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…
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
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 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 the full workflow: ```bash trieve upload ./document.pdf trieve ask "What are the key findings?" ``` You can customize the RAG behavior, check upload status, and the responses stream back with expandable source references. I really enjoy having this workflow available in the terminal and I'm curious if others find this paradigm as compelling as I do. Considering adding more commands and customization options if there's interest. The tool is free for up to 1k document chunks. Source code is on GitHub[3] and available via npm[4]. Would love any feedback on the approach or CLI design! [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAV-esDsRUk [2]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43998472 [3]: https://github.com/devflowinc/trieve/blob/main/clients/cli/i... [4]: https://www.npmjs.com/package/trieve-cli
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