simonwillison.net
AI
llm cli
SHOW HN2025
Legend
simonwillison.net
My LLM CLI tool can run tools now, from Python code or plugins
simonwillison.netHow HN took it
24 positive, 29 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 7 critical, out of 61 comments about the project. Thread score +0.24.
Idea: 5 for, 2 againstExecution: 3 for, 1 againstDocs: 3 for, 0 againstDesign: 2 for, 1 againstPerformance: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Useful research tool with logging of prompts and responses
From 2 comments
I find it extremely useful as a research tool. It can talk to probably over 100 models at this point, providing a single interface to all of them and logging full details of…
simonw on HNGreat work Simon! I use your tool daily. Pipes and easy model switching for local (ollama) and remote makes this very easy to work with.
hanatanaka1984 on HN
Simple plugin and Python API for tool calling
From 2 comments
Thanks for making this. I used it (0.26a0) last week to create a demo for a customer-facing chatbot using proprietary data. The key elements I had to write: - The system prompt -…
rahimnathwani on HNThis is great, and a feature I was hoping for, for a long time. At this point I would have expected something mcp or openapi based but probably is simpler and more flexible this…
samuel on HN
Objections
Tool calling risks footguns like unintended actions
From 2 comments
This greatly opens up the risk of footguns. The doc [1] warns about prompt injection, but I think a more likely scenario is self-inflicted harm. For instance, you give a tool…
tantalor on HNOk this is great and perfect timing -- I've been playing around with Warp (the terminal) and while I love the idea of their terminal-based "agent" (eg tool loop), I don't love…
nlh on HN
Updating via Homebrew removes installed plugins
From 1 comment
Every time I update llm I have to reinstall all plugins, like gemini and ollama. My Gemini key is still saved, as are my aliases for my ollama models, so I don't get why the…
sorenjan on HN
Slow startup from expensive plugin imports
From 1 comment
Simon thank you so much for this tool! I use it daily now since charmbraclet’s Mods[0] doesn’t support anthropics models. And now with tool calling it’ll be even more useful. I…
roxolotl on HN
Requests
Per-call permission prompts for tools
From 1 comment
Ok this is great and perfect timing -- I've been playing around with Warp (the terminal) and while I love the idea of their terminal-based "agent" (eg tool loop), I don't love…
nlh on HN
Better tutorial and documentation
From 1 comment
I really need to put together a better tutorial - there's a TON of documentation but it's scattered across a bunch of different places: - The official docs:…
simonw on HN
MCP support
From 1 comment
Thank you for this release. I believe your library is a key component to unlocking the potential of LLMs without the limitations/restricitions of existing clients. Since you…
oliviergg on HN
Questions
How does this differ from other CLI tools and LangChain tool calling?
From 2 comments
what are the use cases for llm, the CLI tool? I keep finding tgpt or the bulletin AI features of iTerm2 sufficient for quick shell scripting. does llm have any special features…
behnamoh on HNHow does this differ from langchain's tool calling?
a_bonobo on HN
Whether tool calls work reliably across models
From 1 comment
Have you guys had luck with tool calls? I made a simple assistant with access to my calendar, and most models fail to call the tool to add calendar events. GPT-4.1 also regularly…
stavros on HN
Alternatives named
LangChain
From 1 comment
How does this differ from langchain's tool calling?
a_bonobo on HN
tgpt and iTerm2 AI features
From 1 comment
what are the use cases for llm, the CLI tool? I keep finding tgpt or the bulletin AI features of iTerm2 sufficient for quick shell scripting. does llm have any special features…
behnamoh on HN
Warp terminal agent
From 1 comment
Ok this is great and perfect timing -- I've been playing around with Warp (the terminal) and while I love the idea of their terminal-based "agent" (eg tool loop), I don't love…
nlh on HN
Claude Code
From 1 comment
@simonw, how much have you used Claude code? I'm wondering if it makes sense to use Claude code as the main driver, but have crafted specialized "llm" based tools for Claude to…
jasonriddle on HN