Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Ell – A command-line interface for LLMs written in Bash

Hi HN! I've created a CLI tool called "ell" that allows you to interact with LLMs directly from your terminal. Designed with the Unix philosophy in mind, ell is simple, modular, and extensible. You can easily pipe input and output to integrate with other tools. Its templates and hook-based plugins enable you to customize and extend its functionality to suit any needs. Check out the README for usage instructions and examples. I developed this tool because existing solutions often felt too heavy, with many dependencies, or they weren't friendly to piping and customization. I, on the contrary,…

Ell is a command-line tool written in Bash that lets developers interact with large language models directly from the terminal. Built with Unix philosophy principles, it emphasizes simplicity and modularity, allowing… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Ell – A command-line interface for LLMs written in Bash launched in 2024; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1
My LLM CLI tool can run tools now, from Python code or plugins▲529
LLM 0.26 is out with the biggest new feature since I started the project: support for tools. You can now use the LLM CLI tool—and Python library—to grant LLMs from …
2025 · simonwillison.net · its alternatives →
2
Prompting LLMs in Bash scripts▲79
https://github.com/elijah-potter/ofc
2025 · elijahpotter.dev · its alternatives →
3
A CLI that makes LLMs convenient to use for developers▲26
Command-line interface for the Arcane Engine. Contribute to arc-eng/cli development by creating an account on GitHub.
2024 · github.com · its alternatives →
4
Bash4LLM+ – A lightweight, dependency-free Bash wrapper for LLM APIs▲60
Bash4LLM is a single-file Bash wrapper for interacting with LLMs from the terminal. I created it because I wanted something simple that worked without installing Python, Node, or any other runtime. It uses only Bash, curl, and jq. You can send prompts, start a small chat, process files line by line, stream output, and save session metadata in JSON format. I tried to make it safe and predictable: no use of the system /tmp, no use of eval. Groq is supported by default, and other providers can be added with dedicated Bash scripts in the extras/providers/ folder. Example: echo…
Jun 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
5
Lathe – Use LLMs to learn a new domain, not skip past it▲402
Hey HN! Lathe is an experiment in using LLMs to teach me something new, instead of doing the work for me. It generates a hands-on, source-backed tutorial for any technical topic you want to learn. Then you work through it yourself by reading and typing the code by hand (gasp) in a local UI built for exactly that. It's a Go CLI plus LLM agent skills (Claude Code / Cursor / Codex). You prompt something like "/lathe build a 3D slicer in Erlang", run `lathe serve` to spin up a local webapp, and read it in your browser. Every tutorial comes with the things that have made…
Jun 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
6
MOL – A programming language where pipelines trace themselves▲38
Hi HN, I built MOL, a domain-specific language for AI pipelines. The main idea: the pipe operator |> automatically generates execution traces — showing timing, types, and data at each step. No logging, no print debugging. Example: let index be doc |> chunk(512) |> embed("model-v1") |> store("kb") This auto-prints a trace table with each step's execution time and output type. Elixir and F# have |> but neither auto-traces. Other features: - 12 built-in domain types (Document, Chunk, Embedding, VectorStore, Thought, Memory, Node) - Guard assertions: `guard answer.confidence > 0.5 : "Too low"` -…
Feb 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
7
Spegel, a Terminal Browser That Uses LLMs to Rewrite Webpages▲426
Spegel is a proof-of-concept terminal web browser that feeds HTML through an LLM before serving it as markdown in the terminal.
2025 · simedw.com · its alternatives →
8
I wrote an open-source browser alternative for Computer Use for any LLM▲180
Hey HN, I made Browser-Use, an open-source tool that lets (all Langchain supported) LLMs execute tasks directly in the browser just with function calling. It allows you to build agents that interact with web elements using natural language prompts. We created a layer that simplifies website interaction for LLMs by extracting xPaths and interactive elements like buttons and input fields (and other fancy things). This enables you to design custom web automation and scraping functions without manual inspection through DevTools. Hasn't this been done a lot of times? Good question, as a general…
2024 · github.com · its alternatives →
9
Llm2sh – Translate plain-language requests into shell commands▲67
This is my take on the common "use llms to generate shell commands" utility. Emphasis is placed on good CLI UX, simplicity, and flexibility. `llm2sh` supports multiple LLM providers and lets LLMs generate multi-command sequences to handle complex tasks. There is also limited support for commands requiring `sudo` and other basic input. I recommend using Groq llama3-70b for day-to-day use. The ultra-low latency is a game-changer - its near-instant responses helps `llm2sh` integrate seamlessly into day-to-day tasks without breaking you out of the 'zone'. For more advanced tasks, swapping to…
2024 · github.com · its alternatives →
10
Yet another memory system for LLMs▲165
Built this for my LLM workflows - needed searchable, persistent memory that wouldn't blow up storage costs. I also wanted to use it locally for my research. It's a content-addressed storage system with block-level deduplication (saves 30-40% on typical codebases). I have integrated the CLI tool into most of my workflows in Zed, Claude Code, and Cursor, and I provide the prompt I'm currently using in the repo. The project is in C++ and the build system is rough around the edges but is tested on macOS and Ubuntu 24.04.
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
11
Pipelex – Declarative language for repeatable AI workflows▲122
We’re Robin, Louis, and Thomas. Pipelex is a DSL and a Python runtime for repeatable AI workflows. Think Dockerfile/SQL for multi-step LLM pipelines: you declare steps and interfaces; any model/provider can fill them. Why this instead of yet another workflow builder? - Declarative, not glue code: you state what to do; the runtime figures out how. - Agent-first: each step carries natural-language context (purpose, inputs/outputs with meaning) so LLMs can follow, audit, and optimize. Our MCP server enables agents to run pipelines but also to build new pipelines on demand. - Open…
Oct 2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
12
LLM-Term – Simple Rust-based CLI assist tool▲32
Current AI-assisted CLI tools are often part of larger systems and work better on Linux. I built llm-term to address these. It's a Rust-based tool that compiles into a single binary file. You only need to download the binary, add it to your PATH, and configure your OpenAI key to get started. While llm-term offers an option for gpt-4o, it works great with gpt-4o-mini. So it's not costly. I appreciate any feedback or suggestions.
2024 · github.com · its alternatives →
13
Magic-cli – A copilot for your command line▲158
Blog post: https://guywaldman.com/posts/introducing-magic-cli
2024 · github.com · its alternatives →
14
MCL▲6
Lightweight CLI tool for local & global commands
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
15
Add a command-line interface to any C++ program▲119
Add a command interpreter (eg., REPL) to any C++ program - empirical-soft/command-interpreter
2021 · github.com · its alternatives →
16
LLM, a Rust Crate/CLI for CPU Inference of LLMs (LLaMA, GPT-NeoX, etc.)▲45
G'day, HN! I'm one of the maintainers of `llm`. I've been working alongside a trusty group of contributors to bring this project to life, and we're now at a point where we're ready to share it with the world. Large language models (LLMs) are taking the computing world by storm due to their emergent abilities that allow them to perform a wide variety of tasks, including translation, summarization, code generation, and even some degree of reasoning. However, the ecosystem around LLMs is still in its infancy, and it can be difficult to get started with these models. `llm` is a one-stop shop for…
2023 · github.com · its alternatives →
17
Interactive Common Lisp: An Enhanced REPL▲101
I created this because sometimes I want more than rlwrap but less than emacs. icl aims to hit that middle sweet spot. It's a terminal application with context-aware auto-complete, an interactive object inspector, auto-indentation, syntax colouring, persistent history, and much more. It uses sly to communicate with the child lisp process and aims to be compatible with any sly-supporting implementation. I hope others find it useful!
Dec 2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
18
Elelem, a tool-calling CLI for Ollama and DeepSeek in C▲45
2025 · codeberg.org · its alternatives →
19
Yakari – Interactive TUIs for CLI tools▲78
Hi HN! I wanted to share Yakari, a tool I built to make command-line interfaces more approachable through interactive TUIs. If you've ever forgotten CLI flags or needed to look up command syntax, this might help. Yakari turns complex commands into interactive menus. Users can navigate through options with simple key presses instead of memorizing complex command structures. If you've used Emacs and Magit (or any other Transient) before, the interface will feel familiar. Features: - Transform CLIs into guided menus - Create custom menus for any CLI - Support for flags, named parameters,…
2024 · github.com · its alternatives →
20PE
Pen.el (Working GPT-3/LM for Emacs with easy Docker install)▲15
2021 · mullikine.github.io · its alternatives →
21
PromptL, a templating language designed for LLM prompting▲7
Hey HN! We just launched PromptL: a templating language built to simplify writing complex prompts for LLMs like GPT-4 and Claude. Why PromptL? Creating dynamic prompts for LLMs can get tricky, even with standardized APIs that use lists of messages and settings. While these formats are consistent, building complex interactions with custom logic or branching paths can quickly become repetitive and hard to manage as prompts grow. PromptL steps in to make this simple. It allows you to define and manage LLM conversations in a readable, single-file format, with support for control flow and…
2024 · promptl.ai · its alternatives →
22
I built a CLI that turns your codebase into clean LLM input▲10
A simple CLI that transforms your code into clean, structured text for feeding into LLMs. - NoahCristino/llmcat
Apr 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
23
Use LLMs to Interact with APIs▲35
Recently featured in a LangChain blog https://blog.langchain.dev/empowering-development-with-flowt... , use LLMs to construct an API first runnable workflow with an IDE experience.
2024 · github.com · its alternatives →
24
Sempl – Stupid Simple Bash Templating▲30
Stupid Simple Bash Templating. Contribute to nextrevision/sempl development by creating an account on GitHub.
2015 · github.com · its alternatives →

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