Small local models effectively use a fraction of their advertised
context window. Per-request compression for routes that hit a
local-compress-flagged model preset: keeps only the last N turns
and tail-truncates oversized content. Cloud routes get the full
context unchanged.
Changes:
- context.lua _compress_turns(turns, keep, max_chars): returns a
new list (self.turns NEVER mutated) with the last `keep` turns
preserved + content tail-truncated to `max_chars`. Defensive:
drops tool turns at the slice head (orphaned without their
assistant-with-tool_calls anchor — strict chat templates would
reject them; same gotcha PHASE0 §6 warned about for user/user).
- Context:to_messages(opts) — opts.compress = { keep_turns,
max_turn_chars } swaps the turn iterable for the compressed
view. Affects BOTH the use_tool_role=true path and the
use_tool_role=false fallback (PHASE2.md Q18 strict-template
workaround). Persistence + display via :history see the full
uncompressed ctx.turns.
- repl.lua ask_ai: when req_cfg (the routed model's cfg) has
`local_compress = true`, build compress_opts from
config.context.compress (defaults keep_turns=2, max_turn_chars=800).
Pass through ctx:to_messages alongside the existing
system_prompt_override (#86) — orthogonal opts that compose.
- Norris unaffected: safety.norris_step builds its own messages
array; the planner needs full history per PHASE3 design.
- config.lua gains a header comment explaining the per-model opt-in
+ the context.compress defaults block + the documented tool-turn
truncation trade-off.
13 unit cases verified:
- no opts -> full turn list (no regression)
- keep_turns=2 -> exactly last 2 emitted
- long content tail-truncated to max_chars
- self.turns unchanged after render
- orphan tool-turn at slice head dropped (no chat-template violation)
- tool turn included WITH its assistant anchor when keep_turns >= 3
E2E against live local broker:
- models.fast.local_compress = true; keep_turns=1; max=200
- 4-turn session: each broker call sees ONLY the current turn
(verified by short coherent CMD replies despite no cross-turn
memory available to the model). FR-promised small-model
friendliness in action; conversation continuity is the
documented trade-off.
Regression: test_safety 87/87, test_router_model 31/31, repl loads.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
aish
aish — AI-augmented conversational shell.
A single REPL that interleaves shell command execution and language-model conversation, backed by a llama.cpp HTTP broker. Implementation is LuaJIT 2.x with FFI bindings to libcurl, GNU readline, and libc — no C extensions, no build step, one source tree.
Why
Three flows that currently live in three windows fold into one:
- "Run this command and show me the output" — fast feedback loop, no copy-paste between terminal and chat.
- "Explain or write code based on the output we just looked at" — exec output is automatically injected into the model's context.
- "Plan and execute a multi-step task with confirmation gates" — landing in Phase 3 as Chuck Norris autonomous mode.
aish is not a wrapper around bash. It's a first-class interactive environment where the shell is one of several execution channels.
Status
| Component | State |
|---|---|
| Repository skeleton | ✅ in this commit |
| Phase 0 manifest | ✅ docs/PHASE0.md — locked |
| Phase 0 implementation | 🔜 next session |
| Phase 1+ | 📋 enumerated in PHASE0.md §11 |
Every module file currently raises not implemented (Phase 0 pending)
when called. luajit main.lua fails loudly at the first un-implemented
function, never silently.
Quick orientation
| Read this | If you want to know |
|---|---|
docs/PHASE0.md §1–2 |
What aish is and what Phase 0 ships |
docs/PHASE0.md §3 |
Technology decisions (LuaJIT, FFI, readline, libcurl, llama.cpp) |
docs/PHASE0.md §4 |
Directory layout — these file names are stable across all phases |
docs/PHASE0.md §5 |
How input is dispatched (meta / shell / AI) |
docs/PHASE0.md §6 |
Broker contract: /v1/chat/completions, CMD: extraction |
docs/PHASE0.md §10 |
Config schema and resolution order |
docs/PHASE0.md §11 |
Phase sequence (what lands when) |
docs/PHASE0.md §13 |
Open questions, tracked per phase |
CLAUDE.md |
Project conventions for AI-assisted contributors |
Directory layout
aish/
├── main.lua # entry point
├── repl.lua # readline loop, dispatch, prompt
├── broker.lua # llama.cpp HTTP client
├── router.lua # input classifier (meta/shell/AI)
├── executor.lua # command exec + CMD: extraction
├── context.lua # in-memory turn history
├── history.lua # disk persistence (Phase 1+)
├── safety.lua # destructive-op gate (Phase 3+)
├── renderer.lua # output formatting
├── config.lua # default model registry + preferences
├── ffi/
│ ├── curl.lua # libcurl easy interface
│ ├── readline.lua # GNU readline
│ ├── pty.lua # forkpty (Phase 1+)
│ └── libc.lua # chdir, errno, strerror
└── docs/
└── PHASE0.md # locked substrate
Build / runtime dependencies
System packages (Debian / ALARM / Arch names):
luajit(>= 2.0)libcurl4/libcurl-openssl-3runtimelibreadline8runtimelibc6runtime (always present)
No compilation, no luarocks, no make. Just luajit main.lua.
Running
Once Phase 0 ships:
luajit main.lua # uses ~/.config/aish/config.lua
luajit main.lua --config ./config.lua # explicit config path
AISH_CONFIG=/path/to/config.lua luajit main.lua
Config resolution order is documented in docs/PHASE0.md §10.
Configuration
config.lua is a Lua file returning a single table. The committed
config.lua in this repo is both the canonical example and the
development-fallback config (lowest precedence). Copy it to
~/.config/aish/config.lua and edit endpoints to your local llama.cpp
servers, or point AISH_CONFIG at your own.
The default endpoints assume mfritsche's home network:
fast→dirac.fritz.box:8081(Qwen2.5-Coder-7B q4 8k ctx)deep→dirac.fritz.box:8080(Qwen2.5-Coder-7B q4 32k ctx)cloud→hossenfelder.fritz.box:8082(forwards to OpenRouter)
Replace these with your own llama.cpp endpoints if you're not on that LAN.
License
Not yet selected. Default-private until decided.
Project conventions
See CLAUDE.md for contribution conventions, commit style,
and the phase-loop discipline this project follows.