Ask an AI assistant questions about code, logs, or any text input.
arc-ask has been refactored to use the arc-ai bridge, enabling:
- Pi harness integration - Full access to Pi's AI capabilities
- Extension ecosystem - Use Pi extensions (security, tmux, deps, etc.)
- Better composability - Works seamlessly with other arc tools
- Fallback mode - Works even without arc-ai daemon
Either:
- arc-ai daemon running (recommended):
arc-ai start - Pi installed globally:
npm install -g @mariozechner/pi-coding-agent
go install github.com/mtreilly/arc-ask@latest# Simple question
arc-ask "What is the best way to handle errors in Go?"
# With piped input
cat main.go | arc-ask "Explain this code"
# Multiple files
cat *.go | arc-ask "Review these files"# Analyze tmux pane output
arc-tmux follow --pane dev:1.0 | arc-ask "What's causing the error?"
# Review security findings
arc-security audit --json | arc-ask "Summarize critical issues"
# Check dependencies
arc-deps check | arc-ask "Which packages should I update first?"# Enable specific Pi tools
arc-ask "Analyze this" --tools security,tmux
# Available tools: security, tmux, deps, spell, typescript, semgreparc-ask "Review implementation" --context README.md --context ARCHITECTURE.mdBefore: Direct AI client in Go (limited providers, no extensions) After: Bridge to Pi harness (full Pi power, all extensions)
Old: arc-ask → Go AI client → API
New: arc-ask → arc-ai daemon → Pi → API + extensions
- ✅ Pi extension support (27+ tools)
- ✅ Better integration with arc toolkit
- ✅ Structured output (JSON)
- ✅ Session support (via arc-ai)
- ✅ Fallback mode (works without daemon)
All existing commands work:
- ✅
arc-ask "question" - ✅
cat file | arc-ask "prompt" - ✅
arc-ask --pane dev:1.0 - ✅
arc-ask --context README.md
# Set arc-ai socket path
export ARC_AI_SOCKET="~/.config/arc/ai/daemon.sock"| Mode | Startup | Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| arc-ai daemon | Fast | Full Pi power |
| Fallback (direct Pi) | Medium | Basic Q&A |
# Capture recent logs and analyze
arc-tmux follow --pane prod:logs.0 --lines 500 | \
arc-ask "Find the root cause of these errors" --tools tmux# Review staged changes
git diff --staged | arc-ask "Review these changes" --context CONTRIBUTING.md# Comprehensive security check
arc-security audit --json | \
arc-ask "Create remediation plan for these vulnerabilities" --tools security# Start the daemon
arc-ai start &
# Or use fallback mode (slower)
arc-ask "question" # Will use direct Pi execution# Install Pi globally
npm install -g @mariozechner/pi-coding-agent- arc-ai - AI bridge daemon
- arc-tmux - Tmux integration
- arc-security - Security scanning
- arc-deps - Dependency management
MIT