TermHint — Context-aware shell command translator

Describe what you want in plain English, get a command that fits your machine

Problem

The developer behind Smartly nailed a common frustration: you know exactly what you want to do in the terminal, but you forget the exact syntax and flags. Copy-pasting commands to an LLM and back is tedious, and GNU vs BSD differences make it error-prone. Existing options are generic chat windows or static cheatsheets that don't know your current directory or Git state.

Solution

A CLI tool that translates natural language into shell commands while sensing your OS, current directory, Git repo state, and available tools. It suggests commands that fit your actual environment, supports one-click copy, step-by-step breakdown, and integrates with Claude Code and Codex CLI.

Users

Backend engineers, SREs, data scientists, and developers who frequently use the terminal but don't have shell syntax memorized.

MVP

CLI entry point accepting natural language; read OS, cwd, and Git context; output candidate commands with risky operations highlighted; macOS / Linux / BSD difference hints; integration with mainstream coding agent CLIs.

Revenue

Open-source CLI plus paid cloud tier (team command snippet library, audit log); usage-based API pricing; enterprise self-hosted option.

Why now

LLMs can now reliably generate commands, but there is no context-aware, terminal-native entry point. Terminal usage remains extremely high, and an indie developer can ship a non-chat focused niche tool quickly.