Summarize CLI

summarize

Workflow

1. Confirm input type and desired output format.
2. Run a minimal real command first (

   summarize "<input>"

   ).
3. Select a model/provider and ensure matching API credentials.
4. Add flags incrementally only after a baseline run succeeds.
5. If it fails, re-run with

   --verbose

   or

   --json

   before changing multiple variables.

Quick Patterns

• Summarize a URL:

  summarize "https://example.com"

• Summarize a local file:

  summarize "/path/to/file.pdf"

• Summarize piped input:

  cat notes.md | summarize -

• Summarize YouTube/media URL:

  summarize "https://youtube.com/watch?v=..."

• Force model/provider:

  summarize "https://example.com" --model openai/gpt-5-mini

• Control length:

  summarize "https://example.com" --length long

• Return diagnostics JSON:

  summarize "https://example.com" --json

• Extract content without summarizing:

  summarize "https://example.com" --extract --format md

Configuration Rules

• Prefer explicit

  --model

  on task-critical runs.
• Use

  ~/.summarize/config.json

  for stable defaults.
• Remember precedence for model selection:

  1. --model

  2. SUMMARIZE_MODEL

  3. ~/.summarize/config.json

  4. built-in default (

     auto

     )

Troubleshooting Flow

1. Re-run with

   --verbose

   .
2. Confirm API key matches the chosen provider/model.
3. Switch to a known-good model (for example

   openai/gpt-5-mini

   or

   google/gemini-3-flash-preview

   ).
4. For media or YouTube failures, verify external dependencies (

   yt-dlp

   ,

   ffmpeg

   , optionally

   tesseract

   ).
5. Use

   --json

   to inspect extraction and metric fields.

Scope

• Prioritize how to run commands and fix concrete failures.
• Do not include full repository-level documentation unless explicitly requested.
• Use references/cli.md only for deeper flag/provider details.

References