In this week’s Data Diaries, let’s walk through a few of my favorite command line tools in a new series, something that we’ve discussed recently on the podcast and livestream.
As a refresher, command line tools are terminal-based pieces of software that typically do specific functions or tasks. Every computer has a command line or terminal. Every computer has the ability to install and run command line tools.
There are hundreds of thousands of different tools available to us and our AI agents every single day – and that’s where command line tools shine the most. Not for us, the humans to use (though we certainly can) but for machines to use.
Why? Because in the current era as we’re hitting more rate limits with AI than ever, the more we can NOT use AI for tasks that don’t need it, the more efficient and effective we become. Letting AI handle what it’s best at – probabilistic tasks – and forcing it to use best-in-class existing tools for deterministic tasks (tasks with clear outcomes and processes) is the best way to make the most of limited AI usage quotas.
The first two tools are meta-tools, in that if you install them, it’s much easier to do everything else in this series. They’re called package managers; what they do is enable your computer to install other command line tools and keep them up to date.
The best in class tools are:
- For Macs: Homebrew. This is the ultimate Mac software package manager and it can install both command line tools and regular apps. It’s maintained well and kept up to date, and is the easiest way to install most tools.
- For Windows: Chocolatey. Similar to Homebrew, it’s a terrific package manager.
- For Linux: Every Linux distribution comes with its own package manager built in, so use the one that comes with your operating system (apt, deb, yum, etc.)
Not sure how to do this? Ask any AI system with search enabled such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Claude, etc. Here’s a simple starting prompt; choose which options are appropriate for you in the curly braces:
You’re a software MDM expert. I want to install a package manager on my computer with the goal of helping me install command line tools for use with agentic AI systems that can call them from the command line. I use {MacOS / Windows / Linux} and my level of technical skill is {beginner / intermediate / advanced}. Build me a step by step guide for installing {Homebrew for Mac / Chocolatey for Windows} on my computer. Ask me questions until you have enough information to succeed at the task.
Once you answer any clarifying questions, you’ll have a great tutorial to get started.
If you work inside an organization with IT policies about what you’re allowed to install, ask them for permission and help; feel free to forward on this newsletter issue to them to help explain why you’re doing what you’re doing.
Next week, we’ll start in on the different command line tools that can make a huge difference in how you use AI efficiently; future issues in this series are predicated on this issue, so get that package manager installed!
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