning: It is passed into eval as-is.
              raw: true
        required:
           - command
     exec: '{{command}}'
generate:
  type: function
  function:
     name: generate
     description: Display LLM-generated output to the user.
     parameters:
        type: object
        properties:
           prompt:
              type: string
              description: >-
                 The prompt to be passed to the completion endpoint. Supports both
                 Chat-like instructions and generic prediction/completion.
           json:
              type: boolean
              description: >-
                 Set to true to format the output as JSON. Works only if JSON is also
                 used in the prompt
        required:
           - prompt
     # language=sh
     exec: |
        generate_response "{{prompt}}" 200

Example Tool Usage

When tools are enabled (-t flag), Shellm can chain tool calls. Example:

shellm -t "Get the current date and time and tell me if it's a weekend."

Tool Execution Workflow

Shellm's tool execution works in multiple steps:

  1. Parse Request: The initial prompt is analyzed, and the AI identifies which tools to use.
  2. Tool Execution: Shellm executes the tools in sequence, using their output for the next tool if necessary.
  3. Final Output: The result is formatted and presented using a final say tool call.

Environment Variables

Variable Description Default
API_URL URL of the Ollama API http://localhost:11434/api
MODEL_SMALL Default model to use qwen2.5:3b-instruct-q5_K_M
VERBOSE Enable verbose output 0
USE_TOOL Enable tool usage mode 0

Debugging

For verbose output, use the -v flag and specify the desired log level:

  • -v 0 - Errors only
  • -v 1 - Add warnings
  • -v 2 - Add logs specific to tool use
  • -v 3 - Add debug output
shellm -v 3 "Debug the script behavior."

About the name

Apart from banking on the significant overlap between "shell" and "llm", the name "Shellm" is also extremely close in spelling and pronunciation to the German word "Schelm", which means "rogue", or "jokester". This adds charm and character to the tool, so bear this in mind when it fails spectacularly.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to open issues or submit pull requests for bug fixes or new features.

License

Shellm is released under the GPL License. See the LICENSE file for more details.

Enjoy using Shellm to bring AI capabilities directly into your shell! 😊