Llm

The new {ref}`aliases` commands can be used to configure additional aliases for models, for example:

bash
llm aliases set turbo gpt-3.5-turbo-16k

Now you can run the 16,000 token `gpt-3.5-turbo-16k` model like this:

bash
llm -m turbo 'An epic Greek-style saga about a cheesecake that builds a SQL database from scratch'

Use `llm aliases list` to see a list of aliases and `llm aliases remove turbo` to remove one again. [151](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/151)

Notable new plugins

- **[llm-mlc](https://github.com/simonw/llm-mlc)** can run local models released by the [MLC project](https://mlc.ai/mlc-llm/), including models that can take advantage of the GPU on Apple Silicon M1/M2 devices.
- **[llm-llama-cpp](https://github.com/simonw/llm-llama-cpp)** uses [llama.cpp](https://github.com/ggerganov/llama.cpp) to run models published in the GGML format. See [Run Llama 2 on your own Mac using LLM and Homebrew](https://simonwillison.net/2023/Aug/1/llama-2-mac/) for more details.

Also in this release

- OpenAI models now have min and max validation on their floating point options. Thanks, Pavel Král. [115](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/115)
- Fix for bug where `llm templates list` raised an error if a template had an empty prompt. Thanks, Sherwin Daganato. [132](https://github.com/simonw/llm/pull/132)
- Fixed bug in `llm install --editable` option which prevented installation of `.[test]`. [136](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/136)
- `llm install --no-cache-dir` and `--force-reinstall` options. [146](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/146)

(v0_6_1)=

- LLM can now be installed directly from Homebrew core: `brew install llm`. [124](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/124)
- Python API documentation now covers {ref}`python-api-system-prompts`.
- Fixed incorrect example in the {ref}`prompt-templates` documentation. Thanks, Jorge Cabello. [125](https://github.com/simonw/llm/pull/125)

(v0_6)=

- Models hosted on [Replicate](https://replicate.com/) can now be accessed using the [llm-replicate](https://github.com/simonw/llm-replicate) plugin, including the new Llama 2 model from Meta AI. More details here: [Accessing Llama 2 from the command-line with the llm-replicate plugin](https://simonwillison.net/2023/Jul/18/accessing-llama-2/).
- Model providers that expose an API that is compatible with the OpenAPI API format, including self-hosted model servers such as [LocalAI](https://github.com/go-skynet/LocalAI), can now be accessed using {ref}`additional configuration <openai-compatible-models>` for the default OpenAI plugin. [#106](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/106)
- OpenAI models that are not yet supported by LLM can also {ref}`be configured <openai-extra-models>` using the new `extra-openai-models.yaml` configuration file. [107](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/107)
- The {ref}`llm logs command <logging-view>` now accepts a `-m model_id` option to filter logs to a specific model. Aliases can be used here in addition to model IDs. [108](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/108)
- Logs now have a SQLite full-text search index against their prompts and responses, and the `llm logs -q SEARCH` option can be used to return logs that match a search term. [109](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/109)

(v0_5)=

LLM now supports **additional language models**, thanks to a new {ref}`plugins mechanism <installing-plugins>` for installing additional models.

Plugins are available for 19 models in addition to the default OpenAI ones:

- [llm-gpt4all](https://github.com/simonw/llm-gpt4all) adds support for 17 models that can download and run on your own device, including Vicuna, Falcon and wizardLM.
- [llm-mpt30b](https://github.com/simonw/llm-mpt30b) adds support for the MPT-30B model, a 19GB download.
- [llm-palm](https://github.com/simonw/llm-palm) adds support for Google's PaLM 2 via the Google API.

A comprehensive tutorial, {ref}`writing a plugin to support a new model <tutorial-model-plugin>` describes how to add new models by building plugins in detail.

New features

- {ref}`python-api` documentation for using LLM models, including models from plugins, directly from Python. [75](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/75)
- Messages are now logged to the database by default - no need to run the `llm init-db` command any more, which has been removed. Instead, you can toggle this behavior off using `llm logs off` or turn it on again using `llm logs on`. The `llm logs status` command shows the current status of the log database. If logging is turned off, passing `--log` to the `llm prompt` command will cause that prompt to be logged anyway. [98](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/98)
- New database schema for logged messages, with `conversations` and `responses` tables. If you have previously used the old `logs` table it will continue to exist but will no longer be written to. [91](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/91)
- New `-o/--option name value` syntax for setting options for models, such as temperature. Available options differ for different models. [63](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/63)
- `llm models list --options` command for viewing all available model options. [82](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/82)
- `llm "prompt" --save template` option for saving a prompt directly to a template. [55](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/55)
- Prompt templates can now specify {ref}`default values <prompt-default-parameters>` for parameters. Thanks, Chris Mungall. [57](https://github.com/simonw/llm/pull/57)
- `llm openai models` command to list all available OpenAI models from their API. [70](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/70)
- `llm models default MODEL_ID` to set a different model as the default to be used when `llm` is run without the `-m/--model` option. [31](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/31)

Smaller improvements

- `llm -s` is now a shortcut for `llm --system`. [69](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/69)
- `llm -m 4-32k` alias for `gpt-4-32k`.
- `llm install -e directory` command for installing a plugin from a local directory.
- The `LLM_USER_PATH` environment variable now controls the location of the directory in which LLM stores its data. This replaces the old `LLM_KEYS_PATH` and `LLM_LOG_PATH` and `LLM_TEMPLATES_PATH` variables. [76](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/76)
- Documentation covering {ref}`plugin-utilities`.
- Documentation site now uses Plausible for analytics. [79](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/79)

(v0_4_1)=

- LLM can now be installed using Homebrew: `brew install simonw/llm/llm`. [50](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/50)
- `llm` is now styled LLM in the documentation. [45](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/45)
- Examples in documentation now include a copy button. [43](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/43)
- `llm templates` command no longer has its display disrupted by newlines. [42](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/42)
- `llm templates` command now includes system prompt, if set. [44](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/44)

(v0_4)=

This release includes some backwards-incompatible changes:

- The `-4` option for GPT-4 is now `-m 4`.
- The `--code` option has been removed.
- The `-s` option has been removed as streaming is now the default. Use `--no-stream` to opt out of streaming.

Prompt templates

{ref}`prompt-templates` is a new feature that allows prompts to be saved as templates and re-used with different variables.

Templates can be created using the `llm templates edit` command:

bash
llm templates edit summarize

Templates are YAML - the following template defines summarization using a system prompt:

yaml
system: Summarize this text

The template can then be executed like this:
bash
cat myfile.txt | llm -t summarize

Templates can include both system prompts, regular prompts and indicate the model they should use. They can reference variables such as `$input` for content piped to the tool, or other variables that are passed using the new `-p/--param` option.

This example adds a `voice` parameter:

yaml
system: Summarize this text in the voice of $voice

Then to run it (via [strip-tags](https://github.com/simonw/strip-tags) to remove HTML tags from the input):
bash
curl -s 'https://til.simonwillison.net/macos/imovie-slides-and-audio' | \
strip-tags -m | llm -t summarize -p voice GlaDOS

Example output:

> My previous test subject seemed to have learned something new about iMovie. They exported keynote slides as individual images [...] Quite impressive for a human.

The {ref}`prompt-templates` documentation provides more detailed examples.

Continue previous chat

You can now use `llm` to continue a previous conversation with the OpenAI chat models (`gpt-3.5-turbo` and `gpt-4`). This will include your previous prompts and responses in the prompt sent to the API, allowing the model to continue within the same context.

Use the new `-c/--continue` option to continue from the previous message thread:

bash
llm "Pretend to be a witty gerbil, say hi briefly"

> Greetings, dear human! I am a clever gerbil, ready to entertain you with my quick wit and endless energy.
bash
llm "What do you think of snacks?" -c

> Oh, how I adore snacks, dear human! Crunchy carrot sticks, sweet apple slices, and chewy yogurt drops are some of my favorite treats. I could nibble on them all day long!

The `-c` option will continue from the most recent logged message.

To continue a different chat, pass an integer ID to the `--chat` option. This should be the ID of a previously logged message. You can find these IDs using the `llm logs` command.

Thanks [Amjith Ramanujam](https://github.com/amjith) for contributing to this feature. [#6](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/6)

New mechanism for storing API keys

API keys for language models such as those by OpenAI can now be saved using the new `llm keys` family of commands.

To set the default key to be used for the OpenAI APIs, run this:

bash
llm keys set openai

Then paste in your API key.

Keys can also be passed using the new `--key` command line option - this can be a full key or the alias of a key that has been previously stored.

See {ref}`api-keys` for more. [13](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/13)

New location for the logs.db database

The `logs.db` database that stores a history of executed prompts no longer lives at `~/.llm/log.db` - it can now be found in a location that better fits the host operating system, which can be seen using:

bash
llm logs path

On macOS this is `~/Library/Application Support/io.datasette.llm/logs.db`.

To open that database using Datasette, run this:

bash
datasette "$(llm logs path)"

You can upgrade your existing installation by copying your database to the new location like this:
bash
cp ~/.llm/log.db "$(llm logs path)"
rm -rf ~/.llm To tidy up the now obsolete directory

The database schema has changed, and will be updated automatically the first time you run the command.

That schema is [included in the documentation](https://llm.datasette.io/en/stable/logging.html#sql-schema). [35](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/35)

Other changes

- New `llm logs --truncate` option (shortcut `-t`) which truncates the displayed prompts to make the log output easier to read. [16](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/16)
- Documentation now spans multiple pages and lives at <https://llm.datasette.io/> [#21](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/21)
- Default `llm chatgpt` command has been renamed to `llm prompt`. [17](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/17)
- Removed `--code` option in favour of new prompt templates mechanism. [24](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/24)
- Responses are now streamed by default, if the model supports streaming. The `-s/--stream` option has been removed. A new `--no-stream` option can be used to opt-out of streaming. [25](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/25)
- The `-4/--gpt4` option has been removed in favour of `-m 4` or `-m gpt4`, using a new mechanism that allows models to have additional short names.
- The new `gpt-3.5-turbo-16k` model with a 16,000 token context length can now also be accessed using `-m chatgpt-16k` or `-m 3.5-16k`. Thanks, Benjamin Kirkbride. [37](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/37)
- Improved display of error messages from OpenAI. [15](https://github.com/simonw/llm/issues/15)

(v0_3)=