install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install cai

local Homebrew formula metadata

overview

Package summary

CLI tool for prompting LLMs

Project links

Commands and aliases

cai

history

Project history and usage

cai is a Rust CLI for running LLM, image, OCR, speech, coding-context, and automation prompts from the terminal.

Project history

The public repository was created on 2024-03-28 and the changelog marks 0.1.0 as the initial release on the same date. Early releases added provider subcommands, proper clap-based argument handling, local Ollama support, stdin prompt input, Anthropic support, multi-model prompting through cai all, and markdown syntax highlighting.

Through 2024 and 2025 cai expanded from a simple prompt CLI into a multi-provider terminal assistant, adding JSON output, raw output, OCR, file renaming, changelog generation, programming-language context commands, DeepSeek, Cerebras, xAI, Google Gemini, image generation, transcription, rewrite, and shell-adjacent helper commands.

Adoption history

cai belongs to the wave of post-ChatGPT command-line LLM clients. Its official README positions it as a user-friendly CLI with providers including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Groq, Cerebras, DeepSeek, xAI, Ollama, and Llamafile, and it is distributed through Cargo and Homebrew.

How it is used

Typical usage is short natural-language prompts, stdin pipelines, provider-specific model shortcuts, simultaneous prompting across providers, OCR, image generation, shell command generation, database querying, and coding-context prompts. The README documents API key setup on first run and support for local LLM servers.

Why package nerds care

cai is a good snapshot of how AI tooling entered package managers: a fast-moving Rust CLI that maps commercial and local model providers into Unix-style commands, stdin/stdout workflows, and package-manager installation.

Timeline

2024: Initial 0.1.0 release.
2024: Provider subcommands, Ollama, Anthropic, multi-model prompts, and JSON/raw output added.
2025: OCR, file renaming, programming contexts, DeepSeek, Cerebras, xAI, Gemini, image generation, and transcription features added.
2026: 0.13.0 adds more commands including photo, say, config, query, edit, and commit.

Related projects

The official README lists related CLI LLM tools such as AIChat, clai, Ell, Goose, llm, smartcat, and tgpt.
cai integrates with hosted providers and local runtimes including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Groq, Cerebras, DeepSeek, xAI, Ollama, and Llamafile.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Build metadata lists 2 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cai/config.yaml~/.config/cai/config.yaml

Credential files

Credential-bearing paths to review before unattended agent runs.

Unix: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cai/secrets.yaml~/.config/cai/secrets.yaml

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`cai`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version0.13.0

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv0.13.0

https://github.com/ad-si/cai

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:cai
Version	0.13.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/cai
Homepage	https://github.com/ad-si/cai
Repository	https://github.com/ad-si/cai
Upstream docs	https://github.com/ad-si/cai#readme
License	ISC
Source archive	https://github.com/ad-si/cai/archive/refs/tags/v0.13.0.tar.gz
Build dependencies	pkgconf, rust
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	cai
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head stable

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/cai.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install cai with Homebrew