I built Gloss - a local-first command glossary for terminal users.
I kept re-searching the same shell commands and scattering aliases across notes, shell history, and shell config files, so I built Gloss.
Gloss is a small open-source CLI/TUI tool for saving reusable shell commands with descriptions and tags. It lets you browse/search them in a terminal UI, scan zsh/bash configs for aliases, functions, and scripts, and safely sync managed aliases into shell config files with backups.
It is written in Go, MIT-licensed, local-first, and supports macOS/Linux with zsh and bash.
GitHub:
https://github.com/Architeg/gloss
Landing page:
https://worksfine.dev/gloss/
I'm mainly looking for feedback from terminal-heavy users:
- Would this fit your workflow?
- Do you currently keep reusable commands in history, aliases, notes, or tools like navi/pet/cheat?
- Is the scan/import and alias sync idea useful, or too much for a small command glossary?
nice. save me having to go, open browser tab and search for a command i should remember or some of its flags but wanted to make sure on
Thanks for the comment! Exactly - that’s basically the whole itch I built it around.
It’s not that the command is impossible to find, it’s that opening a browser, searching again, checking flags, then realizing “oh right, I already looked this up three times” ...
Gloss is meant to keep those repeat commands close enough to the terminal that they stop becoming mini research sessions.