[Feature] Create a simple terminal companion like Whai

[arsaboo]

It would be nice to add a simple terminal companion feature (something like whai). Sometimes, I just need simple help in the terminal (ideally without copy-pasting).

[Avtrkrb]

@arsaboo
Nanocoder has a non-interactive mode which might be something that you'd be interested in.
This will be part of an upcoming release v1.19.0+.

Your issue description is pretty vague. Please help us out if what I've mentioned is what you are looking for. That is what I could make out by checking out whai.

@namar0x0309 you could probably shed some light on some of the non-interactive features that you are working on, to see if that's what @arsaboo is looking for ?

[namar0x0309]

Hi @arsaboo! If you can please list which features you'd like to see, we'd be happy to take a look!

[arsaboo]

What I am after is a simple terminal help tool that will convert user requests into shell commands. The closest major tool similar to what I have in mind is aichat.

For example, we can ask Nanocoder to help free up disk space. This request will have to be converted into a series of commands (find space occupied by current folders, suggest how to delete unwanted file folders). At each stage, we want to prompt the user for approval (so we don't accidentally mess things up).

There are a few other tools in that space terminal-ai, baish, or even warp.

[namar0x0309]

Interesting, and @Avtrkrb is right that it sounds like a similar feature I'm currently working on: #131. Please give it a look and if it lines up, we can close this as a duplicate. I should have a PR out today or tomorrow.

[arsaboo]

@namar0x0309 Does that support shell command generation and execution?

[namar0x0309]

Yes through the @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem

[Avtrkrb]

What I am after is a simple terminal help tool that will convert user requests into shell commands.

@arsaboo I think Gorilla is more inline with what you are looking for if I get you right.

• https://github.com/ShishirPatil/gorilla
• https://github.com/gorilla-llm/gorilla-cli

FYI, Gorilla was the 1st model/tool released back in mid 2023 that allowed you to execute & diagnose bash commands/ scripts, connect to various APIs & more.

Whereas ideologically Nanocoder is a local-first CLI coding agent that encompasses SDLC processes & not just the use case that you are talking about.

That being said, I feel the use case that you are talking about is implicitly part of @namar0x0309's work as part of #131.

@will-lamerton your inputs on this ?

[will-lamerton]

Hey @namar0x0309, @Avtrkrb, @arsaboo!

Thanks for opening this issue, @arsaboo! This is a great interesting use case - and cool!

While Nanocoder already has terminal assistance capabilities (the execute_bash tool and ! prefix for direct bash execution), I understand you're looking for something more streamlined like whai/aichat - a focused terminal companion mode rather than a full chat interface.

Current capabilities:

• !command - Execute bash commands directly and attach as context when using interactive mode
• Ask Nanocoder to help with terminal tasks, and it will suggest commands via the execute_bash tool
• Development modes (Shift+Tab) control confirmation behaviour

What's different from whai/aichat:

• Nanocoder is a full-featured coding assistant with chat history, file operations, etc.
• You're asking for a lighter-weight, terminal-focused mode

Issue #131 is related but different - it's about improving the non-interactive mode (CLI automation) with a semi-interactive first-run approval workflow, not a simplified terminal companion mode.

This would likely require:

1. A new lightweight command mode (maybe /terminal or a CLI flag like --terminal-mode)
2. Simplified UI showing only command suggestions and results
3. No persistent chat history or file operation tools
4. Quick approve/reject workflow for generated commands

Does this capture what you're looking for? If so, this is a distinct feature request from #131.

That said, I'm not sure this is the direction we want to take Nanocoder, I hadn't really thought about it! But I'm happy to hear opinions from the community on whether a terminal companion mode would be valuable.

[arsaboo]

That perfectly captures what I am after. We don't want persistent chat history (but we should have the history of that session, maybe even be able to see the terminal output to modify the command or update the subsequent commands). In the instructions, we should be able to add instructions like (you have access to ncdu app).

[will-lamerton]

Hey @namar0x0309, @Avtrkrb - what's your thoughts on the thread so far? I'm undecided whether this is something we want to do.

[namar0x0309]

I don't believe it's blocking or pivoting the roadmap and definitely a nice to have we can consider as we enrich the auto-approval of tools in both non-interactive and interactive modes. The ! feature gets us closer but what we're talking about here, is effectively Nanocoder becoming a "proxy" to Shell, if my understanding is correct.