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Installation

Smart-Shell is designed for easy installation with a single command that handles all dependencies and environment setup automatically.

Quick install (recommended for most users):

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Lusan-sapkota/smart-shell/main/install.sh | bash

The installation script will:

  1. Check and install all required dependencies
  2. Install Smart-Shell using pipx (for better isolation)
  3. Create desktop entries for easy access
  4. Set up command completion for Bash and Zsh
  5. Apply fixes for common Python module path issues
  6. Automatically run the setup wizard to configure your API key

If you're behind a corporate firewall or have restricted internet access, you might need to manually install dependencies first: 

pip install --user google-genai rich click pyyaml requests google-api-core

After installation, use Smart-Shell from any terminal:

smart-shell

CLI Commands

  • smart-shell — Start Smart-Shell in interactive mode
  • smart-shell run <prompt> — Convert natural language to Bash/Zsh commands
  • smart-shell --interactive or -i — Start interactive mode explicitly
  • smart-shell setup — Configure API key and settings
  • smart-shell models — List available AI models
  • smart-shell history — Show command history
  • smart-shell --help or smart-shell help — Show CLI help
  • smart-shell --version or smart-shell version — Show version information
  • smart-shell --dry-run or -d — Show command without executing
  • smart-shell --yes or -y — Auto-confirm all prompts (for automation)
  • smart-shell --model <name> or -m <name> — Use specific AI model

Manual Installation Options

The install script offers three installation methods:

  1. System-wide installation (requires sudo)
  2. Installs Smart-Shell for all users on the system

  3. Requires administrator privileges

  4. User installation (recommended)

  5. Uses pipx for isolated installation in your user directory
  6. No administrator privileges required

  7. Automatically installed if pipx is not found

  8. Virtual environment (for development)

  9. Creates a dedicated virtual environment
  10. Useful for development or testing

For development setup, see Development.

For troubleshooting and more, see the FAQ.

Dependencies

Smart-Shell requires the following Python packages:

  • google-genai - Google's Gemini AI SDK
  • rich - For beautiful terminal formatting
  • click - For command-line interface
  • pyyaml - For configuration management
  • requests - For API communication
  • google-api-core - Core Google API functionality

The installation script handles all these dependencies automatically.