xnpm ask

Natural language for intent.
Deterministic commands
for execution.

xnpm ask is not an LLM feature. Same input always produces the same command. Unknown input fails with suggestions, not guesses.

How ask works

Phrase catalogs, not
language models.

xnpm ask resolves intent phrases to real xnpm commands using a known, finite catalog. There is no model inference, no probability, and no guessing involved.

LLM shell May invent commands. Output varies per run.
xnpm ask Same phrase → same command. Deterministic. Always.
  • ✓
    Same input, same outputThe phrase catalog is static. Identical inputs always resolve to the same command.
  • ✓
    Unknown input fails safelyIf the phrase is not in the catalog, xnpm returns an error and suggests the closest known commands.
  • ✓
    Dangerous operations require approvalIrreversible commands (publish, push) show the plan and require explicit confirmation before running.
No hallucinated shell. No guessing. No magic.
known phrase
$ xnpm ask "publish all @x12i packages and push" → Resolved: xnpm --filter "@x12i/*" --build --test --publish --push --report Publish and push are irreversible. Continue? y/N > y
unknown phrase
$ xnpm ask "deploy to staging and pray" ✕ No safe match found. Did you mean: xnpm --publish xnpm --push xnpm --full-flow

Three guarantees

What ask always does.

Deterministic
Same phrase, same command

No variance between runs. No model drift. Scripting and automation can rely on ask output.

Safe failure
Unknown = error, not guess

If a phrase is not in the catalog, ask returns an error with the closest matching suggestions — never an invented command.

Transparent
Shows the plan before running

Irreversible operations always print the resolved command and ask for confirmation. No silent destructive actions.

ask-cli library

Build your own
deterministic ask command.

@x12i/ask-cli is the library behind xnpm ask. Any CLI can use it to add deterministic natural-language resolution without adding an LLM dependency.

@x12i/ask-cli
import { createAskCli } from '@x12i/ask-cli'; const askCli = createAskCli({ catalog }); const result = await askCli.resolve({ input, context, });
Install
npm install @x12i/ask-cliStandalone library, no LLM dependency