terminal-search

A web-search CLI tool assisted with AI for quick research in between commands.

What is it?

A lightweight shell function that lets you ask questions directly from your terminal. The AI automatically searches the web when needed and provides real-time answers with proper citations.

Features

• 🔍 Automatic web search - AI decides when to search for current information
• 🌀 Live status indicators - Shows "🔎 Searching" and "🤔 Thinking" spinners
• 🎯 Smart context - Searches for weather, news, current events, and more
• ⚡ Fast & lightweight - Minimal dependencies, runs in any terminal

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.7+
• OpenAI API key

Quick Install

# Clone or download the install script, then run:
bash install.sh

# Or manually:
pip install -r requirements.txt
chmod +x shellsearch.py

Setup

1. Set your OpenAI API key:

   export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."

   Or store it in ~/keys/openaikey.json:

   {
     "OPENAI_API_KEY": "sk-..."
   }

2. Reload your shell:

   source ~/.zshrc

Usage

Simply use ? followed by your question:

? what's the weather in tokyo right now
? latest news on AI
? explain kubernetes in simple terms
? upcoming movies in 2024

The tool will:

1. Show a thinking spinner while the AI processes your query
2. Automatically search the web if needed (yellow "Searching" spinner)
3. Display the final answer with sources

Examples

# Current information
? what's the stock price of AAPL

# Weather queries
? weather in amsterdam now

# General knowledge
? how does photosynthesis work

# News & current events
? latest updates on space exploration

Configuration

Edit ~/scripts/shellsearch.py to customize:

• Spinner style: Change SPINNER_STYLE to "arc" or "pulse"
• Model: Change model="gpt-4o-mini" to other OpenAI models
• Prompt wrapper: Modify the wrapper in .zshrc function

Requirements

See requirements.txt: