Package Exports

@zds-ai/cli

Readme

ZDS AI CLI (forked from Grok CLI)

A conversational AI CLI tool powered by Grok with intelligent text editor capabilities and tool usage.

Features

🤖 Conversational AI: Natural language interface powered by grok, others
📝 Smart File Operations: AI automatically uses tools to view, create, and edit files
⚡ Zsh Integration: Execute shell commands through natural conversation
🔧 Automatic Tool Selection: AI intelligently chooses the right tools for your requests
🚀 Morph Fast Apply: Optional high-speed code editing at 4,500+ tokens/sec with 98% accuracy
🔌 MCP Tools: Extend capabilities with Model Context Protocol servers (Linear, GitHub, etc.)
💬 Interactive UI: Beautiful terminal interface built with Ink
🌍 Global Installation: Install and use anywhere with bun add -g @zds-ai/cli

Installation

Prerequisites

Bun 1.0+ (or Node.js 18+ as fallback)
GROK API key from X.AI
(Optional, Recommended) Morph API key for Fast Apply editing

System Dependencies

zai-cli requires the following system tools for certain features:

ripgrep (required for search functionality)
- macOS: brew install ripgrep
- Ubuntu/Debian: apt install ripgrep
- Windows: choco install ripgrep or download from releases
- Other platforms: See ripgrep installation guide
Python 3 with openpyxl (optional, required for XLSX file reading)
- Install: pip3 install openpyxl or python3 -m pip install openpyxl
- Most systems already have Python 3 installed
exiftool (optional, required for PNG metadata extraction)
- macOS: brew install exiftool
- Ubuntu/Debian: apt install libimage-exiftool-perl
- Windows: Download from exiftool.org
- Other platforms: See exiftool installation guide

Global Installation (Recommended)

bun add -g @zds-ai/cli

Or with npm (fallback):

npm install -g @zds-ai/cli

Local Development

git clone <repository>
cd zds-ai-cli
bun install
bun run build
bun link

Setup

Get your GROK API key from X.AI
Set up your API key (choose one method):

Method 1: Environment Variable
```
export GROK_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
```
Method 2: .env File
```
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env and add your API key
```
Method 3: Command Line Flag
```
zai-cli --api-key your_api_key_here
```
Method 4: User Settings File

Create ~/.grok/user-settings.json:
```
{
  "apiKey": "your_api_key_here"
}
```
(Optional, Recommended) Get your Morph API key from Morph Dashboard
Set up your Morph API key for Fast Apply editing (choose one method):

Method 1: Environment Variable
```
export MORPH_API_KEY=your_morph_api_key_here
```
Method 2: .env File
```
# Add to your .env file
MORPH_API_KEY=your_morph_api_key_here
```

Custom Base URL (Optional)

By default, the CLI uses https://api.x.ai/v1 as the API endpoint. You can configure a custom endpoint if needed (choose one method):

Method 1: Environment Variable

export GROK_BASE_URL=https://your-custom-endpoint.com/v1

Method 2: Command Line Flag

zai-cli --api-key your_api_key_here --base-url https://your-custom-endpoint.com/v1

Method 3: User Settings File

Add to ~/.grok/user-settings.json:

{
  "apiKey": "your_api_key_here",
  "baseURL": "https://your-custom-endpoint.com/v1"
}

Configuration Files

zai-cli uses two types of configuration files to manage settings:

User-Level Settings (`~/.grok/user-settings.json`)

This file stores global settings that apply across all projects. These settings rarely change and include:

API Key: Your GROK API key
Base URL: Custom API endpoint (if needed)
Default Model: Your preferred model (e.g., grok-code-fast-1)
Available Models: List of models you can use

Example:

{
  "apiKey": "your_api_key_here",
  "baseURL": "https://api.x.ai/v1",
  "defaultModel": "grok-code-fast-1",
  "models": [
    "grok-code-fast-1",
    "grok-4-latest",
    "grok-3-latest",
    "grok-3-fast",
    "grok-3-mini-fast"
  ],
  "startupHook": "date"
}

Startup Hook

You can configure a startup hook command that runs when zai-cli starts. The output is automatically added to the system prompt, providing dynamic context about your environment.

Example use cases:

Show current date/time: "startupHook": "date"
Display git status: "startupHook": "git status --short"
Show active branches: "startupHook": "git branch --show-current"
Custom environment info: "startupHook": "/path/to/your/script.sh"

The command runs with a 10-second timeout and the output appears in the AI's context before custom instructions.

Project-Level Settings (`.grok/settings.json`)

This file stores project-specific settings in your current working directory. It includes:

Current Model: The model currently in use for this project
MCP Servers: Model Context Protocol server configurations

Example:

{
  "model": "grok-3-fast",
  "mcpServers": {
    "linear": {
      "name": "linear",
      "transport": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@linear/mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

How It Works

Global Defaults: User-level settings provide your default preferences
Project Override: Project-level settings override defaults for specific projects
Directory-Specific: When you change directories, project settings are loaded automatically
Fallback Logic: Project model → User default model → System default (grok-code-fast-1)

This means you can have different models for different projects while maintaining consistent global settings like your API key.

Using Other API Providers

Important: zai-cli uses OpenAI-compatible APIs. You can use any provider that implements the OpenAI chat completions standard.

Popular Providers:

X.AI (grok): https://api.x.ai/v1 (default)
OpenAI: https://api.openai.com/v1
OpenRouter: https://openrouter.ai/api/v1
Groq: https://api.groq.com/openai/v1

Example with OpenRouter:

{
  "apiKey": "your_openrouter_key",
  "baseURL": "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
  "defaultModel": "anthropic/claude-4.5-sonnet",
  "models": [
    "anthropic/claude-4.5-sonnet",
    "openai/gpt-4o",
    "meta-llama/llama-3.1-70b-instruct"
  ]
}

Usage

Interactive Mode

Start the conversational AI assistant:

zai-cli

Or specify a working directory:

zai-cli -d /path/to/project

Headless Mode

Process a single prompt and exit (useful for scripting and automation):

zai-cli --prompt "show me the package.json file"
zai-cli -p "create a new file called example.js with a hello world function"
zai-cli --prompt "run bun test and show me the results" --directory /path/to/project
zai-cli --prompt "complex task" --max-tool-rounds 50  # Limit tool usage for faster execution

This mode is particularly useful for:

CI/CD pipelines: Automate code analysis and file operations
Scripting: Integrate AI assistance into shell scripts
Terminal benchmarks: Perfect for tools like Terminal Bench that need non-interactive execution
Batch processing: Process multiple prompts programmatically

Tool Execution Control

By default, zai-cli allows up to 400 tool execution rounds to handle complex multi-step tasks. You can control this behavior:

# Limit tool rounds for faster execution on simple tasks
zai-cli --max-tool-rounds 10 --prompt "show me the current directory"

# Increase limit for very complex tasks (use with caution)
zai-cli --max-tool-rounds 1000 --prompt "comprehensive code refactoring"

# Works with all modes
zai-cli --max-tool-rounds 20  # Interactive mode
zai-cli git commit-and-push --max-tool-rounds 30  # Git commands

Use Cases:

Fast responses: Lower limits (10-50) for simple queries
Complex automation: Higher limits (500+) for comprehensive tasks
Resource control: Prevent runaway executions in automated environments

Model Selection

You can specify which AI model to use with the --model parameter or GROK_MODEL environment variable:

Method 1: Command Line Flag

# Use grok models
zai-cli --model grok-code-fast-1
zai-cli --model grok-4-latest
zai-cli --model grok-3-latest
zai-cli --model grok-3-fast

# Use other models (with appropriate API endpoint)
zai-cli --model gemini-2.5-pro --base-url https://api-endpoint.com/v1
zai-cli --model claude-sonnet-4-20250514 --base-url https://api-endpoint.com/v1

Method 2: Environment Variable

export GROK_MODEL=grok-code-fast-1
zai-cli

Method 3: User Settings File

Add to ~/.grok/user-settings.json:

{
  "apiKey": "your_api_key_here",
  "defaultModel": "grok-code-fast-1"
}

Model Priority: --model flag > GROK_MODEL environment variable > user default model > system default (grok-code-fast-1)

Image Support

zai-cli supports sending images to vision-capable AI models. Use the @ prefix to reference image files in your messages:

# Absolute path
zai-cli --prompt "What's in this image? @/Users/joseph/photos/image.jpg"

# Relative path
zai-cli --prompt "Analyze @./screenshot.png"

# Tilde expansion
zai-cli --prompt "Describe @~/Pictures/photo.jpg"

# Paths with spaces (quoted)
zai-cli --prompt 'Compare these images: @"~/My Pictures/photo1.jpg" @"~/My Pictures/photo2.jpg"'

# Paths with spaces (escaped)
zai-cli --prompt "What's here? @/Users/joseph/My\ Documents/image.png"

Supported Image Formats: .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .webp, .bmp

Vision-Capable Models: Image support works with vision models like:

grok-4-1-fast-reasoning
grok-vision-beta
Other vision-enabled models (via custom base URLs)

Automatic Fallback: If you send an image to a model that doesn't support vision, zai-cli will automatically detect the error and retry with text-only content.

Interactive Mode: The @ syntax works in both interactive and headless (--prompt) modes.

Command Line Options

zai-cli [options]

Options:
  -V, --version                       output the version number
  -d, --directory <dir>               set working directory
  -k, --api-key <key>                 Grok API key (or set GROK_API_KEY env var)
  -b, --backend <name>                Backend display name (e.g., grok, openai, claude)
  -u, --base-url <url>                API base URL (or set GROK_BASE_URL env var)
  -m, --model <model>                 AI model to use (e.g., grok-code-fast-1, grok-4-latest) (or set GROK_MODEL env
                                      var)
  -t, --temperature <temp>            temperature for API requests (0.0-2.0, default: 0.7) (default: "0.7")
  --max-tokens <tokens>               maximum tokens for API responses (positive integer, no default = API default)
  -p, --prompt [prompt]               process a single prompt and exit (headless mode). If no prompt provided, reads
                                      from stdin
  --max-tool-rounds <rounds>          maximum number of tool execution rounds (default: 400) (default: "400")
  --fresh                             start with a fresh session (don't load previous chat history)
  --auto-approve                      auto-approve all operations without confirmation prompts
  --auto-approve-commands <commands>  comma-separated list of commands to auto-approve (e.g.,
                                      'chdir,list_files,pwd')
  -c, --context <file>                path to context persistence file (default: ~/.grok/chat-history.json)
  --no-ink                            disable Ink UI and use plain console input/output
  --debug-log <file>                  redirect MCP server debug output to log file instead of suppressing
  --show-all-tools                    list all available tools (internal and MCP) and exit
  --show-context-stats                display token usage stats for the specified context file and exit
  -h, --help                          display help for command

Custom Instructions

You can provide custom instructions to tailor zai-cli's behavior by creating GROK.md files in two locations:

Global instructions (apply to all projects): ~/.grok/GROK.md
Project-specific instructions (apply only to the current project): .grok/GROK.md in your project directory

Global instructions are loaded first, followed by project-specific instructions. If both exist, they are combined in that order.

To create project-specific instructions:

mkdir .grok

Create .grok/GROK.md with your custom instructions:

# Custom Instructions for zai-cli

- Always use TypeScript for any new code files.
- When creating React components, use functional components with hooks.
- Prefer const assertions and explicit typing over inference where it improves clarity.
- Always add JSDoc comments for public functions and interfaces.
- Follow the existing code style and patterns in this project.

zai-cli will automatically load and follow these instructions when working in your project directory. The custom instructions are added to zai-cli's system prompt and take priority over default behavior.

Morph Fast Apply (Optional)

zai-cli supports Morph's Fast Apply model for high-speed code editing at 4,500+ tokens/sec with 98% accuracy. This is an optional feature that provides lightning-fast file editing capabilities.

Setup: Configure your Morph API key following the setup instructions above.

How It Works

When MORPH_API_KEY is configured:

edit_file tool becomes available alongside the standard str_replace_editor
Optimized for complex edits: Use for multi-line changes, refactoring, and large modifications
Intelligent editing: Uses abbreviated edit format with // ... existing code ... comments
Fallback support: Standard tools remain available if Morph is unavailable

When to use each tool:

edit_file (Morph): Complex edits, refactoring, multi-line changes
str_replace_editor: Simple text replacements, single-line edits

Example Usage

With Morph Fast Apply configured, you can request complex code changes:

zai-cli --prompt "refactor this function to use async/await and add error handling"
zai-cli -p "convert this class to TypeScript and add proper type annotations"

The AI will automatically choose between edit_file (Morph) for complex changes or str_replace_editor for simple replacements.

MCP Tools

zai-cli supports MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers, allowing you to extend the AI assistant with additional tools and capabilities.

Adding MCP Tools

Add a custom MCP server:

# Add an stdio-based MCP server
zai-cli mcp add my-server --transport stdio --command "bun" --args server.js

# Add an HTTP-based MCP server
zai-cli mcp add my-server --transport http --url "http://localhost:3000"

# Add with environment variables
zai-cli mcp add my-server --transport stdio --command "python" --args "-m" "my_mcp_server" --env "API_KEY=your_key"

Add from JSON configuration:

zai-cli mcp add-json my-server '{"command": "bun", "args": ["server.js"], "env": {"API_KEY": "your_key"}}'

Linear Integration Example

To add Linear MCP tools for project management:

# Add Linear MCP server
zai-cli mcp add linear --transport sse --url "https://mcp.linear.app/sse"

This enables Linear tools like:

Create and manage Linear issues
Search and filter issues
Update issue status and assignees
Access team and project information

Managing MCP Servers

# List all configured servers
zai-cli mcp list

# Test server connection
zai-cli mcp test server-name

# Remove a server
zai-cli mcp remove server-name

Available Transport Types

stdio: Run MCP server as a subprocess (most common)
http: Connect to HTTP-based MCP server
sse: Connect via Server-Sent Events

Development

# Install dependencies
bun install

# Development mode
bun run dev

# Build project
bun run build

# Run linter
bun run lint

# Type check
bun run typecheck

Architecture

Agent: Core command processing and execution logic
Tools: Text editor and bash tool implementations
UI: Ink-based terminal interface components
Types: TypeScript definitions for the entire system

License

MIT

@zds-ai/cli

Package Exports

Readme

ZDS AI CLI (forked from Grok CLI)

Features

Installation

Prerequisites

System Dependencies

Global Installation (Recommended)

Local Development

Setup

Custom Base URL (Optional)

Configuration Files

User-Level Settings (~/.grok/user-settings.json)

Startup Hook

Project-Level Settings (.grok/settings.json)

How It Works

Using Other API Providers

Usage

Interactive Mode

Headless Mode

Tool Execution Control

Model Selection

Image Support

Command Line Options

Custom Instructions

Morph Fast Apply (Optional)

How It Works

Example Usage

MCP Tools

Adding MCP Tools

Add a custom MCP server:

Add from JSON configuration:

Linear Integration Example

Managing MCP Servers

Available Transport Types

Development

Architecture

License

User-Level Settings (`~/.grok/user-settings.json`)

Project-Level Settings (`.grok/settings.json`)