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The suggest command translates natural language descriptions into shell commands, helping you discover and execute the right commands without memorizing syntax.

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Usage

forge suggest <PROMPT>

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Arguments

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prompt
string
required
Natural language description of the desired command.
forge suggest "find all JavaScript files"
forge suggest "list processes using port 8080"
forge suggest "compress directory into tar.gz"

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Examples

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File Operations

forge suggest "find all JavaScript files in src directory"
Example output: 
Suggested command:
─────────────────────────────
find src -name "*.js"
─────────────────────────────

This command finds all files with .js extension in the src directory.

Run this command? [Y/n/e]:

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Process Management

forge suggest "show which process is using port 8080"
Example output: 
Suggested command:
─────────────────────────────
lsof -i :8080
─────────────────────────────

Shows the process listening on port 8080.

Run this command? [Y/n/e]:

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Git Operations

forge suggest "undo last git commit but keep changes"
Example output: 
Suggested command:
─────────────────────────────
git reset HEAD~1
─────────────────────────────

Resets the last commit while preserving your changes.

Run this command? [Y/n/e]:

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Archive Operations

forge suggest "compress this directory into a tar.gz file"
Example output: 
Suggested command:
─────────────────────────────
tar -czf archive.tar.gz .
─────────────────────────────

Creates a compressed tar.gz archive of the current directory.

Run this command? [Y/n/e]:

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System Information

forge suggest "show disk usage for all mounted drives"
Example output: 
Suggested command:
─────────────────────────────
df -h
─────────────────────────────

Displays disk space usage in human-readable format.

Run this command? [Y/n/e]:

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Network Operations

forge suggest "test connection to google.com"
Example output: 
Suggested command:
─────────────────────────────
ping -c 4 google.com
─────────────────────────────

Sends 4 ping requests to google.com to test connectivity.

Run this command? [Y/n/e]:

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Text Processing

forge suggest "count lines in all Python files"
Example output: 
Suggested command:
─────────────────────────────
find . -name "*.py" -exec wc -l {} + | awk '{sum+=$1} END {print sum}'
─────────────────────────────

Finds all Python files and counts total lines.

Run this command? [Y/n/e]:

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Docker Operations

forge suggest "stop all running docker containers"
Example output: 
Suggested command:
─────────────────────────────
docker stop $(docker ps -q)
─────────────────────────────

Stops all currently running Docker containers.

Run this command? [Y/n/e]:

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Interactive Prompts

After suggesting a command, Forge prompts for action:
  • Y (yes) - Execute the command immediately
  • n (no) - Cancel without executing
  • e (edit) - Edit the command before executing

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Execute Command

Run this command? [Y/n/e]: y
Executes the suggested command.

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Cancel

Run this command? [Y/n/e]: n
Cancels without executing.

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Edit Before Executing

Run this command? [Y/n/e]: e
Opens the command in your default editor for modification before execution.

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Use Cases

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Learning New Commands

forge suggest "recursively change file permissions to 644"
Helps you learn the correct syntax: 
Suggested command:
─────────────────────────────
find . -type f -exec chmod 644 {} +
─────────────────────────────

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Complex One-Liners

forge suggest "find files larger than 100MB modified in last week"
Generates complex commands: 
Suggested command:
─────────────────────────────
find . -type f -size +100M -mtime -7
─────────────────────────────

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Safe Exploration

forge suggest "safely delete all node_modules directories"
Provides safe commands with explanations: 
Suggested command:
─────────────────────────────
find . -name "node_modules" -type d -prune -exec rm -rf {} +
─────────────────────────────

Recursively finds and removes all node_modules directories.

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Best Practices

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Be Specific

More specific prompts yield better results: 
# Good
forge suggest "find JavaScript files modified in last 24 hours"

# Less specific
forge suggest "find files"

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Include Context

Mention the tools or operations you want: 
forge suggest "use rsync to backup home directory"

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Review Before Executing

Always review suggested commands, especially:
  • File deletion operations
  • System-wide changes
  • Commands with sudo/root access
  • Network operations

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Use Edit Mode

For complex commands, use edit mode to refine: 
Run this command? [Y/n/e]: e

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Command Categories

Forge can suggest commands for:
  • File operations: find, grep, sed, awk, xargs
  • Process management: ps, kill, lsof, top
  • Git operations: commit, branch, merge, rebase
  • Network: curl, wget, ping, netstat
  • Docker: container, image, volume management
  • System admin: systemctl, journalctl, cron
  • Archive: tar, zip, gzip, bzip2
  • Package management: apt, yum, brew, npm
  • forge commit - Generate git commit messages
  • forge cmd execute - Run custom commands
  • forge -p <prompt> - General AI assistance

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Shell Integration

For even faster access, add a shell alias: 
alias fs="forge suggest"
Then use: 
fs "find large files"

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Notes

  • Commands are tailored to your operating system
  • Suggestions consider common best practices
  • Always review commands before executing
  • Edit mode opens in $EDITOR (defaults to vim/nano)
  • Complex commands include explanations
  • Safe by default - prompts before execution

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