Terminal Assistant

Plan the steps, or read the command.

Describe a job on a machine and get commands in order, with missing details listed as placeholders and each step marked for what it touches. Or paste a command to understand it before running it.

  • 4 shell environments
  • One step at a time
  • Nothing connected or run

Choose the shell on the machine where the main task happens.

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Add non-confidential details: an SSH alias, VPN client, folder, permissions, or container. Missing values become placeholders.

The plan

Describe the job. The steps, in order, with everything you need to fill in, will appear here.

Nothing is connected or executed. You stay in control of every step.

Does this connect to my server?

No. It plans commands and explains commands. It has no SSH session, VPN connection or shell. You review each step and run it in your own terminal.

Why are there placeholders instead of my hostname?

The tool cannot know your host, paths or VPN configuration. Missing values appear as <placeholders>, with an explanation of what to replace. Supply non-confidential context to make the plan more specific. Replace placeholders before running commands; the angle brackets are not shell syntax to copy unchanged.

What do the risk labels mean?

Read means a step is intended to inspect information. Change means it modifies state. Potentially destructive means it may delete, overwrite, interrupt a service or make a change that is hard to reverse. Conservative pattern checks can raise labels, but cannot understand every shell command. Labels are prompts to review, not a guarantee of safety. Destructive steps include an inspection step first.

When should I use explainshell instead?

For detailed Linux command and flag annotations from manual pages, explainshell is a useful free, open-source alternative. Terminal Assistant focuses on an ordered plan, placeholders, where to run each step, and explanations for bash, zsh, BusyBox and PowerShell. Open explainshell ↗

Is what I paste private?

It is sent to the OpenAI API to produce the answer and it is not saved on this site. Unlike the Meeting Transcriber and the Background Remover, this tool does not run a model on your device, so treat it as you would any cloud service: no hostnames you must keep secret, no credentials, no personal data.