tell-me/README.md

Tell-Me

A CLI application that provides AI-powered search and information retrieval using local LLM models. Similar to Perplexity, but running locally in your terminal.

Features

• 🔍 Web Search: Powered by SearXNG for comprehensive internet searches
• 📄 URL Fetching: Automatically fetches and converts web pages to clean Markdown
• 🤖 Local LLM Support: Works with any OpenAI-compatible API (Ollama, LM Studio, etc.)
• 💻 Simple CLI: Clean terminal interface for easy interaction
• ⚙️ Configurable: Easy INI-based configuration
• 🔒 Privacy-Focused: All processing happens locally

Prerequisites

Before using Tell-Me, you need:

1. Go 1.21 or higher - Download Go
2. A running SearXNG instance - SearXNG Setup Guide
   • Quick Docker setup: docker run -d -p 8080:8080 searxng/searxng
3. An OpenAI-compatible LLM API such as:
   • Ollama (recommended for local use)
   • LM Studio
   • Any other OpenAI-compatible endpoint

Installation

1. Clone or download this repository

git clone <repository-url>
cd tell-me

2. Download dependencies

go mod download

3. Build the application

go build -o tell-me

4. Set up configuration

Create the config directory and copy the example configuration:

mkdir -p ~/.config
cp tell-me.ini.example ~/.config/tell-me.ini

5. Edit your configuration

Open ~/.config/tell-me.ini in your favorite editor and configure:

[llm]
# Your LLM API endpoint (e.g., Ollama, LM Studio)
api_url = http://localhost:11434/v1

# Model name to use
model = llama3.2

# Context window size
context_size = 16000

# API key (leave empty if not required)
api_key =

[searxng]
# Your SearXNG instance URL
url = http://localhost:8080

Example configurations:

For Ollama:

[llm]
api_url = http://localhost:11434/v1
model = llama3.2
context_size = 16000
api_key =

For LM Studio:

[llm]
api_url = http://localhost:1234/v1
model = your-model-name
context_size = 16000
api_key =

Usage

Simply run the application:

./tell-me

You'll see a welcome screen, then you can start asking questions:

╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║                         Tell-Me CLI                            ║
║          AI-powered search with local LLM support              ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Using model: llama3.2
SearXNG: http://localhost:8080

Type your questions below. Type 'exit' or 'quit' to exit.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

You: What are the latest developments in AI?

The AI will:

1. Automatically search the web for current information
2. Fetch relevant URLs if needed
3. Synthesize the information into a comprehensive answer
4. Cite sources with URLs

Type exit or quit to exit the application.

How It Works

1. User asks a question - You type your query in the terminal
2. AI searches first - The system prompt enforces web search before answering
3. Information gathering - Uses SearXNG to find relevant sources
4. Content fetching - Optionally fetches full content from specific URLs
5. Answer synthesis - AI combines information and provides a comprehensive answer with citations

Project Structure

tell-me/
├── main.go              # Main application entry point
├── config/
│   └── config.go        # Configuration loading from INI file
├── llm/
│   └── client.go        # OpenAI-compatible API client with tool calling
├── tools/
│   ├── search.go        # SearXNG web search implementation
│   └── fetch.go         # URL fetching and HTML-to-Markdown conversion
├── go.mod               # Go module dependencies
├── tell-me.ini.example  # Example configuration file
└── README.md            # This file

Configuration Reference

LLM Section

• api_url: The base URL for your OpenAI-compatible API endpoint
• model: The model name/identifier to use
• context_size: Maximum context window size (default: 16000)
• api_key: API key if required (leave empty for local APIs like Ollama)

SearXNG Section

• url: The URL of your SearXNG instance

Troubleshooting

"Config file not found"

Make sure you've created ~/.config/tell-me.ini from the example file.

"Search request failed"

Check that your SearXNG instance is running and accessible at the configured URL.

"Chat completion failed"

Verify that:

• Your LLM API is running
• The API URL is correct
• The model name is correct
• The model supports tool/function calling

Connection refused errors

Ensure both SearXNG and your LLM API are running before starting Tell-Me.

Tips

• Use specific questions for better results
• The AI will automatically search before answering
• Sources are cited with URLs for verification
• You can ask follow-up questions in the same session
• The conversation history is maintained throughout the session

License

MIT