Trieve CLI – Terminal-based LLM agent loop with search tool for PDFs
Hi HN, I built a CLI for uploading documents and querying them with an LLM agent that uses search tools rather than stuffing everything into the context window. I recorded a demo using the CrossFit 2025 rulebook that shows how this approach compares to traditional RAG and direct context injection[1]. The core insight is that LLMs running in loops with tool access are unreasonably effective at this kind of knowledge retrieval task[2]. Instead of hoping the right chunks make it into your context, the agent can iteratively search, refine queries, and reason about what it finds. The CLI handles…
Trieve CLI – Terminal-based LLM agent loop with search tool for PDFs launched on June 18, 2025 with 35 votes, #600 of 7,999 launches that month and more than 90% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 1 year on.
In plain words
Trieve CLI is a terminal-based tool for uploading PDFs and querying them through an LLM agent equipped with search capabilities. Rather than loading entire documents into the context window, the agent iteratively searches, refines queries, and reasons about results to retrieve relevant information. Users can upload documents and ask questions through simple commands, with responses streamed back and linked to source references. The approach is designed for knowledge retrieval tasks where traditional retrieval-augmented generation may miss relevant content.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
All-in-one platform for search, recommendations, RAG, and analytics offered via API - trieve/clients/cli at main · devflowinc/trieve
A command-line interface for interacting with the Trieve API. The CLI enables users to upload files, check upload status, ask questions against their knowledge base, and configure their Trieve setup. trieve upload [filePath] [-t, --tracking-id < trackingId > ] If no file path is provided, the CLI will prompt you to enter one interactively. trieve check-upload-status [-t, --tracking-id < trackingId > ] Without options, this will display an interactive menu to select files to check. If a tracking ID is provided, it will check the status of that specific file. trieve ask [question] If no question is provided, the CLI will prompt you to enter one interactively. The response will be streamed…from github.com
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hi HN, I built a CLI for uploading documents and querying them with an LLM agent that uses search tools rather than stuffing everything into the context window. I recorded a demo using the CrossFit 2025 rulebook that shows how this approach compares to traditional RAG and direct context injection[1]. The core insight…
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