# Install cai with Homebrew, Nix

CLI tool for prompting LLMs. Version 0.13.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#cai.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:cai
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install cai
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#cai
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ca/cai/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:cai
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.13.0
- **Source summary:** CLI tool for prompting LLMs
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/ad-si/cai>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/ad-si/cai>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- cai (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.13.0
## Project history and usage

cai is a Rust CLI for running LLM, image, OCR, speech, coding-context, and automation prompts from the terminal.

### Project history

The public repository was created on 2024-03-28 and the changelog marks 0.1.0 as the initial release on the same date. Early releases added provider subcommands, proper clap-based argument handling, local Ollama support, stdin prompt input, Anthropic support, multi-model prompting through cai all, and markdown syntax highlighting.

Through 2024 and 2025 cai expanded from a simple prompt CLI into a multi-provider terminal assistant, adding JSON output, raw output, OCR, file renaming, changelog generation, programming-language context commands, DeepSeek, Cerebras, xAI, Google Gemini, image generation, transcription, rewrite, and shell-adjacent helper commands.

### Adoption history

cai belongs to the wave of post-ChatGPT command-line LLM clients. Its official README positions it as a user-friendly CLI with providers including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Groq, Cerebras, DeepSeek, xAI, Ollama, and Llamafile, and it is distributed through Cargo and Homebrew.

### How it is used

Typical usage is short natural-language prompts, stdin pipelines, provider-specific model shortcuts, simultaneous prompting across providers, OCR, image generation, shell command generation, database querying, and coding-context prompts. The README documents API key setup on first run and support for local LLM servers.

### Why package nerds care

cai is a good snapshot of how AI tooling entered package managers: a fast-moving Rust CLI that maps commercial and local model providers into Unix-style commands, stdin/stdout workflows, and package-manager installation.

### Timeline

- 2024: Initial 0.1.0 release.
- 2024: Provider subcommands, Ollama, Anthropic, multi-model prompts, and JSON/raw output added.
- 2025: OCR, file renaming, programming contexts, DeepSeek, Cerebras, xAI, Gemini, image generation, and transcription features added.
- 2026: 0.13.0 adds more commands including photo, say, config, query, edit, and commit.

### Related projects

- The official README lists related CLI LLM tools such as AIChat, clai, Ell, Goose, llm, smartcat, and tgpt.
- cai integrates with hosted providers and local runtimes including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Groq, Cerebras, DeepSeek, xAI, Ollama, and Llamafile.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/ad-si/cai>
- <https://github.com/ad-si/cai#readme>
- <https://github.com/ad-si/cai/blob/main/changelog.md>


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals


## Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.


## Configuration files

- Unix: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cai/config.yaml, ~/.config/cai/config.yaml

## Credential files

- Unix: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cai/secrets.yaml, ~/.config/cai/secrets.yaml
## Other Package-Manager Records

- Nix - cai: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ca/cai/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/cai.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/cai.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph