User Guide - ChatGPT Command-Line Interface (CLI)

The ChatGPT CLI allows you to interact with ChatGPT directly from your command line, offering an efficient platform for real-time communication. This user guide will provide you with simple, straightforward instructions on how to install, set up, and effectively use the CLI.

Examples

Simple Interactive Chat

Ask a Question, non-Interactively

{ echo "What is the largest file in this directory?"; ls -l } | chatgpt-cli chat

Improving README, non-Interactively

echo "Rewrite this README file as a user guide. Make it easy to read and informative. Use a helpful and clear style" \
  | chatgpt-cli chat < README.md > README-new.md
mv README-new.md README.md

Editing a directory full of notes, non-Interactively

for file in notes/*.md; do
  printf "\nEditing '%s'\n============================\n" "$file"
  {
    printf "Revise my notes. "
    printf "Use Markdown format. "
    printf "Revise the text of the note below to use a clear and informative style. "
    printf "Use newlines to keep line length less than 120 characters.\n\n"
    cat "${file}"
  } | chatgpt-cli chat > "${file}.new"

  if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
    printf "  Request Failed: '%s'\n" "${file}"
    rm "${file}.new"
  else
    mv "${file}.new" "${file}"
  fi
done

Image Generation and Vision Chat

Which gives us the resulting image.

Generate an Image, non-Interactively

echo "Monkey in a banana costume, on a high wire above a circus" | chatgpt-cli image -o monkey

In non-Interactive mode only the name of the output files are sent to stdout. In this case, monkey-01.png, shown here.

echo "What is in this image?" | chatgpt-cli vision --file monkey-01.png

This will upload the image to ChatGPT for use in the chat, and use it to answer the question. You might get a response like this:

The image depicts a whimsical circus scene with a monkey in a banana suit balancing on a tightrope. The atmosphere is lively, with a large audience in tents watching the performance. The setting has bright lights and colorful decorations, capturing the festive spirit of a circus.

Generate an Audio file from Text (Text to Speech)

Which gives us the resulting audio file.

robot-01.mp4

And similarly, you can do this non-Interactively

echo "Hello, I am a robot. I am here to help you with your tasks." | chatgpt-cli speech

Installation

To install ChatGPT CLI using Homebrew:

brew tap duanemay/tap
brew install chatgpt-cli

Generating Cover Images for a directory full of notes, non-Interactively

for file in notes/*.md; do
  dir=$(dirname "${file}")
  filename=$(basename "${file}")
  base_filename=${filename%.*}

  printf "\nCreating Images '%s'\n============================\n" "$file"
  {
    printf "Describe the contents of an image that would make a good cover image for the blog post below.\n\n"
    cat "${file}"
  } | chatgpt-cli chat --system-message "As an expert creator of blog posts" > "${dir}/${base_filename}-img-description.txt"

  if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
    printf "  Request Failed: '%s'\n" "${file}"
    rm "${dir}/${base_filename}-img-description.txt"
    continue
  fi

  chatgpt_file=$( ls chatgpt-cli* | tail -1 )
  grep -A 1 user "${chatgpt_file}" | grep '"content":' | cut -d':' -f 2 | sed 's/"//g'
  cat "${dir}/${base_filename}-img-description.txt" | chatgpt-cli image -o "${dir}/${base_filename}-img"
done

Initial Set Up

To use the ChatGPT CLI, you'll need a ChatGPT API key. You can generate this key by signing up on the OpenAI platform. ChatGPT CLI now supports Project API keys which have replaced user API keys. In addition, you will need to add funds to your account.

It is recommended to create a .chatgpt-cli file in your home directory or the directory where you'll run the CLI. Inside this file, include your API key alongside additional default settings you wish to use.

Example:

API_KEY=sk-mysupersecretAPIkey

Configuration Settings

The priority order for the configuration settings is as follows:

Command line flags > Environment Variables > Configuration files > Defaults

Each flag can be set in a configuration file, by changing it to uppercase and replacing - with _. Environment variables are the same as the configuration file flag, with the addition of the prefix CHATGPT_.

As an example, the --api-key sk command line flag can be set in a configuration file as API_KEY=sk, and as an environment variable as CHATGPT_API_KEY=sk.

The full list of available flags and corresponding config file variables:

Common Flags:

Flag	Short	Config File Key	Default	Description
`--api-key`	`-k`	`API_KEY`	Required	ChatGPT API Key
`--config`	`-c`	`CONFIG`	./.chatgpt-cli then $HOME/.chatgpt-cli	Config file to load
`--verbose`	`-v`	`VERBOSE`	`false`	Verbose logging

Chat Flags:

Flag	Short	Config File Key	Default	Description
`--system-message`			``	Initial System message sent to ChatGPT
`--session-file`	`-s`	`SESSION_FILE`	Generated	Session file
`--skip-write-session`		`SKIP_WRITE_SESSION`	false	Do not write or update session file
`--model`	`-m`	`MODEL`	`gpt-4o`	Model to use (default will change)
`--role`		`ROLE`	`user`	Role of User
`--temperature`	`-m`	`TEMPERATURE`	`1.0`	Temperature: 0-2
`--max-tokens`		`MAX_TOKENS`	`0`	Max tokens: 8192
`--top-p`		`TOP_P`	`1.0`	Top P: 0-1

Image Flags:

Flag	Short	Config File Key	Default	Description
`--model`	`-m`	`MODEL`	`dall-e-3`	Model to use
`--number`	`-n`		`1`	Number of images to generate
`--quality`		`QUALITY`	`standard`	Image Quality
`--size`	`-s`	`SIZE`	1024x1024	Image Size
`--style`		`STYLE`	`vivid`	Image Style
`--output-prefix`	`-o`	`OUTPUT_PREFIX`	Generated	File Name Prefix

Speech Flags:

Flag	Short	Config File Key	Default	Description
`--model`	`-m`	`MODEL`	`tts-1`	Text to Speech Model to use
`--speed`	`-s`		`1`	Speed of Audio
`--voice`		`VOICE`	`alloy`	Voice Used
`--output-prefix`	`-o`	`OUTPUT_PREFIX`	Generated	File Name Prefix

Vision Flags:

Flag	Short	Config File Key	Default	Description
`--file`	`-f`	`FILE`	required	Input image files
`--model`	`-m`	`MODEL`	`gpt-4o`	Model to use (default will change)
`--system-message`			``	Initial System message sent to ChatGPT
`--session-file`	`-s`	`SESSION_FILE`	Generated	Session file
`--skip-write-session`		`SKIP_WRITE_SESSION`	false	Do not write or update session file
`--role`		`ROLE`	`user`	Role of User

Transcription Flags:

Flag	Short	Config File Key	Default	Description
`--file`	`-f`	`FILE`	required	Input audio files
`--model`	`-m`	`MODEL`	`whisper-1`	Transcription Model to use
`--language`	`-l`	`LANGUAGE`	detected	Language of the input audio
`--system-message`			``	Initial Prompt sent to ChatGPT

For instance, if you want to change the end of the message and session markers, modify them in your configuration file.

You can select a different configuration file using --config flag. Each config file should specify settings as KEY=VALUE pairs, with each pair on a separate line. Lines beginning with # are considered comments and ignored.

Usage

The basic command to use chatgpt-cli is as follows:

chatgpt-cli [command]

The available commands are as follows:

chat: Start a chat session with ChatGPT.
vision: Upload an image to ChatGPT for use in chat.
image: Generate an image using DALL-E
speech: Generate speech using ChatGPT
transcribe: Transcribe audio to text using ChatGPT
completion: Generate the autocomplete script for your chosen shell.
help: Seek help regarding any command.
list-models: Retrieve a list of all models available to your account.
replay-session: Replay a chat session from a previously saved file. 7version: Get version information.

Chatting

Initiate a chat session with ChatGPT using the chat command:

chatgpt-cli chat

You'll be prompted to input your message, which can span multiple lines. Send your message with TAB or CTRL+C.

Continue your conversation with ChatGPT by inputting a new message once you receive a response.

Exiting the chat is made possible by inputting CTRL+C or TAB with no message.

All chat sessions are saved in a session file, for which the --session-file flag can specify the file of your choice:

chatgpt-cli chat --session-file session.json

The --model, --role, --temperature, --max-tokens, and --top-p flags allow for individual configuration of the Model, Role, Temperature, Max Tokens, and Top P respectively. The default --model used will be updated overtime as new models are released.

A system prompt can be set by using the --system-message flag:

chatgpt-cli chat --system-message "You are a captivating storyteller who brings history to life by narrating the events, people, and cultures of the past."

Replaying a Session

Replaying a chat session lets you revisit a previous chat in a more readable format than the raw JSON. Use the replay-session command:

chatgpt-cli replay-session --session-file session.json

Refer to an image in a Chat

Initiate a chat with images uploaded to ChatGPT using the vision command:

chatgpt-cli vision --file image.jpg --file image2.jpg

This will upload the image to ChatGPT for use in the chat. It also supports the session file, you can start a chat with chat, use vision to upload a file and then continue to ask more questions with chat by linking with a --session-file between commands.

You'll be prompted to input your message, which can span multiple lines. Send your message with TAB or CTRL+C.

Generating Images

Generate an image with DALL-E using the image command:

chatgpt-cli image

You'll be prompted to input your description of an image, which can span multiple lines. Send your description with TAB or CTRL+C.

Exiting the chat is made possible by inputting CTRL+C or TAB with no description.

All images are saved with a prefix in the form dall-e-DATE-TIME-nn.png where DATE-TIME is the timestamp when the session started, and nn for the image number from the session. You can override the --output-prefix or -o flags.

You can control how many variants of the requested images to generate with the --number or -n flag. The Number of Images must be between 1 and 10, inclusive.

You can control the size of the requested images with the --size or -s flag. The Size must be one of 256x256, 512x512, or 1024x1024.

Generating Text to Speech

Generate an audio file, reading some text using the speech command:

chatgpt-cli speech

You'll be prompted to input the text you would like to read, which can span multiple lines. Send your description with TAB or CTRL+C.

Exiting the chat is made possible by inputting CTRL+C or TAB with no description.

Audio files are saved with a prefix in the form tts-DATE-TIME-nn.mp3 where DATE-TIME is the timestamp when the session started, and nn for the image number from the session. You can override the --output-prefix or -o flags.

You can control the speed of the audio with the --speed or -s flag. The speed must be between 0.25 and 4.0, inclusive. You can control the voice of the audio with the --voice or -v flag. The voice must be one of alloy, echo, fable, onyx, nova, or shimmer. You can control the TTS model with the --model or -m flag. The model must be one of tts-1, tts-1-hd, or canary-tts.

Transcribing Audio to Text

Transcribe text from an audio file using the transcribe command:

chatgpt-cli transcribe --file audio.mp3

Audio files are accepted in the following formats: flac, mp3, mp4, mpeg, mpga, m4a, ogg, wav, or webm.

You can indicate the language of the input audio with the --language or -l flag. Supplying the input language in ISO-639-1 format will improve accuracy and latency. You can control the speech to text model with the --model or -m flag. Currently only whisper-1 is allowed. Optional prompt to guide the model's style or continue a previous audio segment, can be set by using the --system-message flag. The prompt should match the audio language.

Listing Models

list-models retrieves a list of all available models related to your account:

chatgpt-cli list-models

Checking the Version

Fetch information about the CLI's version using version:

chatgpt-cli version

Build and Release

For a dry-run of the deployment process, you can run the following:

goreleaser --snapshot --skip=publish --clean

For a full deployment, you'll need to add a GitHub token to the ./.github_token file, then run the following:

git tag <vNewVersion>
goreleaser --clean
brew upgrade

docs/generate-demos.sh

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README.md

README.md

User Guide - ChatGPT Command-Line Interface (CLI)

Examples

Simple Interactive Chat

Ask a Question, non-Interactively

Improving README, non-Interactively

Editing a directory full of notes, non-Interactively

Image Generation and Vision Chat

Generate an Image, non-Interactively

Generate an Audio file from Text (Text to Speech)

Installation

Generating Cover Images for a directory full of notes, non-Interactively

Initial Set Up

Configuration Settings

Usage

Chatting

Replaying a Session

Refer to an image in a Chat

Generating Images

Generating Text to Speech

Transcribing Audio to Text

Listing Models

Checking the Version

Build and Release

Files

README.md

Latest commit

History

README.md

File metadata and controls

User Guide - ChatGPT Command-Line Interface (CLI)

Examples

Simple Interactive Chat

Ask a Question, non-Interactively

Improving README, non-Interactively

Editing a directory full of notes, non-Interactively

Image Generation and Vision Chat

Generate an Image, non-Interactively

Generate an Audio file from Text (Text to Speech)

Installation

Generating Cover Images for a directory full of notes, non-Interactively

Initial Set Up

Configuration Settings

Usage

Chatting

Replaying a Session

Refer to an image in a Chat

Generating Images

Generating Text to Speech

Transcribing Audio to Text

Listing Models

Checking the Version

Build and Release