How to Use the Command 'mods' (with Examples)

‘mods’ is a powerful AI-driven tool designed to work seamlessly on the command line, primarily crafted for integrating artificial intelligence into workflows and pipelines. This versatile tool takes human-like prompts and generates responses that can be directly utilized in interactive or automated processes. Whether you’re a developer looking to spruce up your code comments, someone looking to inject creativity into daily tasks, or a specialist trying to distill large data sets into digestible summaries, ‘mods’ offers tailored solutions. Here’s a closer look at some of its compelling use cases:

Use Case 1: Ask a Generic Question

Code:

mods "write me a poem about platypuses"

Motivation: Sometimes, inspiration is needed to break the monotony of daily tasks or to infuse a bit of creativity into an otherwise mundane routine. This example is perfect for writers facing creative block or anyone wishing to see the whimsical capabilities of AI expressed vividly. Asking ‘mods’ to generate a poem demonstrates its ability to synthesize artistic and creative content swiftly.

Explanation:

• mods: This command invokes the ‘mods’ tool, which processes your request using AI.
• "write me a poem about platypuses": The string inside the quotes is a direct prompt to the AI, instructing it to generate a poem focusing on the theme of platypuses.

Example Output:

In streams where waters brightly swirl and sway,  
The platypus comes out to play.  
A curious creature, odd yet grand,  
With webbed feet and beak, it swims to land.

Use Case 2: Open Settings in Your $EDITOR

Code:

mods --settings

Motivation: At times, you need to modify settings to personalize how a tool functions or integrates within your workflow. Opening these settings directly in your $EDITOR provides an intuitive and straightforward method for customizing ‘mods’ to function exactly as you need it.

Explanation:

• mods: Again, this is the invocation of the ‘mods’ tool.
• --settings: This flag tells ‘mods’ to open its configuration or settings file. By default, it uses your configured $EDITOR environment variable to choose the appropriate editing application.

Example Output:
Upon executing this command, your default text editor will open with the settings configuration for ‘mods’, allowing you to view and edit parameters like default language, output format preferences, and plugin integrations.

Use Case 3: Ask for Comments on Your Code, in Markdown Format

Code:

mods --format "what are your thoughts on improving this code?" < path/to/file

Motivation: Peer reviews and code improvements are critical aspects of software development. If you don’t have immediate access to a colleague or mentor for feedback, or if you wish to gain a fresh perspective, ‘mods’ can simulate this interaction by analyzing your code and providing insightful comments formatted in Markdown for easy reading and sharing.

Explanation:

• mods: This initiates the ‘mods’ command.
• --format: This flag indicates that the output should follow a specific format, in this case, Markdown.
• "what are your thoughts on improving this code?": This string is the AI prompt directing ‘mods’ to analyze and suggest improvements for the code provided via input.
• < path/to/file: This is a reference to the file containing code that you want ‘mods’ to review.

Example Output:

### Code Improvement Suggestions:
1. **Optimize Loops**: Consider refactoring `for` loops to enhance performance.
2. **Error Handling**: Add exception handling to manage potential `NullPointerExceptions`.

Use Case 4: Ask for Help with Your Documentation, in Markdown Format

Code:

mods --format "write a new section to this readme for a feature that sends you a free rabbit if you hit r" < README.md

Motivation: Maintaining documentation is essential for software projects, but it can be time-consuming. Automatically generating well-structured additions to your README can considerably streamline this process. This example highlights how ‘mods’ can be enlisted to draft sections and elucidate on new features, ensuring clarity and consistency in documentation.

Explanation:

• mods: Calls the ‘mods’ AI command.
• --format: Ensures the output is in Markdown.
• "write a new section to this readme for a feature that sends you a free rabbit if you hit r": A prompt describing the task, guiding the AI to address specific content and functionality.
• < README.md: Indicates the path to the existing README file that will serve as the base documentation to expand upon.

Example Output:

## Free Rabbit Feature
Introducing an exciting feature: press `r` to receive a free rabbit! Upon activation, this feature integrates with our delivery partner to bring a rabbit to your doorstep promptly.

Use Case 5: Organize Your Videos, in Markdown Format

Code:

ls path/to/videos | mods --format "organize these by decade and summarize"

Motivation: Managing a large collection of videos can often become unwieldy. Organizing them by decade not only provides a clear structure but also facilitates better accessibility. This functionality is especially useful for archivists, content creators, and film enthusiasts looking to categorize videos efficiently.

Explanation:

• ls path/to/videos: Lists all files in the specified directory, piped to mods.
• |: The pipe operator sends the list of video files generated by ls as input to the mods command.
• mods --format: Command to use ‘mods’ with a specified format.
• "organize these by decade and summarize": The provided instruction directs ‘mods’ to categorize the videos into decades and generate a summarized output.

Example Output:

### 1980s
- Video1.mp4  
- Video2.mp4

**Summary**: The 1980s collection highlights the dawn of modern cinematic techniques.

### 1990s
- Video3.mp4  
- Video4.mp4

**Summary**: The 1990s showcases a variety of cult classics and advancements in CGI.

Use Case 6: Read through Raw HTML and Summarize the Contents, in Markdown Format

Code:

curl "https://api.open-meteo.com/v1/forecast?latitude=29.00&longitude=-90.00&current_weather=true&hourly=temperature_2m,relativehumidity_2m,windspeed_10m" | mods --format "summarize this weather data for a human"

Motivation: Extracting and understanding information from raw HTML or JSON data provided by APIs is an everyday use case for developers and analysts. It can be tedious to manually parse through raw data, hence an automated tool like ‘mods’ makes the process efficient by reshaping it into human-readable summaries.

Explanation:

• curl: This command fetches raw data from the specified URL.
• "https://api.open-meteo.com/v1/forecast?...: The URL from which the weather forecast data is retrieved.
• |: This operator pipes the curl output into mods.
• mods --format: Uses ‘mods’ to format the weather data input into a summary.
• "summarize this weather data for a human": Instruction for ‘mods’ to convert raw weather data into an understandable summary.

Example Output:

**Current Weather Summary**:  
- Location: Latitude 29.00, Longitude -90.00  
- Temperature: 23.5°C  
- Humidity: 70%  
- Wind Speed: 15 km/h  

Use Case 7: Display Help

Code:

mods --help

Motivation: Even for seasoned users, sometimes you need reminders of the available functionalities or flag options in a command-line tool. Using the help command is a direct route to gain comprehensive insights and assist in troubleshooting or leveraging the full capabilities of ‘mods’.

Explanation:

• mods: Calls the ‘mods’ application on your terminal.
• --help: A flag that requests the tool to display helpful information about its functionality, argument structures, options, and usage examples.

Example Output:

mods - AI for the command-line, built for pipelines.
Usage: mods [options] "query"
Options:
  --help           Show help.
  --settings       Open settings.
  --format         Specify output format.
More information: https://github.com/charmbracelet/mods.

Conclusion:

By integrating AI with command-line tools through ‘mods’, users can supercharge their productivity across a wide range of tasks, from generating creative content to simplifying complex data interpretation and improving code documentation. As showcased in the examples above, ‘mods’ provides a rich suite of functionalities that cater to both technical and creative needs, enhancing workflows with efficiency and ease.