Name

smah — SMart As Hell SysteM Admin Helper

Synopsis

smah -q TEXT [options]
command ... | smah -q TEXT
command ... | smah -i FILE
smah --continue | --session ID | --history
smah --configure

Description

smah is the SMart As Hell SysteM Admin Helper: a command-line assistant for sysadmins, developers, and power users. Ask how to do something and it answers with the shell command and an explanation of what it does. Pipe it something long — auth logs, systemctl status — and it hands back a summary you can actually read.

SMAH prints; it does not run what it suggests. You read the command, you decide, you type it yourself. At first run it takes your background and your system details and shapes its answers to both. It works with Claude and OpenAI models — provider and model are your choice — and it saves every session in a local sqlite database you can resume later.

Options

-h, --help

Print command-line help and exit.

-q, --query TEXT

Ask a question in plain language. SMAH answers with the shell command and an explanation of what it does. Nothing is executed.

-i, --instructions FILE

Take the task from a file instead of an argument. Useful with pipes: the file says what to look for, the pipe supplies the input.

--continue

Resume the most recent session where you left it.

--session ID

Resume a specific earlier session.

--history

List your recent sessions and pick one to resume.

--model MODEL

Override the configured model for this run.

--configure

Walk through setup again: who you are, your system, your provider and key.

-v, --verbose

Repeat for more detail: -v shows the plan, -vv adds request payloads, -vvv dumps settings.

--rich

Render output as formatted Markdown panels instead of plain text.

Examples

# pipe logs; ask for what you need
$ tail -n 500 /var/log/auth.log | smah -q "summarize suspicious ips"

# pipe service status; take the task from a file
$ systemctl status | smah -i ~/scan.md

# pick up where you left off
$ smah --continue

Bugs

SMAH is an early prototype: rough edges, gaps, and change without notice. It is built for curious sysadmins and early adopters, not for anyone who needs a finished product. If you find a bug, the repository takes tickets and contributions.