#4747th of 54 in Assistants
shell_gpt
Command-line tool that generates shell commands and code from LLM prompts
- Stars
- 12.3k
- License
- MIT
- Last commit
- Jul 2026
- Last release
- May 2026
- Language
- Python
11,847 on 21 Apr 202612,309 on 10 Nov 2026
From GitHub's daily star counts.
Checked on GitHub.
Overview
ShellGPT installs as `sgpt` via pip and sends prompts from arguments or stdin to an LLM, defaulting to the OpenAI API. It generates OS- and shell-aware commands with an execute/describe/abort prompt, code-only output, named chat sessions, a REPL mode, custom roles, and function calling. Local models work through backends such as Ollama, but the README says it is not optimized for them.
Who it is for: Developers who want LLM help from the terminal
Strengths
- Reads stdin and redirects, so it composes with pipes such as `git diff | sgpt`
- Shell mode detects OS and `$SHELL` and asks to execute, describe or abort
- Bash and Zsh hotkey integration puts suggested commands into the input line
- Custom roles and Python function definitions live in `~/.config/shell_gpt`
Weaknesses
- README says it is not optimized for local models and may not work as expected
- Defaults to the paid OpenAI API and needs an API key
- Function calling can run destructive shell commands; README warns to use at your own risk
- Request cache applies only to OpenAI API requests
What it needs
- no GPU
- Docker
- Needs OpenAI API key or a local backend such as Ollama, Python and pip
- Models: OpenAI GPT models, Ollama (via LiteLLM)
Quick answers
Is shell_gpt open source?
Yes. Its code is on GitHub under the MIT license.
Can you run shell_gpt with Docker?
Yes. Its repository has a Docker setup: a Dockerfile, a Compose file or a published image.
Does shell_gpt need a GPU?
No, it runs without one.
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