ask

<p align="left">
  <img src="assets/ask_3.png" alt="ask" width="50" height="50">
  <strong style="font-size: 2.5rem;">ask.</strong> <em>don't grep. don't awk. just ask</em>
</p>

ask is an AI-powered CLI tool for developers who live in the terminal. It brings multi-provider LLM support, agent capabilities, and shell-native intelligence to your fingertips.

## Why ask?

Unlike generic LLM CLIs, ask is built for **shell power users**:

- **Generates reusable bash functions** - Not just answers, but tools
- **Agent mode** - Executes safe plans with your approval
- **Shell-native** - Works perfectly with pipes and Unix philosophy
- **Context-aware** - Understands git repos, recent commands, system state
- **Fast & streaming** - Real-time responses as you type
- **Multi-provider** - Anthropic, OpenAI, Google DeepSeek, OpenRouter, DeepSeek, and Ollama (local)
- **Structured output** - `--json`, `--csv`, `--md`, `--raw` for pipeline composability
- **Pure bash** - No Python, Node, or other runtimes needed

## Installation

### Quick Install

```bash
# Download
curl -o ask https://raw.githubusercontent.com/elias-ba/ask/main/ask
chmod +x ask

# Move to PATH
sudo mv ask /usr/local/bin/

# Or for user-only install
mv ask ~/.local/bin/
```

### Using Git

```bash
git clone https://github.com/elias-ba/ask.git
cd ask
chmod +x ask
sudo ln -s "$(pwd)/ask" /usr/local/bin/ask
```

### Dependencies

- `curl` - For API calls
- `jq` - For JSON processing
- Optional: `glow` or `bat` for prettier output

Install on Ubuntu/Debian:

```bash
sudo apt-get install curl jq
```

Install on macOS:

```bash
brew install curl jq
```

### Uninstall

To completely remove ask from your system:

```bash
# Remove the binary
sudo rm /usr/local/bin/ask
# Or if installed to user directory
rm ~/.local/bin/ask

# Remove configuration and saved functions
rm -rf ~/.config/ask/

# Remove cache and history
rm -rf ~/.cache/ask/
```

## Setup

### Quick Setup (Recommended)

ask manages API keys for you:

```bash
# S