Create a natural-language version of any command-line tool, powered by `llm`

create-nl-tool.sh

#!/bin/bash

# create-nl-tool.sh - Programmatically create natural language interfaces 
# for CLI tools
# Usage: ./create-nl-tool.sh <tool-name>
# Example: ./create-nl-tool.sh repomix

set -e

if [ $# -eq 0 ]; then
    echo "Usage: $0 <tool-name>"
    echo "Example: $0 repomix"
    echo ""
    echo "This script will:"
    echo "1. Check if the tool exists and has --help"
    echo "2. Create an LLM template for the tool"
    echo "3. Generate a natural language wrapper script"
    exit 1
fi

TOOL_NAME="$1"
NL_TOOL_NAME="nl-${TOOL_NAME}"
TEMPLATE_NAME="${TOOL_NAME}"

# Check if the tool exists
if ! command -v "$TOOL_NAME" &> /dev/null; then
    echo "Error: Tool '$TOOL_NAME' not found in PATH"
    exit 1
fi

# Check if the tool has --help option
if ! "$TOOL_NAME" --help &> /dev/null; then
    echo "Error: Tool '$TOOL_NAME' does not support --help option"
    exit 1
fi

echo "Creating natural language interface for '$TOOL_NAME'..."

# Step 1: Create the LLM template
echo "Step 1: Creating LLM template..."
HELP_OUTPUT=$("$TOOL_NAME" --help | sed 's/\$/\\$/g')

# Create the system prompt for the LLM template
SYSTEM_PROMPT="Use the help output to generate a '$TOOL_NAME' command to achieve \
the user's objective(s). Only return the command, no other text.
$HELP_OUTPUT"

llm --system "$SYSTEM_PROMPT" --save "$TEMPLATE_NAME"

echo "✓ Template '$TEMPLATE_NAME' saved"

# Step 2: Create the natural language wrapper script
echo "Step 2: Creating wrapper script '$NL_TOOL_NAME'..."

# Generate a context-appropriate example prompt
EXAMPLE_PROMPT=$(llm "Write an example user prompt, <=15 words, for accomplishing \
something with $TOOL_NAME. Imagine concrete details for the hypothetical use case. \
For example, for the 'mv' command, the user might write, 'Move the README file to \
my home directory, please.' Output just the prompt with no other text.\n$HELP_OUTPUT")

cat > "$NL_TOOL_NAME" << EOF
#!/bin/bash

# $NL_TOOL_NAME - Natural language interface to $TOOL_NAME
# Usage: $NL_TOOL_NAME "<natural language prompt>"
# Example: $NL_TOOL_NAME "$EXAMPLE_PROMPT"

if [ \$# -eq 0 ]; then
    echo "Usage: $NL_TOOL_NAME \"<natural language prompt>\""
    echo "Example: $NL_TOOL_NAME \"$EXAMPLE_PROMPT\""
    exit 1
fi

# Pass the prompt to llm with the $TOOL_NAME template, extract the command, 
# and execute it
llm "\$1" --template $TEMPLATE_NAME -x | bash
EOF

# Make the script executable
chmod +x "$NL_TOOL_NAME"

echo "✓ Wrapper script '$NL_TOOL_NAME' created and made executable"

# Step 3: Provide usage instructions
echo ""
echo "Setup complete! To use your natural language interface:"
echo ""
echo "1. Test it locally:"
echo "   ./$NL_TOOL_NAME \"your natural language request\""
echo ""
echo "2. To make it available system-wide, move it to your PATH:"
echo "   sudo mv $NL_TOOL_NAME /usr/local/bin/"
echo "   # Or add current directory to PATH temporarily:"
echo "   export PATH=\"\$PATH:\$(pwd)\""
echo ""
echo "3. Example usage:"
if [ "$TOOL_NAME" = "repomix" ]; then
    echo "   $NL_TOOL_NAME \"Pack all the Python files in the current folder\""
    echo "   $NL_TOOL_NAME \"Create a repository pack excluding node_modules\""
else
    echo "   $NL_TOOL_NAME \"<describe what you want to do with $TOOL_NAME>\""
fi
echo ""
echo "Note: Make sure you have 'llm' installed and configured."
echo "Visit https://llm.datasette.io/ for installation instructions."