cli-anything-ollama
Local LLM inference and model management via the Ollama REST API. Designed for AI agents and power users who need to manage models, generate text, chat, and create embeddings without a GUI.
Installation
This CLI is installed as part of the cli-anything-ollama package:
bash
pip install cli-anything-ollama
Prerequisites:
- Python 3.10+
- Ollama must be installed and running ()
Usage
Basic Commands
bash
# Show help
cli-anything-ollama --help
# Start interactive REPL mode
cli-anything-ollama
# List available models
cli-anything-ollama model list
# Run with JSON output (for agent consumption)
cli-anything-ollama --json model list
REPL Mode
When invoked without a subcommand, the CLI enters an interactive REPL session:
bash
cli-anything-ollama
# Enter commands interactively with tab-completion and history
Command Groups
Model
Model management commands.
| Command | Description |
|---|
| List locally available models |
| Show model details (parameters, template, license) |
| Download a model from the Ollama library |
| Delete a model from local storage |
| Copy a model to a new name |
| List models currently loaded in memory |
Generate
Text generation and chat commands.
| Command | Description |
|---|
| Generate text from a prompt |
| Send a chat completion request |
Embed
Embedding generation commands.
| Command | Description |
|---|
| Generate embeddings for text |
Server
Server status and info commands.
| Command | Description |
|---|
| Check if Ollama server is running |
| Show Ollama server version |
Session
Session state commands.
| Command | Description |
|---|
| Show current session state |
| Show chat history for current session |
Examples
List and Pull Models
bash
# List available models
cli-anything-ollama model list
# Pull a model
cli-anything-ollama model pull llama3.2
# Show model details
cli-anything-ollama model show llama3.2
Generate Text
bash
# Stream text (default)
cli-anything-ollama generate text --model llama3.2 --prompt "Explain quantum computing in one sentence"
# Non-streaming with JSON output (for agents)
cli-anything-ollama --json generate text --model llama3.2 --prompt "Hello" --no-stream
Chat
bash
# Single-turn chat
cli-anything-ollama generate chat --model llama3.2 --message "user:What is Python?"
# Multi-turn chat
cli-anything-ollama generate chat --model llama3.2 \
--message "user:What is Python?" \
--message "user:How does it compare to JavaScript?"
# Chat from JSON file
cli-anything-ollama generate chat --model llama3.2 --file messages.json
Embeddings
bash
cli-anything-ollama embed text --model nomic-embed-text --input "Hello world"
cli-anything-ollama embed text --model nomic-embed-text --input "Hello" --input "World"
Interactive REPL Session
Start an interactive session for exploratory use.
bash
cli-anything-ollama
# Enter commands interactively
# Use 'help' to see available commands
Connect to Remote Host
bash
cli-anything-ollama --host http://192.168.1.100:11434 model list
State Management
The CLI maintains lightweight session state:
- Current host URL: Configurable via
- Chat history: Tracked for multi-turn conversations in REPL
- Last used model: Shown in REPL prompt
Output Formats
All commands support dual output modes:
- Human-readable (default): Tables, colors, formatted text
- Machine-readable ( flag): Structured JSON for agent consumption
bash
# Human output
cli-anything-ollama model list
# JSON output for agents
cli-anything-ollama --json model list
For AI Agents
When using this CLI programmatically:
- Always use flag for parseable output
- Check return codes - 0 for success, non-zero for errors
- Parse stderr for error messages on failure
- Use for generate/chat to get complete responses
- Verify Ollama is running with before other commands
More Information
- Full documentation: See README.md in the package
- Test coverage: See TEST.md in the package
- Methodology: See HARNESS.md in the cli-anything-plugin
Version
1.0.1